Fore!mula For Success - Moccasin Run Golf Club Success Story - December 2009
Improved Marketing Efforts Help Moccasin Run Golf Club Exceed Rounds & Revenue Forecast
Moccasin Run Golf Club, an 18-hole public golf course in Atglen, PA, didn't expect to have the type of year they had in 2009. With the difficult economic conditions and an oversaturated golf market in the greater Philadelphia area owners Curt and Grace King weren't very optimistic about the likelihood to turn a profit in 2009. Add to that a poor weather year and Moccasin Run could have been looking at one of its worst years on record; but a new marketing strategy implemented in the Spring of 2009 led to a profound turnaround for Moccasin Run."I really thought it was going to be a challenge just to pay the bills this year," Owner Curt King says. "I was quite surprised to see the year that we had."
In challenging conditions, Moccasin Run was able to hold steady on green fee revenue, the average green fee per player, and the total number of rounds played. Also helping the course's bottom line was maintaining its weekend round play; contrary to a new national trend of increased weekday play and decreased weekend play. Moccasin Run weathered that trend, but like many courses, still felt a hit from an economy where golfers continue to find more affordable ways to golf by playing 9 holes instead of 18, golfing during twilight, visiting the driving range more, canceling memberships, and spending less while at the course. Many of these trends held true at Moccasin Run which saw a 30% increase in 9 hole play, an 8% increase in driving range revenue, but revenue decreases of 12%, 11% and 31% in merchandise, food and beverage, and membership respectively.
"Like anyone else we definitely got hit hard in some areas of the operation," Owner Grace King says. "But our rounds and green fee revenue held steady telling us that our customers enjoy the golf course and see the value of their money for their round of golf."
Another positive for Moccasin Run was that the course outperformed its weather. Weather was 6% worse compared to last year, but Moccasin Run's overall revenue was down only slightly (3.48%). "Our business is controlled by weather but we never really tracked the actual percentage of playable days until this year," says Grace. "That information helped us determine how our year really was. In the past, if we had a bad year it was easy to use the excuse of bad weather without knowing if that was truly the case. Identifying that our weather was down this year, but that we performed well in rounds and revenue, tells us that our new marketing efforts really worked."
Moccasin Run focused on improving three main areas of their overall marketing strategy: Customer Database Collection, E-mail Marketing, and Online Reservations. The course also began utilizing revenue-generating features in Fore! Reservations and held true to their tee time pricing philosophy of not heavily discounting rounds, in spite of a tough economy.
"Discounting really gets under my skin and is hurting the industry as a whole," Curt says. "It's always been our philosophy to have consistency in our pricing. We don't drop our prices just to fill the tee sheet, and we don't have extremely high prices either. Rather than discount the whole tee sheet, we reward our loyal customers with an occasional e-mail offer valid during a slower time period. Without that strategy our average green fee per player would have decreased by much more than just the five cents that it did this year."
Curt believes maintaining price integrity and increasing marketing was the right path to take. "Our new marketing efforts had a positive impact for sure. We maximized our good weather days which was the key to our success," Curt adds. "We always knew we needed to do a better job of marketing but weren't quite sure how to do so."
Establishing a marketing plan in advance of the season was something new for Moccasin Run, so Curt and Grace turned to the Fore! Reservations Marketing Assistance Program for the direction and expertise that they needed. "We went from not having a plan to having a plan, and the business ran better this year," Grace says. "The Marketing Assistance Program gave me that little extra push and guidance that I needed to keep me on track with my marketing initiatives from which I saw direct results in rounds and revenue. It took us to the next level that we wouldn't have gotten to on our own."
The Marketing Assistance Program streamlined Moccasin Run's marketing efforts by maximizing their use of the integrated Fore! Reservations system to create e-mail promotions, book corresponding tee times, ring-in correlated coupons, and track results. Moccasin Run also implemented Fore! Reservations Marketing Best Practices resulting in the course growing its customer e-mail database by 1,000, establishing an effective e-mail marketing program, generating $6,000 in revenue from the Fore! Marketing product, increasing online reservations by 26%, generating $4,000 more in holiday revenue compared to 2008, and growing special events at the course.
