'Relationship marketing' is about maximising long-term profitability through the intelligent use of information. It is more sophisticated than the traditional marketing process; it makes customers feel valued because it responds to their individual circumstances - in effect, it is marketing with a memory.

Buzz words you will hear associated with relationship marketing

• Customer lifetime value – what is the customer worth the club over the full period of the relationship not just on annual basis. In short are they worth being nice to for the long term.
• Data warehousing – collecting and storing securely information. Finding out what floats a customer’s boat.
• Data mining – looking for ideas that enhance the relationship with customers. A beer with the house manager could be a good place to start.

You might think it is tough now but if you do nothing today tomorrow will be worse. In a congested market place your club needs to stand out in not only the quality of golf but also customer service. In the next set of tips we will be looking at this in more detail.

However for now just grab a coffee close the door and take thirty minutes to look at the websites of six of the nearest golf clubs to you. Frightening similar I would suggest and would any of them make you want to pick up the phone?

Are you are farmer or a hunter manager? 

In a nutshell the hunter manager spends their day tracking down and capturing new customers. The most important thing to the hunter manager is the next customer.

The farmer manager is the person who builds and cultivates relationships and opportunities with existing customers. Farmer managers turn a customer from good to great by the nature of their relationship and the loyalty they gain from their efforts. They nurture. They collaborate. They communicate. They are not always great hunters, but that’s ok!

•  Questions to consider
• Can you deliver increased competitive advantage by creating higher levels of loyalty?
• How many customers does the club have? Is it clear to all what a customer is?
• Do you have the IT/marketing/accounting skills to do this?
• Do you have the right data? Where can we get it from?
• Are you already doing a good job for the customer? Can you improve on this?
• Does the club have a plan that will maintain and sustain any improvements?
• Are your existing campaigns well-executed?