It is never too late for SMEs to embrace web-based technology, and an increasing number of businesses do it as a matter of course, mainly due to the accessibility, as well as the clear benefits in terms of being a cost-effective way to enhance business and communications with a customer base.
Given the pace of change, it is vitally important that we all keep up. It will become increasingly difficult to stay in touch and respond to customers’ needs without using the latest technology. The public has come to expect an immediacy in customer service as a result of both online trading and social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.
With this in mind, two years ago, Leaderboard Golf decided to embrace the latest technology in order to place the business ahead of the competition, and to reach out to a larger audience in the golfing world.
The first step was to introduce a brand new website (www.leaderboardgolf.co.uk) to serve the UK and international golfing community, and combine state-of-the-art social media and interactive functionality. The site is linked to Leaderboard’s own YouTube channel that features golf instruction videos as well as product reviews, and has now nearly 500,000 views – an excellent result in just over two years.
In addition, each of the five Leaderboard Golf venues have their own Twitter and Facebook accounts, which facilitates an instant and more accessible way to interact with customers, who are able to keep up-to-date with the latest offers and information about the company, as well as express any concerns or suggestions directly to the staff. All of the above tools help the business in marketing itself to a much wider audience in a cost effective way.
Such technology can also be extremely useful for building new industry links, as well as for communicating with clients. Recently, Leaderboard launched www.leaderboardteetimes.com, a site that offers golf clubs the opportunity to advertise their tee times at a discounted price for free. There simply isn’t another company on the internet that offers this service, and as a result the site is growing steadily within the industry.
Apps and other creative technology can also be incredibly useful to SMEs, as they offer a unique service that will engage customers, as well as generate publicity.
Leaderboard has taken a stake in Nearest2thePin (www.nearest2thepin.com), an app that connects golfers around the world, as well as setting up a partnership up with the successful SwingReader app to offer free professional tips to users from our coaches. Both initiatives are proving to be a positive tool in terms of the services we can offer customers, as well as increasing brand awareness within our industry as a whole.
With all the options that are available in this fast and changing technical world, embracing the internet and the technology that accompanies it has enabled Leaderboard to transform its profile within the golfing world, whilst maintaining its reputation as the owner of some of the UK’s finest courses.
My advice to companies is to embrace the latest in technology no matter what size your business is; the big boys have done much of the experimenting and ground work in the field, and as I have always said, “Hey if it’s good enough for them…Then it must be good enough for me.
