The Benefits of Having a Website for a Country Club
In today's digital age, having an online presence is crucial for businesses to attract new customers. This holds true for country clubs as well. A website can be a powerful tool to showcase the club's amenities, events, and membership options. A website can also set the tone for your club’s presence and atmosphere. Depending on the vision of your club, exclusivity could be an important element for your membership and for your marketing strategy. A well-tailored website puts you in control of your public appearance and helps control the narrative about your club. In this blog post, we will discuss how having a website can help a country club attract new members and how you can strategize your content to give your club a voice in the eyes of prospective members.
Increased Visibility
By having a website, a country club can increase its visibility to potential members. If not introduced through a referral from a current member, people who are interested in joining a country club often start their search online. A website can help a club reach a wider audience, including people who may not be in the immediate vicinity of the club. A well-designed website with search engine optimization (SEO) can also improve the club's visibility on search engines like Google, making it easier for people to find the club online.
Build and Share Your Brand Identity
If a website is driving more outside attention to your club, then it’s also important that that website shows your brand identity when doing so. Attention is great, but the feel and appearance that visitors get during their first impression of your club on your website is what determines their ultimate interest. Displaying your brand identity is important for many reasons. If your club’s vision is to be family-friendly, then reflecting that in your content, message, and appearance is a must. If your website is cold and uninviting, that doesn’t reflect your mission. Moreover, if membership to your club is selective, you can control the narrative and create exclusivity by carefully choosing what information is available online. You can paint a picture of luxury, give prospective members a taste of the club atmosphere, and then leave them wanting more with a simple call to action. Establishing your brand identity online is an essential first step when strategizing your website. There are unlimited ways you can make your club appear online. Find an identity that is authentic and aligns with your club’s vision and goals.
Organize Your CRM & Easily Target Market Segments
Oftentimes, a visit to your website leaves visitors with a call to action. A form to submit, a newsletter to subscribe to, or someone to contact for more information. When you present a call to action to visitors, you’re collecting their information, usually their name and email address. Collecting this information through your website means that you now have the ability to organize prospective members and create marketing funnels to convert the prospects that you most want.
If there is a form at the end of your site page, you can filter everyone who submits that form into a category. Many website hosts have built-in CRMs, so creating categories and audience segments is a breeze. Once you have segments in your CRM, you can tailor emails and newsletters for each segment. If you have a category called “Prospective Members” in your CRM, you can create regular emails targeted specifically to those individuals. These emails are where you can share more information about your club, entice prospective members to take the next steps (visit the club, meet with the membership director, put a deposit on a waitlist spot, etc.), or simply keep subscribers interested in your club and let them know that they’re still in your mind.
Conclusion
Having a website designed for your club puts you in control when it comes to your brand identity, how you communicate with members and prospective members, and how your atmosphere appears outside of the club. A website can increase the club's visibility, show your authentic brand identity to those outside the club, and make it easy (or difficult… depending on your club) for potential members to inquire about membership. A well-designed website can give a country club a competitive edge with a clearly aligned brand strategy.