By Craig Better
Oakridge Golf Club thrives in its hyper-competitive market by creating loyal customers
On the face of it, Oakridge Golf Club appears to struggle with the same challenges facing any mid-market golf course in any suburban setting. Six competitors-all positioned in a very similar, if not the same, market niche, and all charging green fees within roughly $5 of one another-are located within 15 minutes of the club, a daily fee facility about an hour northeast of Toronto. The 18-hole course, a Thomas McBroom design, holds its own against the others in the area, but even Shawn Plain, Oakridge's director of golf and head professional, freely admits "it doesn't blow any of them out of the water."
That's why it's so intriguing that Oakridge isn't so much struggling with these common obstacles as it is handling them. And quite well at that.
Over the past five years, when many golf courses in the Greater Toronto area reported double-digit revenue declines, Oakridge consistently achieved single-digit increases. That is, except for 2008, when revenue increased by 13 percent. The truly remarkable thing is, unlike many of its competitors, which have turned to coupon books, tee-time resellers and other third-party discount vehicles to drive business, Oakridge has shunned them all.
That's not to say Oakridge doesn't offer discounts. It does. But management does so through a smartly structured, in-house loyalty program. According to Plain, third-party discounting encourages the exact opposite of loyalty by conditioning golfers to be "nomadic" and to seek out whichever course is offering the lowest price on a given day.
The decision to turn away from discount books and the like was made six years ago, when Plain arrived at Oakridge and the staff was introduced to what's called a "Blue Ocean" strategy. Popularized by the 2005 book of the same name ("The Blue Ocean Strategy"), the concept suggests that by making certain strategic moves, or "value innovations," organizations can create and thrive in "uncontested market space."
Regardless of whether this is a new idea or just another way of saying any non-commoditized product must have clear points of differentiation in the mind of the consumer, Oakridge's management adopted the philosophy and ran with it. One of the first orders of business was to conduct a competitive analysis and solicit customer feedback. Plain admits the findings were nothing short of eye-opening.
"The experience people were having, whether they paid $50 or $20, never seemed to be what they wanted," he says. "They always expected more or were given something that didn't matter to them. They expressed how they wanted to make golf more affordable, but they didn't want to sacrifice the integrity of their experience. So we analyzed all this and combined everything we could in positioning our loyalty program."
Plain and his team used these findings to create the SmartCard Membership, a card-based program that allows participants to place an initial deposit on a debit card (previously $1,000, now $799) and then be used to purchase discounted rounds of golf for themselves or an entire foursome. The program started at the Diamond level, giving cardholders a 40 percent discount on green fees. When 20 of those were sold, it was retired and replaced by Platinum, then Gold, each with a corresponding, stepped-down discount. The only option now is Emerald, which provides a 20 percent discount.
"We're at the point where we're not even pushing the Emerald membership because we don't need to assume any more discounted golf," Plain says. "After we got to a certain point, the program started to rejuvenate itself. Cardholders would bring three guys, they'd all talk about the savings, and then three more memberships would be sold. It was nice. It fed itself without eating its own head."
Of course, even the best-structured loyalty program won't succeed unless the commodity it's built around consistently holds up its end of the bargain. And even before that, a customer's initial experience with a product must be favorable enough for them to even consider remaining loyal to it.
That's why Plain and the Oakridge staff endeavor to create a memorable experience, from a person's first contact with the course, whether it's over the phone or in person, to the time they leave the property. Again, addressing customer feedback, Oakridge employees make a point of: consistently welcoming golfers to the facility and thanking them for their patronage; learning customers' names and addressing them accordingly; eliminating all ego from the atmosphere; maintaining consistent scheduling so regular customers and staff get to know each another; and keeping a consistent pace of play.
Other thoughtful examples include keeping waiting groups well back from the first tee, which helps eliminate the anxiety many people feel when teeing off. Course marshals also begin their shifts with two dozen golf balls to hand out to players who are struggling to find theirs in the rough or woods. And perhaps most significantly, management is always available and approachable to handle customer complaints.
"I can be contacted by anybody at any time," Plain says. "Our general manager and superintendent, the same thing. Golfers might say, 'I'm not going to go in and complain to a 17-year-old high school kid.' Here, you don't have to. We aren't hiding behind the daily business; we're the face of the company and the golf course. The golfers very much appreciate that."
Clearly, by making a good first impression and then maintaining a consistent level of friendliness and service, Oakridge helps set itself up to sell golfers on its successful loyalty program. It's a program that, as previously described, helps the facility thrive in an extremely challenging market.
No, Oakridge's golf course isn't blowing any of its competitors out of the water, but its balance sheet appears to be doing just that.
Craig Better is a New Jersey-based freelance writer and managing editor of www.GolfVacationInsider.com.