19th Hole

Jeremy Hayman
General Manager
Sedona Golf Resort
Sedona, AZ
http://www.sedonagolfresort.com

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What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

OK…Close your eyes and go back to the year 2007 with me. Those of you who may have worked at a Golf Shop counter during that year may remember golfers coming in droves from all over the world to eagerly fill up your hands with cash and credit cards for the honor to play your golf course and/or take home a half a dozen souvenirs. There wasn’t much to it if you unlocked the door and held your hand out, the owner probably thought you were doing a good job.

Ok, snap out of it, back to 2011. If you are anything like my staff, for the last four years you have tried just about everything you could think of to get a golfer to your facility. You have learned about Pay-for-Click advertising, Organic Google Search Optimization, and Meta-tags. You have learned about the importance of updating your website, Facebook page, and Twitter feeds daily. You have learned how to respectfully capture your customer’s email address and send them newsletters about information that would be of interest to them. You have learned to yield manage your tee sheet with online tee time services like The Tee Time Store, Golf Hub, and Golf Now while always maintaining the lowest price guarantee on your own website in order create customer loyalty. You have learned all this and more and most likely despite all your efforts, your bottom line has shrunk to all time lows. The economic firestorm that hit Arizona and the country was just too fierce.

But, here is the good news! (I have been accused of being an optimist.) Although small, job numbers are growing, unemployment applications are shrinking, and the stock market is back to numbers not seen since March of 2007. Things ARE getting better (knocking on wood) and because of this downturn you are now much more equipped to compete in this hyper-competitive marketplace, and thus much more valuable to your owner. So, the next time you start dreaming about the good ole days, just remember what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger!