It’s not hard to find quotes about the value of data for running a business. The gist of all of them is that in order to get the most out of data, you need to learn how to use it effectively so it can help you achieve your goals. It sounds simple in theory, yet it often becomes needlessly complicated to make data actionable.
At the most recent Golf Inc. Summit in Las Vegas, Whoosh assembled and hosted a panel of diverse operators in the golf industry to better understand their perspective on how they are currently using data and the challenges that they’re facing. The panel was led by CEO and co-founder Colin Read and consisted of leaders from private clubs, multi-course and resort operations, simulator venues, and top tech providers.
The discussion was insightful and the perspective shared by each of our panelists was both enlightening and invaluable. Our hope is that sharing our takeaways will benefit everyone in the golf service industry and allow us to better understand how the use of data can transform operations.
Lesson 1: The journey from descriptive analytics to prescriptive analytics
Too often data is used as merely an afterthought. Once an occurrence or event happens, we ask, “What happened yesterday?” While that is of course vitally important, it’s also important not to get bogged down in what we would call the “descriptive analytics” phase. What we really need to be focused on is prescriptive analytics — how can I influence customer behavior to make something happen? In order to get to this point, we have to think about causality — “Why were rounds down last month?” And we have to be predictive — “Will inclement weather be as big a factor this month?”
Read underscored the idea that golf industry operators need “to study prescriptive analytics in order to influence customer behavior and ultimately answer the question: how do we encourage this to happen again?” The “Data Journey” has been a slow progression but there is hope that the results of proper data usage will continue to take hold in the industry.
Lesson 2: Having connected systems because integration is everything
Many areas of the golf industry use multiple software applications which leads to unproductive data silos. A typical golf course on average uses 12 to 17 different pieces of software to run all the different aspects of their business from tee sheets, lessons, and clinics to simulators, F&B, and events. But if those systems can’t work seamlessly with each other, the end result will be a disjointed and ineffective experience for the customer. Having integrated systems and consistent processes improves efficiency and billing accuracy.
Adeel Yang, co-founder and CEO at Dryvebox spoke about the power of integrated systems that are possible thanks to the existence of the cloud. The use of simulators often serves as the gateway for many people to the game of golf, and because of that, Yang noted that Dryvebox has a “pretty robust stack.” For an indoor golf business to be successful, it has to focus on a myriad of things including swing data, simulator interaction data to predict customer churn, upsell opportunities, comparison of franchise performance and more. Without systems that can seamlessly communicate with each other, a business like Dryvebox would not be able to operate at anywhere near peak efficiency.
Lesson 3: Regard data as culture, not just tech
People are often resistant to change, golf industry staff members included. The natural tendency to think, “That’s the way we’ve always done it” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” will sabotage your business’ efforts to operate at peak efficiency. Data isn’t just a back-office tool — it’s a strategic asset. Being open to data driven solutions is key, and with it comes accountability challenges. Someone at every golf organization needs to be charged with ensuring that data management, and maintaining data systems, are being prioritized at your facility.
Brian Fraser is the senior director of IT at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Given its massive membership of 12,000, Fraser explained that adopting data-driven decisions over the status quo is an absolute necessity. They even implemented a rule to move forward when someone on their staff exhibits a “silo mentality.” Their focus is on “making real data decisions quickly” and Fraser explained how the usage of data helped them solve their overcrowded driving range problem.
The Olympic Club was also proactive in making certain that data usage would always drive their decisions by forming a data analytics committee composed of members who are data experts in their professional lives. This committee analyzes data and provides reports to members, shifting the focus from individual opinions to data-backed conclusions.
Lesson 4: Utilizing data for hospitality and to improve retention
Part of the value of applying data driven solutions is that they don’t have to be one-size-fits-all. Data can be used to personalize and enhance the overall service experience and ultimately improve customer retention rates. And when an organization’s current clientele are enjoying the benefits of personalized, data-informed service, word tends to spread which attracts new members and guests. Operators are tasked with making sure that the data they generate is actionable in order for it to lead to stronger relationships with customers.
Our partner, Lightspeed, has built its company on the use of advanced technology to help businesses run more efficiently. Lightspeed’s House Account and membership management features are the most robust on the market, giving operators a full view of customer behavior on-site.
Aarya Tikekar, who serves as Lightspeed’s strategic accounts lead, noted in our discussion that in order to ensure that they are always on the cutting edge, the company generates “quarterly trend reports which helps their team to inform operators about consumers—their latest behaviors and expectations on and off the course”. Lightspeed recently released their new, fully rebuilt Business Intelligence feature that all of their customers will be able access for faster, greater insight into their golfers.
Lesson 5: Staff empowerment and cost savings
There is a direct correlation between the smarter insights achieved through the use of data and staff efficiency/cost savings. When the staff at a golf facility is empowered to act more efficiently, it directly results in reduced costs and increased revenue. It all begins with the commitment by management to abandon outdated and ineffective legacy systems and instead adopt an integrated system that paves the way for operational gains. Everyone involved benefits from having to take less steps to complete a task.
Simplicity is key for any business, but it takes on a whole new meaning when you manage over 200 courses as Kemper Sports does. Erica Espe, vice president of marketing at KemperSports, said that simplifying their process through the use of data has allowed their properties to “focus on making data consumable and actionable.” That approach has led to stronger relationships with their customers.
Kemper has developed what Espe called “property dashboards that consolidate key data points like revenue performance, daily fee data, online reviews, and digital campaign ROI, which enables real-time decision-making”. For public courses, data is used for “tee time optimization, dynamic pricing, and monitoring weather patterns.” At private clubs, it focuses on “internal programming, membership engagement, retention, and how much time are they spending at our properties, what different outlets are they using at our properties, etc.”
We set out to explore how data can drive smarter decisions and create better staff and member experiences in each of our distinct golf businesses. In doing so we discovered a number of commonalities across the board in all branches of the golf industry:
- We live in a time where there’s no excuse for not embracing technology to increase efficiency, boost staff morale, and of course, provide the best possible experience for our customers. Using outdated software systems in the cloud-based environment we live in is not a viable option.
- We need to always be looking ahead and using data to make smart predictions about our business in the future.
- Our software systems need to be simplified and fully integrated.
Each of these charges is what drives Whoosh and the impressive companies we partner with. We are working to lead the way to more intelligent, efficient and uncomplicated data driven solutions for the golf industry and beyond, and we encourage everyone to continue these conversations about modernizing operations.
Learn more at whoosh.io.
This column is sponsored by Whoosh.
