Virtual Marketing
by Mary Girault

A solid presence on the Web and effective e-mail marketing can nearly guarantee more revenues for your course.

Times change. Every generation faces new challenges and new opportunities when marketing products and services. For the current generation, that opportunity is the Internet. Traditional marketing still has its place, but few inventions have so rapidly transformed economy and culture as the Internet. Understanding what it takes to establish a solid presence on the Web is essential to compete in the consumer marketplace.

There are thousands of potential Web site services vying for your business today, from freelance designers to advertising agencies. To choose wisely, first identify which capabilities are crucial to your facility's Web presence so the appropriate platform can be selected. A Web site needs to be more than an electronic brochure. Make sure your host company can handle a large number of visitors, collect statistics on those visitors, provide technical support, offer ample storage, assist in domain name registration, provide security, is search-engine compatible and can organize e-mail accounts effectively.

Consider also how the site can augment your marketing efforts. You may wish to offer online tee times, event registration and e-gift cards. Many courses have done away with printed newsletters and have opted instead for electronic communication. E-mail marketing can be a powerful tool and should be part of your overall marketing plan. Choosing a company that specializes in the golf business, such as Cybergolf, will give you an added advantage in structuring these efforts.

Cybergolf customer Patrick Quernemoen of Windermere Golf Club near Atlanta, Ga., discovered just how powerful e-mail can be. "Looking to generate extra winter revenue, we sent out an e-mail with winter play packages of five rounds to be played before April and an MVP Card for 11 anytime rounds at a 46 percent discount. We recorded 405 rounds tied to the e-mail promotion and sold 46 MVP and Winter Play Cards totaling $21,485.00 in revenue! Total staff time spent was only an hour."

Once you have established a solid presence on the Internet, be sure you can be found via search engines. According to a survey done through the Georgia Institute of Technology, 85 percent of qualified Internet traffic is driven through the search engines; however, very few search engine users ever scroll past the first page of results. Thus, 85 percent of potential online revenue depends on how many search engines show you on the first page of search results.

OpenVision Inc. is one such company that assists with search engine optimization. Old South Golf Links in Bluffton, S.C., increased Internet bookings 1,800 percent after becoming an OpenVision customer. Particularly appealing is their guarantee to obtain placement among the top eight search engines. If they don't, OpenVision waives all monthly costs until the rankings have been achieved.

The Internet is an essential component of any forward-thinking golf facility and requires the careful choice of service providers. For more information about Cybergolf, call (877) 785-9911 ext. 16. For information about OpenVision, contact Mickey Price at (800) 374-7297 or e-mail mickey@openvision.com.

Cybergolf and OpenVision are Smart Buy suppliers of the NGCOA, offering substantial discounts to NGCOA members. The Smart Buy department is provided as a benefit to members of the National Golf Course Owners Association.