THE BASICS OF
MARKETING YOUR CLUB
By Mike Orloff
The term “marketing” is used very loosely nowadays
and the real definition of “marketing” tends to
get lost much of the time. It’s such a broad term
which covers many aspects of our daily operation.
The Webster’s dictionary defines marketing as “the
process or technique of promoting, selling, and
distributing a product or service.”
kilometres of your facility), how they best receive
information, and what they are interested in will be
of great assistance.
In operational terms marketing is “everything
you do!”
Once you know what you are trying to achieve and
who the target market is, your marketing mediums
will become very apparent.
It’s how the phone is answered, how staff engage
with members, internal and external advertisements,
facility branding, the quality of golf course and
clubhouse, the rates charged and the overall
experience ultimately provided.
So the moral of the story - don’t waste your money
on marketing unless you first have at least a simple
plan for what you will be undertaking and more
importantly, what specific outcomes you are trying
to achieve.
Also, don’t underestimate the importance of
consistency in your efforts. It’s better to do the
marketing basics right all the time, rather than doing
a few great marketing things occasionally.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Start the process with a detailed review of your
strategic plan and make sure everyone, especially
the Board, is in agreement with what is outlined.
The next step is to start documenting your current
state of affairs. How the club is “positioned” and/or
“benchmarked” within the identified target
market area.
How is your club currently performing, what are
some key outcomes to achieve, and what will be
seen as success in your overall marketing efforts?
Having a strong understanding of your current
membership base, the local market (within 20
The better you can pinpoint your target market, the
better they will respond especially if you are able to
meet their specific needs.
It is important that you create some kind of
documented Marketing Plan which outlines all of the
above; even if it’s only a simple one page document
that you can easily reference from time to time.
For each campaign you decide to implement, make
sure you track results. Of course financial budget
restrictions will come into effect, so being creative
with your approach will also be critical to
your success.
MARKETING CALENDAR
Marketing Calendar
Set up a yearly calendar of all events already
planned - member/non-member, golf and non-golf.
The format could be a simple 12-month mud map,
an updated version of your Fixture Book or a simple
yearly calendar that you have hanging on the wall.
The key is to create something that is simple for all
involved to