Traditionally, golf is played offline on the golf course. Online, there is the virtual golf that is catching on with the techies, but on the most part the avid golfer will take to the golf course more than sitting online matched up with a virtual Tiger Woods.
The golf course is where you will find over 85% of business people who play golf. Only a small percentage of golfers are online for more than the time it takes to fill in a profile for LinkedIn. After that, most golfers online experience consist of them monitoring their emails a few times a week.
In today’s economy, business golfers are going to have to eventually come online to survive. So are the golf courses. Where they enter the internet will determine how long they stay.
Most consultants will tell business people that placing a page or profile on Facebook or LinkedIn is the best place to start. I would tend to agree with the exception of Golfer and the golf related businesses. Neither of those location on the internet have the golf interest level to sustain any marketing plan for a golf business or Golfer for that matter. There may be a flurry of popularity on these sites of people wanting to be your friend or to connect for business, but on the most part those associations are connected to their need to make as many connections they can to heighten their appearance as being REALLY popular. Eventually, the golfer or golf business will see this game as a farce and getting them no where closer to playing golf or hearing about what’s new in golf so they leave the internet …mostly in disgust.
Logic would direct a golfer to jump on one of the mega golf sites. Again, I would agree that this would generate a small percentage of viewers attention to be drawn to that golfer. However, the popularity of those mega golf sites really does not appease any golfer’s business needs.
What is not on the internet is a strong golf community. Why? Primarily the reason is that there just is not enough golfers online. The current golf community online is, to say the least, fragmented and, to say the most, scattered all over the place.
Golfers who are online are mostly wearing two hats. The primary hat online golfers wear is on for professional reasons and the second hat is the recreational golf interest. Catching a golfer in the business arena of the internet is hard to do and then keeping the interest of the cash poor recreational golfer is near impossible.
Build the Community First
What has to take place before the internet attracts more golfers online is there has to be a golf community developed online. The beginning of the development of that community has started with more golfers blogging and more professional tour golfers coming online being more personable. However, places like Twitter, Facebook or even LinkedIn, for the more conservative golfer, is not going to become a golf community.
There could even be more than one Golf Community that needs to be developed. One for Business Golfers and one for recreational golfers. Whatever is developed it has to be golf friendly and safe from the deviousness of the now traditional online mega groups.
Get more golfers online
The goal for all golf businesses or businesses who market to golfers, is to join together to bring more golfers online. Offer golfers more of a reason to come online than bribing them with winning a iPhone if they stop by a web-site. Innovation will have to be used to create something new that connect golfers online while they are offline on the golf course. Purpose and reason have to be part of the effort to develop trust that the internet is a safe place to be.
Providing a purpose to be online
More places that are golfer friendly and safe from the online predators need to be created online. Once that happens the golfers will start coming online. Once the golfers get here then the golf courses and golf businesses can casually market to the community. Maybe when more online golf communities are created someone can figure out how to take the game that is played on the golf course and simulcast it online..hummm..did i give away a business model?
OH, well, when golfers can come online to play golf then there will be real purpose for a golfer to be online.
Business Golfers
Of course, I have to take this opportunity to let you know that the push for developing a golf community has begun for the business golfer;..for the person who enjoys playing golf as a part of their business development plan; for professional golfers who are looking to market their teaching abilities to a viable market; and for the average recreational golfer. The Business Golf Country Club is the only golf community for you.
Come check out the BGCC and join a private golf community that offers the business golfers a safe place to belong online. Join now so you can be there when the New features and offers will be made to the membership later this month.
Of course, let me know how I can help.
