Are your golf services systems time efficient?

By Seamus Rotherick August 24, 2023 11:48

Charles Hartley, Foremost Golf Business Development Consultant – North and Midlands, offers advice on the importance of efficient golf services systems.

Charles Hartley

Running a successful golf retail business can be challenging. Whether you’re a golf club manager or a retained PGA professional, finding the time to achieve the shop’s potential can be tough. In this article, we’ll discuss services that can boost efficiency and improve your customers’ experience.

Bookkeeping and managing orders

The UK’s golf retailers face a complex buying process that involves ordering stock from multiple suppliers months in advance. Each supplier has different commitment levels and discounts, resulting in multiple delivery drops and dating periods. This can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of invoices. However, Foremost Golf has developed a unique Central Invoicing & Payment System that reduces stress, saves time and offers greater control over finances. With Foremost Central, business transactions are hassle-free, thanks to a centralised and consolidated invoicing system. Bookkeeping is significantly reduced to just 24 invoices a year, with only six VAT invoices per quarter. This frees up more time for other important tasks. The Finance Support Team at Foremost head office provides excellent service and support to ensure a smooth business operation.

Making bookkeeping and managing orders a simple process

Online booking systems

In today’s digital age, it is essential to make your pro shop services available for online booking. Growing your customer base can be challenging, but providing an environment that allows customers to book your services quickly and easily, 24/7, is essential. Online booking not only increases the number of new customers but also makes your diary more efficient by reducing the volume of messages from current clients seeking to reschedule appointments. With Foremost Golf’s online booking services, golfers can effortlessly book lessons, fittings, demo day sessions, swing room practice and even personalised packages.

An online booking system is a necessity in today’s digital age

Marketing – communication is key

Regularly updating your customers on your business activities can help establish strong relationships. It’s important to remind your audience of the benefits of buying from your company and why your proposition is the best. Our EMP Premium solution offers a comprehensive marketing service that includes digital and in-store touchpoints such as weekly newsletters, websites, special mailings, in-store monitors, hotspots and A-frames with free point-of-sale materials. This service is designed to guide customers intuitively through every step of the marketing journey. The system also includes sophisticated digital support to maintain strong engagement with members and customers, delivering personalised communications at every stage.

Ticketing – price perception and professionalism

As a responsible retailer, it is important to ensure that your point of sale (POS) and price tickets are regularly updated. However, many retailers struggle with complicated and time-consuming templates, which often leads to this task being neglected. I encourage you to take a closer look at your pro shop and identify any outdated signage, irrelevant POS products or price tickets with incorrect information or poor appearance. Fortunately, Foremost Golf offers a free solution called ForeTickIT to all its members, which allows you to create professional signs and tickets with ease. You can customise your tickets with your club or business logo and colours and print them quickly. Remember, customers may perceive you to be too expensive if they cannot see a ticket on a product. Since you offer golf products at competitive prices, there is no reason to hide it!