Live like a local: how to bring local flavor to your shop

Image: auremar/Adobe Stock

There are a hundred ways or more to create and impact golf shop sales through display, presentation and colorful props. Yes, there are many ways to build interest, energy, and enthusiasm for those things in your shop that carry a price sticker. One winning way is to build stories around the local community by embracing the people and assets of the area. I am guessing many if not most of your golfers are locals,people who live, work in and love the area.

There are any number of themes you can create, based on where you are, the schools in the area, the social fabric of the community. Here are three thoughts on bringing your golfers into the feel of the business, by making it about them and the area they call home.

Begin with the high schools and colleges: Use the local schools to build stories. Where it is about local colleges, high schools or both, everyone seems to be a fan of the many school sports. From pennants to balls to helmets, create fun and attention-combining local props with your merchandise presentations all throughout the golf season.

Your locale: If your club is near the mountains or the shore, you have grand built-in stories to showcase. From skis to buckets and shovels, there are lots of stories to create and draw attention to as you look to build a more local golf shop.

The key local themes: From favorite local foods to local tourist spots, you can again build presentations that touch on the highlights of the area, as you tell stories about the new goods. Work to make it local and make it fun, all while building lots of stories. Promote local!

Creating golf shop displays that tug on the local hearts and minds of your golfers will help keep them looking longer, buying more. Parents love the thought of honoring their kids’ teams, while everyone in the area will embrace the good news you present about the place all call home. Sure, your aim is to bring more people into the shop but adding the local flavors can go a long way to building a special kind of loyalty. Theming is an inexpensive way to support your community, with fun shout outs to the teams and kids who give it everything they have each and every game. 

Jack Dillon writes the In My Opinion posts. Jack is a golf consultant, a speaker, author and expert in golf operations, especially around the golf shop. Jack is available to help your team and your property. Reach Jack at:407-973-6136 or: jackd@careerdividends.com. Jack lives in Orlando.