There is a lot of talk about growing the game and reaching more people – but as a group we really are not doing anything about it. In our line of work, we get to interact with people everyday that are trying to get better and take their business to the next level – it’s really exciting to see. We also get to track and analyze patterns in the industry that we can in turn share with our fellow PGA Professionals.

We have noticed that there are not enough golf professionals, managers and owners taking advantage of all the ways to connect with the customer. Their time and money are consumed with things they THINK they should be doing instead of spending time on the things they SHOULD be doing.

Here is a great example we see all the time. How many professionals or owners hang around the first tee on a Saturday morning? There are people paying their hard earned money to play your course, and you have their attention on the first tee. How far does a “thank you”, or a short conversation introducing yourself increase your businesses value to that person? Our guess is exponentially, and we think every professional should be embracing this “captured audience”. This is obviously just one example, and there are hundreds just like it.

We are in an era of one-on-one marketing. If we don’t embrace it now, then we’re eventually going to pay the price of losing customers. Private clubs are better than public clubs at doing this – because they have to be, but they’re not perfect either. Every inch of the industry can improve and #growgolf.

Chances are good that you could re-prioritize your time by eliminating time wasting activities and spend that time growing your business relationships. Need ideas to get started? Here are just a few that are changing the way the golf business can interact and communicate with customers digitally.

Take Pictures: Everyone has a smartphone, use it to your advantage. Take tons of pictures. Whether it’s a group of people playing golf on a Saturday morning, teaching students on the range, a demo day, the golf course, tournament winners or staff – people love pictures.

Take Video: Video has become the new way we tell stories. Smartphones have made recording, editing, and publishing video so easy that all excuses have been eliminated. Get creative, make some fun videos and share them with everyone – it’s a great way to connect and engage with your customers.

Write Articles: Writing articles about a variety of topics reaches more people. Whether these articles are about club news, instruction, course maintenance, menu changes or anything in between – writing articles and producing content is so important when attracting new customers.

Now that you have all of this content, use it! That is what social media is all about: being social. Include your customer’s Twitter handle when you post a photo of them – do you know how fast they are going to show their friends? It’s free advertising of the best kind (word of mouth)!

Our industry is changing – people want to spend their money on quality products and expect great service. The digital and social space has changed forever and the professionals and clubs that want to rise to the top have and are embracing this new form of advertising and marketing.

We work with golf professionals and business owners everyday that are eager to learn about all the new ways to reach customers and get them through the door. They realize that standing still is no longer an option and that the customer is more important today that ever before. We encourage them to keep up the #hustle and lead by example.