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How to Use Push Notifications to Bring in More Money: The Basics

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Imagine being able to send a message right your customer’s phone inviting them to come and play a round of golf today at 1:30. That’s some powerful stuff. 

Marketers in all businesses have always wanted a way to send personal, tailor-made messages to high-value customers. Now they have it with push notifications.

What is a ‘Push Notification?’

Push notifications are powerful weapons. They earn quicker response times and higher engagement rates than email and they are the common messaging method for mobile devices.

Think of a push notification as an instant message that presents a personalized invitation for your customer and a sales opportunity for you.

But be careful with this new secret golf course marketing weapon. Abusing this power can actually do some serious harm. Read on to learn how to steer clear of the pitfalls and put push notifications to use in a winning way.

Optimize the opt-in process

Mobile apps on iPhones require the user to opt-in to receive your push notifications. (Android users are set up to receive them by default.) For best results, it’s vital to ask the user to permit push notifications at the right time and to let them know the benefits of giving permission.

Opt-in screens should be clear about what sort of messages they’ll be allowing and should ideally be presented once the user has had an opportunity to engage with the app for a short while.

You can also offer specific permissions based on your app downloader’s interest by letting them opt-in to interest groups like “member news” or “last minute specials.”

Optimized opt-in screens lead to better user awareness and engagement and help you еѕtаbliѕh a рrоfitаblе mobile golf app strategy.

Pеrѕоnаlizаtiоn

One major advantage of push notifications iѕ they can be uѕеd tо аddrеѕѕ уоur customers in a personal way. You might want to send messages to golfers who play more frequently on weekdays than weekends, for example, and push notifications allow you to target specific groups of customers with more relevant messages.

You can also include your customer’s name in the push notification to deliver a very personal message. This process takes a little more time and care and may not be suitable for frequent messages and campaigns, but for big ticket items like golf club memberships, it might be just the touch your marketing needs to turn a frequent customer into a full member.

K.I.S.S – Keep It Short, Simple

Push notifications work when they pique interest and guide customers down a path to a transaction. Be specific, but be brief. Also, use call-to-action words like “book now” or “buy yours today.”

If your offer is too detailed for a 10-15 word message, link your push notification to an offer in your app or a page on your website where your customer can learn more.

Frequency: Don’t Overdo It

Push notifications are profitable as long as they are helpful and their frequency is kept in check. For example, you may have 20 open tee times on a given day, and you may have customers that like to hear about last minute tee time specials, but these customers probably wouldn’t appreciate a push notification every 30 minutes letting them know about these tee times.

Mobile app messaging is intrusive by nature. The key to the long-term profitability of a mobile app strategy is to be respectful of this intrusion and ensure that your messages will always be welcome.

Conclusion

Push notifications provide an incredible opportunity to increase customer engagement and capture more revenue. That means more customers who feel special – like they’re “in the club” – and more money in the till.

More and more golf courses are getting onboard with mobile apps tilting the marketing odds in their favor. Push notifications are a big part of that.

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About Offcourse Golf

We're Josh & Roger. We started Offcourse Golf to combine our expertise in custom app & web development and digital marketing with our passion for golf. If you're looking to grow your golf business and earn more money, we have the tools and expertise to help.

"We've seen first hand the impact of using the app to fill our tee sheet."

Shawn Lavoie - The Winston Golf Club

"I use the app every day."

Trevor Goplin - The Derrick Golf & Winter Club

Free Website Assessment

Hi! We'll look at your website and show you ways it could be making more money for your course.

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Please enter a valid email address.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.