_December/holidayhelper.jpg "Holiday Helper")
December can often be a slow period at many golf courses, but the management at Riverwalk Golf Club in San Diego chose to go on the offensive late last year in hopes of driving additional retail sales.
“We wanted to take advantage of the holidays if we could,” says general manager Monica Davis. “Merchandise just doesn’t sell itself, and we want not only to help ourselves, but to help the cause of encouraging people to shop at green-grass locations. By being creative and aggressive, we think we did that.”
Rather than a one-day sale or a month-long special on a select piece of merchandise, Davis and her team offered a different special for each day of the month. On December 6, for instance, all men’s apparel was 30 percent off, while on the 12th you could buy a driver and get a free round of golf. Customers could purchase one shirt and get a second shirt for 50 percent off on one day, and get 30 percent off any putter on another day.
“We sold five pairs of shoes on the day we had them marked 30 percent off, and that just doesn’t happen in December,” Davis notes. “So that was directly related to the promotion. And we also did particularly well on men’s apparel on the day that was 30 percent off.”
Davis wouldn’t disclose revenue numbers, but she was pleased with the promotion’s results and plans to do something like it again “with a little tweaking.” She also believes it would work particularly well at private and semi-private facilities, where the same people play the course repeatedly.
“The players could make a note of when a certain special is running during the month and make sure to be there that day,” Davis says. “With daily-fee, it’s kind of a hit-and-miss. But, overall, I’m happy with the way it went.”
—Jeff Barr