2021 memo to golf pro shops

Amid the fantastic success that golf as a business began to experience in the past decades, it is starting to look as though pro shops need an uplift. If you ask many pro golf players who frequently visit the golf course, you will discover that not many of them buy from pro shops. There are several reasons why it seems the old conventional way of making automatic sales just because a golfer is on play is not working anymore. 

For instance, there have been reports of a buyer being overcharged for a sleeve of balls. Potential buyers are no longer impressed with the old marketing ways of making them buy new sets of everything to play golf. Many stores are improvising for skyrocketing prices of pro golf clubs and choosing used clubs instead. So, what is going wrong with the business model that many pro shops are using? Are there ways to rejuvenate sales in a pro golf shop?

Clearly, pro shop business starters simply import the same strategy that others are using. This copying leads to a duplication of ideas that can become counterproductive to the general achievement of business goals and growth over time. Someone even likened the typical business model of pro shops to that of airport kiosks. Whereas, buyers will instead pay for an expensive coffee at the airport café than buy an overrated sleeve of golf balls from any pro golf shop.

Below are fascinating tips that golf business owners need to master to revive sales and create a new model. 

Resist the urge to have your logo everywhere

I know you have learned that branding involves putting your logo everywhere around the office and all products. But over time, that effort may cease to be productive for the business. Back in the day, people buy shirts and other golf apparel from golf clubhouses to show off the brands and wins. But things have changed since then. Nowadays, many people are aware of the purposes of the store owner stamping the apparels.

Therefore, deliberately, they may not want to buy your double or multiple branded shirts for costly amounts. It can happen, especially when they can get the pure brand from online stores. Instead of buying a Nike or Adidas shirt with your logo on it, they would instead buy one that doesn’t bear your logo. This purchase, especially if it is more satisfactory and cheaper. One way to combat this is to open an online store and beat the competition in prices and quality. 

Sell at Fair Market Value

The overall observable attribute of the recent generation is a high sense of smartness and recognition of value. So, a business owner such as a pro golf shop must also devise ways of selling the product items in the shop, particularly commodity items, at a fair market value. People are susceptible to the slightest of price squeezes. Hence, you need to make the price as moderate as possible while you blow up its value to attract its buyers. 

On the other hand, these same people will not mind supporting their local club or buy purely branded items on another day, but not under the pretense of value. In other words, charging a fair price and making a high amount of sales is better and more intelligent than marking up the costs and selling a few. Eventually, buyers of the former item will most likely return, while those who bought the former feels cheated. 

Sell great designs of less known brands

We are no longer in the days when people buy Nike and Adidas shirts just because of the popularity of the brands. When people purchase items and products that satisfy them and bypass the popular one, we are now they don’t. Many famous brands come at premium prices than the less known ones, and it does not imply that they are more durable. Therefore, as a store owner, it is high time you began to think of high-end brands with a lesser name to sell.

Furthermore, when the customers search through your catalog and notice these unique shirts, they may not even be primarily bothered about the price but the value and quality it offers. Meanwhile, this point does not mean we don’t have those who insist on top brands all the time. But the number is declining while the population of the other group is rising by the day. 

Equipment is not essential all the time

Aside from online pro golf shops, physical golf shops may not always have to put extensive equipment on display at all times. The times are changing, and people who need them will ask for them. Modern pro golf shops should focus more on rendering helping services and opportunities to interact with visitors and customers. You may not like the idea, but you may be shocked at the fact that some visitors already have this stuff. They just need some advice.

Restore ‘Dumb’ Registers

At some point in this modern age, many businesses started using digital means of counting money rather than having accurate cash registers. Perhaps, two factors were responsible: one was that many business tools are becoming digitized or entirely replaced by digital ones. The second probable reason is that people are more in a hurry these days. No one likes to wait for the conventional way, to sum up, and give out balances. 

That development also came with its own advantages: the abstractness of the digital tools in the cash registry. Whereas digital methods intend to improve accountability, buyers now need to spend more time trying to pay for what they buy, especially when it gets crowded. No thanks to computerized devices that suggested that we don’t need as much hands-on desk anymore.

Conclusion – Be Friendly

Honestly, no one wants to return to a hostile place. Therefore, it is time to begin to inspire and motivate the members of staff you have at the counter. Ask them to deliberately learn the culture of smiling at customers. No matter how much they earn, more sales for the business, most times, mean more money for them. There is practically no reason why they should look unhappy, stressed, and worked up. As a business manager, I also endeavor to teach courteous ways of greetings and saying goodbyes. For instance, ‘thank you for coming,’ ‘how may we help you?’, ‘do have a great day!’ are all ways to make customers feel the warmth to return soon.