It’s become industry standard when building a driving range today to include ball-tracking technology. And more and more ranges are adding technology to their existing offering as today’s customer wants more than just a bucket of balls. But it’s more important than ever to ensure you get the right tech partner on board.
In this article we’ve outlined 3 big things to look out for, and have followed that with a short case study.
The range is no longer just a place for golfers. They will always be a core customer but venues that are going to see the biggest growth will open up to both the golfer and the social player. Having a social offering with fun games and a smart system that can link bays together so visitors can play their own tournaments, will drive far more foot traffic to the business and increase other revenue centers too
The range experience doesn’t begin and end with a bucket of balls. Installing technology and expecting results isn’t a smart move. You need to consider the whole customer journey from the right marketing on your website, a smart booking system, seamless tech integration and most importantly, access to your monthly player data to help you shape your offering are all crucial parts that should come with the technology provided, and not as something you have to source externally.
Once the technology is installed, it will lead to player excitement, but that needs to be bottled up and turned into extra revenue. Work with a tech provider that gives you a blueprint of events and competitions that you can do to make sure every night of the week is busy. A good partner ideally runs competitions with brands aligned to what your players want(including golf brands like Bushnell or Vice Golf - as well as ‘non-golf’ brands like Red Bull, BMW, ). Competitions like this will bring more player engagement to your events. Your customers want to compete - so use the technology to create competition.
An example of how big of a difference this can make, take a look at a UK based driving range and golf course. They had a tracking and software provider in place for a while, but made the switch to Inrange® in order to broaden their customer base.
The Inrange® system offered them superior social golf software (which also tracked beginners and non-golfers shots) and their unique approach to range business helped the venue to attract a totally new revenue stream of customers seeking the entertainment golf experience. They also leveraged the unique games and challenges to create a series of events, competitions and reward schemes.
The switch to Inrange® as well as the change in business approach led the site to adding $300k to their bottom line revenue in the first year alone. The holding company has since opened a 2nd venue in London and have been able to ensure strong revenue from the start, by mimicking the success plan from their golf club venue.
Tech is a must, but who you partner with is a choice. Make sure to do your research before making any final decisions as the wrong provider could mean missing out on a lot of revenue opportunities.
