GolfNow Plus Toolkit, including more than 10 components to assist with sales, marketing, pricing and more will be unveiled at booth 2173 at 2016 PGA Merchandise Show; GolfNow technology connected nearly 3.5 million golfers to more than 9,000 courses worldwide, booking more than 15 million rounds in 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 21, 2016) – www.GolfNow.com, the golf industry’s leading technology and services company, will unveil at the 2016 PGA Merchandise Show a do-it-yourself version of its successful GolfNow Plus service (http://golfnowsolutions.com/services/golfnow-plus/) a robust consultative sales and marketing system that has helped participating golf courses outpace non-participating courses’ online sales efforts seven-fold.
GolfNow Plus is part of a proprietary suite of new GolfNow services – adopted by its golf course partners in record numbers since launching in January 2015 – and technologies that contributed to a banner year by facilitating a record-breaking 15.2 million rounds of golf in 2015, surpassing 2014 totals by 13%.
As the world’s leading technology company specializing in golf-related products and services, GolfNow made it easier in 2015 for the golfer and the golf course to connect. By using golf’s most powerful online tee-time marketplace, GolfNow helped nearly 3.5 million registered users book golf at more than 9,000 golf courses worldwide.
In addition to major gains in distribution and technology, GolfNow rolled out a new suite of new services in January 2015 designed to help golf course operators run their businesses more efficiently and effectively, and to free up their time to better serve their golfers in the shop and on the golf course.
• GolfNow Plus – GolfNow experts manage a top-line focused consultative performance system for golf courses, including marketing, sales, social media and pricing. More than 425 golf course operators and owners have taken their tee-time pricing, sales and marketing to the next level with the GolfNow Plus full-service platform. The GolfNow Plus Toolkit now invites courses to put this proprietary technology in their own hands, with guidance and more than 10 data-driven enhancements working in concert to help raise revenue, ranging from algorithmic pricing to sales pipelines to gift cards.
• GolfNow Answers – GolfNow representatives answer every call – day or night – at a participating golf course. No missed calls after hours means no missed bookings. Currently, more than 160 courses use GolfNow Answers.
• GolfNow Ride – with a large percentage of golf courses operating as small businesses, they can save money on the items that they use day-to-day with this purchasing program made possible by the extensive buying power of Comcast. The percentage of savings can be significant for these small businesses – up to 20% in many cases – and there is no cost to the GolfNow golf course to participate in the program. More than 1,000 golf courses are now using GolfNow Ride.
With a sometimes confusing marketplace of technologies now available to golf course operators, GolfNow is helping courses easily streamline their options with a full spectrum of offerings that combine seamlessly to fulfill any course’s needs for its tee sheet, website, marketing, point-of-sale and pricing. Already offering the most powerful reservations platform in the game, GolfNow in 2015 made the best even better by adding an accompanying web-based food and beverage point-of-sale and creating a platform on which courses can use chip/sign functionality.
Connecting Golfers to More Golf
GolfNow’s mission to help golfers more easily connect to the game they love found further roots in 2015. Research conducted by the National Golf Foundation (NGF) in November revealed that awareness of the GolfNow brand is at an all-time high among core golfers, who recognize the GolfNow brand five times more often than its nearest competitor. NGF research also states that GolfNow users played golf more often (an average of 13 incremental rounds per golfer) and played new golf courses (an average of five new courses per golfer) as a result of using GolfNow.
Golfers also connected with GolfNow via social media more than ever, with followers increasing 24% over 2014 and engaging with the brand via its pages on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/golfnow), Twitter (https://twitter.com/golfnow) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/golfnow/) nearly 1 million times.
Other GolfNow innovations and products introduced in 2015 include:
• GolfNow Mobile App (https://www.golfnow.com/mobile)- extensions to the GolfNow mobile app specifically designed for Apple Watch and Android Wear, which allow golfers access to an innovative on-course GPS function and a personalized tee-time booking experience.
• GolfNow Go. Play. Gift Card (https://giftcard.golfnow.com/) – an electronic gift card that can be used to book tee times via GolfNow at more than 5,500 participating golf courses throughout the United States.
• GolfNow Cares – established a call center operating 24/7 and serving as a resource for golfers and golf course partners with questions, informational needs and other assistance.
About GolfNow
Founded in 2001, GolfNow is a technology company specializing in golf-related products and services with the most powerful tee-time marketplace in golf, offering more than 3.5 million registered golfers more ways to stay connected to their favorite courses and the ability to easily book tee times online and via mobile devices. GolfNow also provides technology, support and marketing services to more than 9,000 golf courses around the world, and is part of the suite of digital businesses managed by Golf Channel, which is seen in more than 200 million homes worldwide. For more information, go to GolfNowSolutions.com.
Contact:
Dan Higgins
Golf Channel Communications
Dan.Higgins@GolfChannel.com
407-355-4018
