Kathy Heil
The Private Golf Community that Came Out of 2020 Stronger with Great Digital Marketing
Despite a downturn in onsite visits, interest in the private club life remained high in 2020, and golf communities that invested in digital marketing...
As a marketer, data is an essential component for shaping your marketing strategies. The more you can understand the motivations of your target buyer, the better you can attract and convert the kinds of leads that turn into ideal new members.
When it comes to making buying decisions regarding relocation, real estate, and club membership, there are many external and internal motivations which shape consumer buying behaviors. That shouldn't come as a surprise – but the data just might!
Motivators that Drive Your Prospects
Recently the teams from Golf Life Navigator and Club Benchmarking revealed some important findings during a mutually hosted Golf & Real Estate Symposium. They delved into a wide range of topics ranging from consumer buying trends around resident golf memberships, non-resident memberships, and gated community real estate.
According to more than 25,000 respondents who filled out the Golf Life Navigators ProGuide³ questionnaire, a community's golf course isn't at the top of the list of consumer motivations.
The Top Three External Motivators of Consumers Seeking Gated Communities:
- #1 The friendly culture of the club
- #2 The landscaping
- #3 The golf amenities [not the number of holes, nor the designer, nor the number of PGA hosted tournaments - ed.]
The Top Three Internal Motivators of Consumers Seeking Gated Communities:
- #1 A place when I retire
- #2 Social interactions with others
- #3 Quality of life
With those in mind, let’s talk about how you can leverage data, marketing and motivations to tell stories that can attract and convert more of the right prospects.
Digital Marketing Lets You Foreground the Benefits of Your Club
People looking to make a big purchasing decision – like joining a private golf community or buying a new home – are going online to get answers to their questions. Digital marketing is the only effective way to reach them during that process, and even position your club as the answer they're looking for.
Data from digital marketing tells us what prospects are looking for and what their motivations are. Your job as a club and real estate marketer is to create an emotional experience with content.
Content elicits emotion. Emotion creates connections.
To really connect with your audience, your content strategy needs to speak to each of the things your prospects are searching for:
- A welcoming culture
- Fun social interactions
- Great golf amenities
- Impeccable landscaping
- A peaceful retirement
- A rewarding quality of life
The more your marketing can connect with these motivators, the better you can differentiate your club from your competitors and be the answer your prospects are looking for.
Content Can Answer Your Prospects' #1 Question
The number one prospect question your content needs to address is, "Is this the right place for us”? They want a glimpse into a day in the life at your club, and you can give it to them in a number of ways.
Use video to connect with club prospects
With video, you can give them a glimpse behind the gates. It's an ideal way to give your website and social media marketing some personality, improve your search engine optimization results, and, of course, generate online leads.
Here's one such video we created for a private golf community in North Carolina:
Video testimonials can introduce your prospects to members like them – people who joined the club based on similar motivations – to answer their underlying question: “Are these the kind of people I can see spending a lot of time with?” Video lets your viewer feel a part of the experience.
Blogging brings prospects closer
If your community doesn’t have a blog yet, consider making it a top priority for 2021. A blog is an ideal place to put your written stories based around your prospects' key motivations. Stories can give your prospect insights into the amenities, the region, and why life at your club is something they shouldn’t wait to experience themselves.
READ: Greystone Golfer Caroline Waldrop is Coming Back Stronger than Ever
Because they go deeper than short-form content and reach further than your internal newsletter, blogs are a compelling way to build trust with your audience – and trust accelerates the sales process.
When it comes to marketing, knowing the motivations of your target buyers, their internal drive to satisfy their psychological and physiological needs and wants, is instrumental to the sales process. Buyer motivation is the bedrock of any effective marketing strategy, and it should guide your website's content, branding, and messaging. With a strong understanding of what your prospects want, you can create an online experience that aligns with what they need to take the next step.
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