DEVELOPER’S GUIDE
Who’s Got “Next”? BY HENRY DELOZIER, GLOBAL GOLF ADVISORS
This can be a good year for many golf course builders. To seize the best opportunities and build advantage for your company, though, many GCBAA members need to embrace further change. In fact, there are trends and tools available to help!
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Provide useful metrics. Most planners nowadays perform certain advance-work before contacting a builder. Provide reliable rule-of-thumb metrics for unit costs and construction units themselves. For example, one can begin to build a budget we told of typical costs for cart paths on an 18-hole golf course built within a residential community. Typical costs per square foot and per acre are examples useful to many planners. Planners who have knowledge and experience will know what you should astricize as disclaimers.
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Demonstrate cost efficiency. Uber is alive and well in construction. Show how your company controls project costs by sharing resources with a broader segment. Demonstrate your efficiencies.
Trends to Watch Housing starts are increasing steadily. According to the Nation’s Housing Report from the Joint Center for Studies of Harvard University, household formation with the Millennial age cohorts will be 2 million households per year, reaching 40 million by 2025. That is a great many people who will want homes near golf courses. Travel and hospitality metrics are growing steadily. Occupancy rates for hotels and resorts with golf amenities increased to 65% in 2015 - up from 59% in 2012. Steady growth in average daily rate is evident in markets not experiencing above-normal supply growth. Current forecasts indicate continued growth into 2020, barring economy-jolting world events. Inflation will grow in 2017 and, in doing so, increase costs for new course construction goods and services. To be ahead of the inflationary curve, golf course builders will benefit from increasing efficiency and productivity in remodels, renovations, and new construction.
Tools to Use Use new tools to grow your business. Here are a few suggestions to put to work: 1. Leverage the “Sharing” Economy – Even a cursory review of builder’s websites shows updated destinations filled – sometimes over-filled – with information. See that your information is useful to your website’s visitors. •
Golf is a visual experience. Provide great interactive images of your crews at work. Show people – in addition to beautiful golfscapes. Make it easy for visitors who are becoming acquainted and reacquainted with you to see your capabilities and resources.
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Word-of-mouth is the only promotion that matters. Provide quotes from complimentary letters (with permission), testimonials and easy-touse reference contacts. Let your clients share their satisfaction with future customers.
2. Expand Your Reach – Many decisions are being made before anyone contacts golf course builders. The internet is your highway and portal. Use the media options that enable your company to show its values, people, and methods. Consider these tools for example: •
Pinterest shows ideas. Many master planners need guidance concerning creative solutions for merging open space, drainage requirements, and recreation. Use sites like Pinterest that rely on visual support to “explain” ideas.
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Houzz shows “how to” ideas. Landscape solutions for open space perimeters and community property sites like pocket parks and streetscapes will distinguish your company. Post images and explain how your company is a problem-solver.
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You-Tube shows your crews at work. Post quality videos that show how golf course construction is done. Think of these videos as an online version of the GCBAA “how to build a green” project at the Golf Industry Show. Consider time-lapsed examples of how you took bare ground to a finished golf hole growing in.
3. Show Your Core Values – Golf course builders put a lot of heart into their work. See that prospective and repeat customers understand what makes your company tick. Trust. Expertise. Knowledge. Experience. Do more than simply listing them. Let your past projects prove the values that drive your work.
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