Lightspeed Commerce : 5 Ways a POS Can Grow Your Golf Course Business

Be more competitive with the best golf POS

Golf courses adopting the best golf POS are significantly outpacing the industry in terms of growth. A recent, in-depth analysis of 87 new Chronogolf PRO customers showed that, on average, Chronogolf's customers grew their business by 9% after their first year with their new POS. This is far ahead of the 1% industry average growth for 2014.We've found that Chronogolf courses using data and tools found directly in the golf management software get the basics right:

1. Comprehensive inventory management

2. Dynamic employees

3. Omnichannel environments

4. Targeted marketing

5. Saving time

1. Get better at buying your inventory.

The best golf POS helps provides key information about your inventory movements, including:

• A list of total current assets in your store
• Details on your sales, including:
• Sales by any time period (day, month, year, & trends over time)
• Sales by any category (such as department, classification)
• Sales by vendors
• Profits by item, vendor and category
• Top and worst performing items and categories in your store

When should I reorder? And how much?

With the best golf pos in the industry, you can ensure you never run out of inventory, without having to store excess stock. Built-in reports ensure that you have access to the quantity on hand for all your inventory.

When should I take action on slow-moving inventory?

Cash flow remains a key issue for golf course managers, big or small. When cash flow suffers, pro shop managers can see good sales but will struggle to pay their bills on time, ultimately hurting vendor relations and potentially holding back new stock orders and growth.

2. Develop a well-informed team

More and more, customers are research online, then arrive at the pro shop expecting a fully informed golf professional to assist them with their purchase. Several studies have shown that golfers are "showrooming", that is, researching online then purchasing at the pro shop. One Deloitte study showed 70% of customers will look you up online before coming to you. To compete with big box stores and online giants, pro shops need to differentiate themselves by creating an in-store experience that delights customers and keeps them coming back.

Chronogolf provides many features that help set you apart from the crowd. High on the list is quick access to detailed product information for staff members. With data and images at their fingertips, available on an iPad, your staff can be anywhere with a customer, looking up product information on the golf POS such as:

• Whether an item is in stock, and in what sizes and colors
• Complete product data, with full, crisp pictures of the item and manufacturer-furnished information
• Associated items to help upsell or suggest alternatives, by tapping on different categories and tags already set up in the system

3. Personalize interactions with your customers

An important way pro shop owners can compete with bigger retailers is on service. Three out of four consumers in the US said in a recent survey that they spent more money with a company when they had a positive customer service experience. You can create an outstanding customer experience for your customers by personalizing your interactions with them.
The best golf POS lets you look up customers' spending habits as well as keep track of their personal preferences. If you follow the classic 80/20 business rule, where 80% of your business comes from just 20% of your customers, Chronogolf makes it easy to know exactly who that 20% is. Just pull up the report on sales by customer, and you'll see who's shopping with you most.

4. The best POS for getting Web-wise

With almost two-thirds of consumers researching potential purchases online before coming into the store, it's more critical than ever for a golf course to have an online presence. While online sales are still relatively low - only 7% of all retail sales in the US and 13% in the UK - customers are overwhelmingly looking you up before completing the transaction in your pro shop.

Golf courses have been slow to adopt omnichannel environments, primarily because of the complexity of managing multiple channels. But this is changing. Many now have online stores and booking. And over one-quarter expect revenues from their online store to increase by more than 20% in the next year.

The best golf POS is makes omnichannel sales easier for golf courses, with features such as:

• Management of inventory from a single location
• More accurate reporting on inventory movements
• A beautiful-looking, modern design with your store brand and your own web address.
• A quick and easy-to-implement template that features an optimized checkout experience
• Complete hosting on an SSL certified secure site

5. Spend more time selling, less time managing technology

There are also lots of online tutorials, and 24/7 online chat support for when you need it. We pride ourselves on offering the level of service you would want for your own customers. Our experts can help you decide what other applications to add on as your golf course's needs expand. And because Chronogolf is hosted in the cloud, you'll always be using the latest technology. You never have to worry about updates, backups, server maintenance, or other time-consuming technology concerns. All that's taken care of for you.

We know that opening a golf course isn't easy. But it doesn't have to be overly complicated, either. Chronogolf is there to support you in your dream of running a successful facility, from your first steps right up to opening an online store. Having the right tools and information at your fingertips can be the difference between "winging it" and "killing it".