An increase in online reservations led to the course's customer database growth, and the larger database was leveraged through more aggressive e-mail marketing campaigns. Improvements in these areas were particularly helpful in growing Moccasin Run's special events, tournaments, and leagues, bringing in valuable revenue that kept them on pace with last year's numbers.
"I fully attribute the growth of this year's special events to our marketing efforts," says Grace. "Not only did we do a better job of collecting customer data, our communication overall was so much better. We posted events online, enhanced the quality and timeliness of our e-mails, and regularly communicated with our customers through e-newsletters which generated more interest in events and increased sign-ups."
Moccasin Run held three major events throughout the season and a special event every weeknight. The course opens and closes each season with a 2-Man Better Ball event, and prior to this year each Better Ball didn't have more than 80 players, but 120 golfers participated in both events in 2009. Customer Appreciation Day, one of Moccasin Run's most successful events, treats customers to 18 holes of golf, special offerings, and entrance into a raffle drawing. The course's customer retention initiatives like Customer Appreciation Day proved to be effective with Moccasin Run retaining 88% of their high value customers during the 2009 season.
A surprise of the year was the 9 Hole Monday Men's League; a league that prior to the season was in jeopardy of discontinuation. Not wanting it to fail, Grace aggressively promoted the league through e-mail marketing resulting in tremendous growth from 20 to 60 players, leading to an increase in Monday rounds by 14.3%. Moccasin Run's Junior Golf Program held on Tuesdays and Thursdays grew to 130 participants, an outside league played on Wednesdays, and Friday nights were reserved for Couples League that offered a fun night of themed golf and social activity.
"We couldn't believe the unexpected success of our events. Smarter marketing and advanced planning went a long way in generating much needed revenue," states Grace.
An additional revenue stream was also created by Moccasin Run's implementation of the Fore! Marketing product and was a critical component of the course's new marketing strategy. Curt and Grace agree that Fore! Marketing made their marketing efforts more efficient and more effective; automating the course's Birthday Club, Thank You, and Defector Promotion e-mails.
"I wear so many hats that it's hard to get every last thing done and in the past marketing would often fall short. Letting the Fore! Marketing technology work for us made marketing tasks so much easier," Grace says. "We were able to offer new promotions to our customers from which we saw a great response, all happening with very little management on our part."
Moccasin Run saw particular success in the Defector Promotion that generated return play and over $3,000 in revenue. An automated e-mail offer was sent to customers that hadn't returned to the course in 30 or 60 days. And with help from the Marketing Assistance Program, special reporting also determined customers that played the course in 2008 but hadn't returned in 2009 sending them e-mail offers as well. Curt and Grace saw great value in marketing to defectors, something they wouldn't have implemented without the recommendation from Fore! Reservations.
"I can't say enough about how Fore! Reservations has turned our marketing around. There's no comparison from what we were doing in terms of marketing last year compared to this season," states Curt. "The Marketing Assistance Program was a great fit. There are other companies offering similar services that I never entertain because they can't provide the industry expertise, affordability, care, consideration, and concern for our golf course like Fore! Reservations."
Without the improved marketing efforts of Moccasin Run it's likely that their rounds and revenue wouldn't have held steady this year. Instead, future plans for clubhouse expansion and facility upgrades remain, as well as continuing to provide its customers with immaculate conditions and amenities that enable Moccasin Run to stay true to its motto of ‘The Country Club for Everyone'.
"Every little bit helped this year," Grace says. "We were not expecting a year like this. We were expecting to be down and prepared for a rough year but we came through okay and were pleasantly surprised that we exceeded our own expectations. We're excited to have a marketing strategy in place that works and are confident it will continue to generate rounds and revenue in what will be a challenging economy next year."
To learn more about the Marketing Assistance Program e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 630.789.9705. If you'd like to share your success story using Fore! Reservations, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will include you in an upcoming issue of Fore!mula For Success.
