“With the final quarter of 2023 just around the corner, now is the time to reflect on decisions made, analyse results achieved and strategically plan for the year ahead,” stated Ian Knox, Head of European Tour Destinations.
In his view, areas that will provide profitable opportunities in 2024 and beyond centre around sales and marketing and achieving operational excellence.
“It is crucial to develop robust strategies that leverage these areas to drive growth and customer satisfaction,” he continued, identifying three critical strategic objectives, he believes, will help venues stay competitive in 2024 and beyond:
- Embracing data and technology in Sales and Marketing
To maximise sales and marketing efforts, venues need to embrace technology and adapt their strategies accordingly. Key steps to consider include:
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Data is the new currency. Venues should use – or indeed invest in – tools that will allow them to gain valuable insights about their target audiences, markets and their preferences. Leveraging this data to optimise marketing campaigns, tailor product offerings, and anticipate customer needs will be valuable in what is becoming a crowded marketplace.
- Omnichannel Marketing: Nowadays, customers expect a seamless experience across different channels – and 2024 will be no different. Therefore, creating an omnichannel marketing strategy that ensures consistency and delivers a unified brand message across various touchpoints – from social media, the website and customer communications, all the way through to when customers arrive on-site.
2. Prioritising exceptional customer service
Great customer service is the cornerstone of a successful business. In 2024, customer expectations will continue to rise, making it imperative for venues to go above and beyond. Here’s how:
- Investing in personalisation: Personalised experiences build strong customer relationships. Leveraging data and customer insights to create tailored experiences, recommending relevant products and services, and providing proactive support will set venues apart from their competitors. Using customer relationship management (CRM) software to ensure a holistic view of each customer’s journey will prove vital.
- Creating a customer-centric culture: Training and empowering employees to prioritise customer satisfaction, as well as rewarding exceptional service will help fostering an organisation-wide customer-centric mindset. This could also lead to staff seeking ways to continuously improve customer experiences, which, in turn will help drive customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.
3. Fostering partnerships and collaboration
In the interconnected world of 2024, collaboration and partnerships will be key to success. The premise of the European Tour Destination network is to enable member venue to connect and share learnings and best practices, as well as form strategic alliances among one another – which recently extended to accessing the PGA TOUR’s TPC network venues. However, in addition to these, venues should consider:
- Strategic alliances: Identifying other potential partners with complementary products or services that can enhance a venue’s offering, collaborating to achieve mutual growth and potentially accessing new customer segments.
- Customer feedback loop: Venues should actively seek feedback from their customers and incorporate it into their service development and improvement process. Engaging customers and making them feel heard helps build a sense of ownership and loyalty.
“To thrive in 2024, businesses must adapt to the rapidly changing sales and marketing landscape while keeping customer satisfaction at the core of their strategies. Embracing technology and data, prioritising exceptional customer service, and fostering collaborative partnerships will position venues for success will help our member venues stay ahead of the competition, and pave the way for a prosperous future,” he concluded.
