Fore!mula For Success - Offer Kiosk - May 2010
New Kiosk Functionality Increases Play & Profitability Through Offer Clubs
While attending the Michigan Regional Users Conference last December, Chris Sobieck, General Manager of The Golf Club at Thornapple Point in Grand Rapids, Michigan, learned about an idea that could help his business. Tired of collecting customer information the old-fashioned way, Chris saw a great opportunity with the new Offer Kiosk; the latest way to use the Touch Screen Kiosk to collect customer email addresses by offering any incentive of the course’s choosing.“We’ve had great success with the Fore! Marketing product and were considering purchasing the Touch Screen Kiosk to help grow our Birthday Club,” says Chris. “When I learned I could use the kiosk as an Offer Club Kiosk, not only did this new dual-functionality add value to the kiosk, I immediately thought how helpful the Offer Kiosk would be at our upcoming golf show.”
Chris and his staff attended the Western Michigan Golf Show in February and utilized the Offer Kiosk to enroll over 200 new customers into their email database by offering a coupon for $10 off your next round. “There was definitely a buzz around our booth!” exclaims Chris. “The touch screen technology attracted more customers to us and the automation made data collection much easier for us; we saved valuable time not deciphering poorly written customer information cards and eliminated time-consuming data entry upon our return to the course.” Chris notes that many customers from the show have already redeemed the coupon and he’s confident he’ll see those customers throughout the season.
In just a few months since the golf show, the Offer Kiosk has helped the course’s Offer Club grow to 900 members, and Chris anticipates seeing a great return from their marketing efforts to this large group of golfers. “I’m a firm believer in the power of email marketing and that the more customer emails you get the better off you’ll be,” states Chris. “Without question the Offer Kiosk can help us bring in additional revenue by identifying our core customers while growing our database so our emails reach more people.”
Also benefi ting from the Offer Kiosk is Minor Park Golf Course, an 18-hole public facility in Kansas City, MO. Like The Golf Club at Thornapple Point, Minor Park has also seen customer traffic increase since implementing the Offer Kiosk. “We’ve definitely had more customers coming through the door,” General Manager Julie Roberts says. “We are at a value price point and have value-minded golfers, so the kiosk is a homerun for us! Regular players enjoy our special offers so their visits have increased, and more new faces have returned since joining the Offer Club and getting into our marketable database.”
Julie also mentions that the kiosk makes the task of getting customer information for golfers two, three, and four much easier. Since implementing the kiosk, Minor Park’s email database has grown from 250 to 850 customers with a major influx of data collection occurring at the Kansas City Golf Show this past spring. “Being able to take the kiosk with us to the show was very beneficial,” says Julie. “For golfers looking for an on the spot deal with very little hassle, the Offer Kiosk provides that instant gratification and is a great tool to use to incentivize golfers to share their information with you.”
Nearly 500 show attendees visited the Minor Park Offer Kiosk, with over half opting-in to join their Offer Club in the days following the show. “The opt-in process ensures that we’re not just increasing our database in size, but in quality,” adds Julie. “Since these customers have chosen to opt-in, it makes them the perfect target audience for our marketing initiatives.”
Customers that joined the Minor Park Offer Club not only received a $10 off email coupon; they were also entered into a raffle drawing to win a foursome. Julie found that the drawing added just enough incentive to encourage even the most squeamish show goers who did not want to divulge email information to do so. “The raffle drawing was a hit and the Offer Kiosk made running the drawing a breeze,” Julie says. “Fore! Reservations really thought of everything by having the ‘Random Select’ button. One click and our winner was selected from only those that opted-in to our email database.”
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, a 36-hole destination golf course in Lake Geneva, WI, also utilized a foursome giveaway strategy at the Chicago Golf Show. “Anyone that joined our Offer Club received a $5 merchandise coupon but we promoted the chance to win a foursome each day of the show,” says Head Golf Professional Jason Boaz. “It was a huge success! We added 500 customers to our Offer Club without offering a green fee discount to everyone.” According to Jason, the decision to purchase a kiosk was unanimous after attending previous golf shows and realizing they could benefit from a more efficient way to collect information from interested customers.
Grand Geneva Marketing Manager Courtney Nobilio is also pleased with how the performance of the Offer Kiosk has contributed to their marketing objectives. “Email marketing is a central component of our marketing strategy. The kiosk helps us build a comprehensive email database which in turn creates more awareness for the entire resort,” says Courtney. “It’s also helping bring in additional business since we can leverage our Offer Club to not only promote our championship golf courses, but market the other amenities and services offered at Grand Geneva.”
For courses searching for new ways to increase profitability, starting an Offer Club could be a viable solution and a step towards developing a more intuitive marketing strategy. Using technology like the Offer Kiosk not only makes promotion and management of an Offer Club effortless, it also helps golf course operators adapt to today’s tech-savvy consumer.
“We’re definitely changing our approach by replacing marketing dollars spent on newspaper and radio ads with smarter technology,” Chris says. “We’re also investing in the customer, essentially buying an email address by offering an incentive, to get their information so we can hit them with all of our deals. The incentive is worth it; from just one email I’ve already seen the value of target marketing our Offer Club members.”
“The Touch Screen Kiosk is a small investment to make for database growth with no strings attached. We don’t have to barter rounds for the benefit of collecting more customer email addresses,” concludes Julie. “Adding the Offer Club functionality to the kiosk without increasing its price is just another way Fore! Reservations shows they absolutely care about your facility’s success. From top to bottom Fore! Reservations is one of the most personal and professional organizations we deal with in our industry.”
Interested in learning more about the Offer Kiosk? Click here for additional product information or Click here to demo the Offer Kiosk online. Please contact our Sales Team to discover how the Touch Screen Kiosk can help your operation and to place your order. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 630.789.9705. Kiosks can be leased (for $750 per year which includes the Fore! Marketing product for each year of the lease) or purchased (for a one-time payment of $1,250 which includes the Fore! Marketing product for one year).
Have you had success utilizing one of the revenue-generating features in Fore! Reservations? Has the Comeback Coupon, Tag Along Feature, Awards Program, or Fore! Marketing Defector Campaign brought your facility additional revenue? If so we'd like to share your success story! Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll feature your course in an upcoming article.
