Spotlight on Loyalty with Simon Race

 

Thanks to the allure of larger retailers and online marketplaces, with their aggressive pricing and vast product choice, customer loyalty is particularly key to the long-term success of on-course pro shops.  Walton Heath Golf Club’s PGA Head Professional, Simon Race, talks about creating a community of loyal golfers who wouldn’t dream of shopping anywhere else.

 

"During my time at Carnoustie and Meltham Golf Clubs, we used loyalty programmes to reward shop customers and encourage them to come back.  When I took on the role here at Walton Heath, the Board was interested in my experience and the introduction of a new loyalty initiative has gone down well with members.

 

Avoiding Price Wars

I understand why shops offer price matching but I’ve never wanted to go down that route. It allows your prices to be dictated by another retailer and I want to avoid that.

All loyalty systems are designed to keep the customer coming back and, at Walton Heath, we also want to thank our golfers for supporting us.

 

Consistency is Key

We offer a simple 5% loyalty incentive for members on every single purchase and this is consistent across all stock.  Rather than taking the discount off at point of sale, we use Xpos to add the percentage discount onto their loyalty account and members can put the money towards new purchases later.

The loyalty points are separate to the shop account balance on the Xpos system, and we make a point of advising customers of both totals when they make a purchase. It’s like a loyalty cashback scheme and, knowing they have this extra money on the loyalty account, encourages our golfers to spend with us.

 

Watch Out For

• Clarity of message is key so come up with a loyalty scheme that’s easy to grasp
• Choose a system that works for your business – don’t give away too much if your margins are tight
• As with debts on accounts, don’t let the loyalty balance add up too much or your business could lose out

Loyalty Wins

• Offer an incentive, rather than a discount. We don’t give away product at point of sale – we’re encouraging members to come back and spend with us
• The only way to use it is on a future purchase, so you are guaranteeing future sales.
• Move away from unfair price matching
• To get started, think about introducing loyalty incentives for your slow-moving items in the shop

 

Talk to us about loyalty options within your system.  Get in touch hello@xpos.co.uk.

 

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