July Golf Shop: See the Big Picture
Selling products at point of sale is only a fraction of what you do. The rest is the experience associated with your business that makes your customers want to buy from you.
Your shop space is no longer simply a place to store your products and retail is not just about ‘POS’. It’s also the intangible story that makes you stand out to your golfers - in a world where their lives are already so filled with products.
Expectations have moved on.
When you visit a town centre in 2022, there are shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, often a cinema and maybe even an indoor mini golf centre. It’s a mix of entertainment and retail all in one place, designed to appeal to every member of the family and keep you there all day. All of this can be seen before you visit and consumers can plan their day online beforehand.
As integrated leisure and retail venues, on-course golf shops are perfectly placed to offer opportunities that set you apart and ensure customers will want to engage with you time and time again.
Club Champion
Having an understanding of everything your club stands for, and offering your services around that, is a great starting point. Fundamentally, what is your club ‘about’? Some clubs focus on visitors, others members. Or is it a destination venue where a lot of non-members come for a nice meal or to use the range?
From this, work out what your business needs to deliver so that interactions with customers can be as seamless as possible.
Mark Hopkins is a golf industry expert and XPOS Business Development Director, “It’s key that pro shops adapt and don’t get left behind. We’ve seen how the large department stores have struggled over recent years because they haven’t had the flexibility to change. However, smaller shops are doing better because they can adapt”.
“Pro shops are representative of where the high street is trying to get to: Leisure and retail combined”.
Key Communication
Believe it or not, you’re rarely going to be the only reason your customers visit the golf club so it’s essential to merge your business with other aspects of the club, range or venue. Give customers a reason to visit the shop by making sure golfers know what you do and what they can expect when they visit.
"86% of customers are willing to pay up to 25% more for a better customer experience" (RightNow)
Never take it for granted that people know what’s in store, or what you have to offer as a full range of services.
Be sticky. Be influential. Communicate what you do.
Use XPOS Caddie for Sticky Ideas
According to research undertaken by Shopfiy, almost 50% of brands say unifying online and in-store operations and data will be their biggest challenge during 2022-23. As a result, 53% of brands are now investing in tools that allow them to sell anywhere. Make sure you don’t get left behind.
"43% of brands will focus on showing available inventory in nearby stores" (Shopify)
The popular pro shop app, XPOS Caddie, is free to most XPOS customers and centralises your customer service, bringing a range of sticky services under one roof.
- Consumers have become used to fast purchases and your golfers expect access to your shop stock 24 hours a day now. Getting your pro shop online in the XPOS Caddie app is easy and running the app takes no time at all.
- Golfers expect to be able to book lessons online. They don’t want to wait for you to update your diary and send them an email. Don’t miss out. Sign up to an online booking service such as ProAgenda.com, which can also be added to the XPOS Caddie app.
- Give your customer service a boost with XMAIL, a clever automated email service that thanks customers following a sale. Proven to boost footfall and sales by 10%, XMAIL also sends gentle, personal reminders and offers shoe care advice. An unexpected, thoughtful touch.
Stuart Disney, Director of Golf at The Mendip Golf Club
"XMAIL one of the best things I’ve introduced to the business. It’s like having another sales person working away in the background. When we started using it a few years ago, we quickly saw an increase in footfall and sales of around 10%. The automated thank-you emails are a nice touch and customers really appreciate the follow-up. They help us to engage with our customers more. When our golfers receive the thank-you email, they often come in afterwards, thank me for the email, and go on to make additional purchases.
Another winner is the regrip email. When a member buys an individual club, or set, they receive an automated email a year later reminding them to regrip their clubs to ensure optimum performance. Only last week, a customer came in and asked us to regrip all of his woods.
XMAIL also sends an email to customers a year after they’ve purchased shoes through the pro shop. It’s a simple email with some useful shoe care advice and it also suggests purchasing a second pair to ensure the shoes don’t wear out too quickly. Again, a customer came in recently after receiving the email, and bought a second pair.
The best thing is that XMAIL is automated so all this happens without us doing anything. It’s been an amazing additional feature and I wouldn’t be without it".