Fore!mula For Success - Awards Program - August 2008

Awards Programs Keep Your Customers Coming Back For More

Customer awards programs are a fixture of the retail industry with most Americans carrying at least one membership card earning award credits for anything from groceries, to clothing, to airline miles, to books. Small independent businesses and entire industries alike are cashing in on the strong return on investment that awards programs can deliver, and dozens of Fore! Reservations customers are doing the same.

"We're a daily fee, public course but the award program makes our customers feel like they are members of a club," says Steve Whillock, general manager and director of golf, Oak Marsh Golf Club, Oakdale, MN. "We don't discount our golf fees, so the program is a great way to add value by rewarding the customers who come to our course."  Oak Marsh Golf Club is an 18-hole, championship public course located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

The Oak Marsh award program is straightforward - on every transaction, card holders receive a credit of 10 percent of their total purchase of merchandise, green fees, cart rentals, and range balls, which accumulate and are used for a future purchase of a bucket of balls, cart rental or green fee. The credited amount can only be used for the total purchase amounts, not as partial payment, and all accounts expire at the end of the year.

"We really try to drive people to the website where they can register, and we also invite every new customer who comes in to join the award program. We've found that 19 out of 20 people will sign up," Steve says. "All they have to do is give us their data, and once they are in our system, they also become members of the Birthday Club and receive a free round of golf during their birthday month."

Award programs are easy to set up, require little administration, and can be tailored to meet the needs and demands of individual courses. Beyond the obvious positive customer relations benefits, awards programs:

• Offer customers an incentive to return to your course - even when competitors offer a lower price - and to buy additional services or products.
  

• Help you build your customer database and email list.
  

• Help tailor your ongoing marketing activities to the interests of active customers and develop strategies to reach inactive customers.

River Falls Plantation Golf, an 18-hole daily fee public course located in the highly competitive South Carolina market, offers award program members a 5 percent credit on green fee, cart rental and range balls purchases.  "This is our third year offering the program and it has grown substantially each year," says Joy Johnson, golf shop manager. "Our frequent players and corporate golf league participants love it because it doesn't take long for the awards to build up and they can apply them for a free round of golf or a bucket of balls." 

And, because each award program member provides a current email address, Joy is able to target specials just for participants. "Fore! Reservations has made it easy to use and flexible. During a particularly slow month, I sent out an email only to the awards program members offering double awards credits - 10 percent credits - to members who played during that month. It worked really well."

In addition, Joy says because customers may not keep close track of their awards, she uses the Fore! Reservations Pop Up Message feature as a way for staff to remind customers when they have unused balances and offer opportunities to utilize them. She also uses it to remind customers to apply their awards before they expire at the end of the year.

Now in the third season of offering their awards program, Scherwood Golf in Schereville, IN, offers a 2 percent credit on all purchases including food and beverage for program members and has built a substantial database through the program. "We can review individual customer activity via these cards to learn more about a customer's spending habits. So far, we have only utilized mass emailing a few times a year to promote large sales and events. However, with the increasing costs of traditional advertising, I think we'll be doing more and more of it in the near future," explains Erica Hanson, operations manager. "We are also planning to promote individual items in the restaurant and pro shop using double or triple rewards. Because this is just a percent (%) field in the sales item screen, it is easy to change as needed."

Through Fore! Reservations, each club can choose its own reward level, applications and restrictions. Newark Valley Golf Club in Newark Valley, NY, offers a 10 percent credit on the purchase of green fees and cart rentals. Once the balance reaches $10, the credits can be applied toward a round of golf or cart rental. "We currently have more than 800 players in the system and a very high level of "regular" customers because of our Valued Player program," says Cleve Cleveland, CGCS/Owner. "Card holders also receive other benefits including priority tee times and member-only specials and events."

Pebble Creek Golf Club in Colts Neck, NJ, offers a 5 percent credit on all merchandise, green fee and cart rental purchases which can be redeemed when the balance reaches at least $5. "We're open year-round and are located in a very competitive market," explains Julie Quinn, outings coordinator, Pebble Creek. "The award card has helped us create strong customer loyalty and helps customers make the choice to come here. Our rounds are up each year, which is really great in this economy."

Dead Horse Lake Golf Club in Knoxville, TN, offers a 10 percent credit on greens fees only, and seniors receive an additional 5 percent credit on weekday play. The credits never expire and can be used toward green fees or pro shop merchandise. "While the program is a great customer relations tool, we've found that the members are more likely to purchase merchandise from us than from a retailer because they can apply their credits toward the purchase price," says Barry Conatser, general manager. In addition, Dead Horse offers award benefits to its numerous leagues. "When a league registers in the program they earn 6.5 percent for each player and round played. The awards build up over the season and at the end of play, the league can use the credits to purchase merchandise or gift cards that they can use as prizes for league members. It's been so successful that we've registered several new leagues because of the award program."

"Though I'm not convinced we have seen revenue increase significantly as a result of awards, it does make our customers feel better about spending their money at our facility," says Erica Hanson with Scherwood Golf. "The awards enhance their value perception and make them feel like we are focused on them. The year we implemented the program we had to raise our prices, and starting the 2 percent awards helped take the psychological edge off of that. Above all, the awards program has been a super- easy, low-cost way to modernize our course image and marketing approach to keep up with the times. As competition gets tighter and our margins shrink, every little bit helps."