|
A marketing stalwart for the real estate industry, the open house can also sell your business—its products and services, that is. Throwing open your doors to the public for a one-day event that pairs fun with skill-building opportunities is a soft sell that will attract new golfers as well as cement existing customer relationships.
Use this five-step process to welcome customers to your range for what will hopefully be the first of many visits.
Outline your objectives. As with any promotion, determine how the open house will support your overall marketing plan. An open house can address any number of strategic objectives including
• creating a general awareness of the facility,
• offering consumers a no-cost, no-risk opportunity to try out your facility and
• rewarding your current customer base with discounts and giveaways.
Set the date. People are more likely to attend an open house if it’s held on a Saturday or Sunday, especially if you give them a four- to five-hour window. Time the event to coincide with your less busy hours; holding the open house during your peak period means giving discounts to people who would be patronizing your facility anyway. And while you do want to reward attendees with freebies and reduced prices, you don’t want to give away the farm.
Allow at least two months for planning and promotion. Set a rain date that’s noted on all promotions. It won’t hurt attendance as long as you get the word out. One Northern Virginia range rescheduled its open house and still banked $8,500 in same-day sales.
Plan activities. An open house requires customers to invest something more valuable than their money—their time. You have a much better chance of drawing a crowd if you give consumers multiple reasons to come and if those reasons include opportunities for golfers to improve their game. Some ideas to consider:
• Club demos. This try-before-you-buy tactic will attract serious golfers in the market for a new set of clubs, as well as those curious about the latest equipment they’ve just read about in the consumer golf magazines. If you don’t have a relationship with any club manufacturers, consider partnering with a local golf retailer, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods or Golf Galaxy, that can host a demo table for your event.
• Free advice. Your instructors can generate future lesson business by giving free golf tips, mini-lessons or swing or club analyses.
• Discounts. Give customers steep discounts on use of the facility during the open house, for example half-price buckets of balls, 25 percent off pro shop purchases or two-for-one rounds of miniature golf. Whatever you have, discount it.
• Skills contests. Throw in some fun, competitive events such as a chipping contest—even juniors can take a swing at this—or set up targets and award prizes for winning shots. Putting contests can be held on the practice green, or even on one of your miniature golf holes. Prizes can include free buckets of balls or lessons at your range, or work with neighboring businesses to score movie passes or a free dinner at a local eatery.
• Goodie bags. In addition to stuffing bags with freebies from your facility such as sleeves of balls, golf tees and, in particular, bounce-back coupons, ask restaurants to donate vouchers and convince local golf courses to throw in some passes for reduced greens fees.
• Free food. Fire up the grill and throw on some burgers and dogs—it’s quick, easy and won’t break your budget. Another option is to contact a local restaurant and offer free exposure in exchange for food.
Promote the event. Start creating a buzz about three weeks in advance: Send e-mail to your customer base and hang in-store signage inviting people to stop by. If you have a current radio, print or TV campaign, use it to advertise the open house for two weeks leading up to the event. Don’t forget about free publicity. Send a news release to area media outlets and you may get a mention in their local events calendars. You can garner even more coverage—and community good will—if you tie the open house to a charity fund-raiser.
Dress for success. All your planning will be wasted if people have a bad experience at your open house. First impressions are critical. Make sure staff have polished up on their customer service skills and that the range is clean (don’t forget the restrooms, especially if you hope to attract women and children). Also add some festive touches such as balloons and music.
It may not be easy or inexpensive to host an open house, but the payoff is rich: new clientele and increased customer loyalty, which will lead to stronger long-term sales. So throw out the welcome mat and invite customers to visit your home…er, range. |
