As I write this I am returning from Silicon Valley in San Francisco – headquarters of technological innovation in the 21st century and launching pad for the development of new business processes – where I held important meetings in advance of the US market launch of golf tourism comparison guide GOLFBOO.com.

Perhaps this is why I feel particularly sensitive about something I have been defending for a while, and that is – to guarantee a promising future for golf tourism in Spain – it will be necessary to make some important changes in the way we carry out marketing.

I have the feeling that in our industry we are still pressing ahead with a marketing concept that is outdated and obsolete, as is the “golf product”. Working groups and seminars are being organised to discuss the creation of a product – albeit a quality one – as if we were still in the eighties, when selling something depended on the famous four Ps that McCarthy invented one day.

I’m still incredulous when I observe public companies and institutions and those responsible for tourist promotion immersed in a sterile debate about prices and aspects of the quality of a product that is becoming increasingly less interesting to consumers.

Marketing these days is not like that, and not only because of the emergence of technology, internet and the incipient power of the mobile device in any modern marketing strategy. We live in a world in which you can’t separa- te products from the context that surrounds them or the consumption process or, even more important, from the people who take part in that process.

The golf product from a marketing perspective no longer exists in isolation, at least not as we have conceived it up till now. It’s the same if we buy golf, a telephone, a hotel room or a bicycle. The way we are attended to, the packaging, the key to the room, even the smell emanating from its first use, are decisive in the assessment that a client gives our product, with the price and features relegated to a secondary role opposite the global experience or – what is the same – opposite the global service obtained.

When we book a tee time, we decide to buy a season ticket or enter the website of a golf course to ask for something – we’re living an experience. Living an experience in the world of golf is to live an experience that someone is providing us with, and it’s there where we need to present our best si- de: in the provision of a golf service. If we want to reach the heart of the current consumer – and especially the future one – in the world of golf we are obliged to reconsider those aspects that make a service unique.

- THE PROCESSES: There should be no task that is not part of a well-de- fined process. Services in golf tourism are highly interpretable, as two rounds of golf at the same course, on the same day, can be perceived in a completely different way by each golfer. If our processes are not strong enough to guarantee that the experience is as similar as possible, it could be hard to manage. Something as simple as answering the phone, welcoming a potential member, or the starter’s instructions on the first tee – which in many cases are a client’s first contact with our brand – can become a good or a bad experience if they are not properly defined.

- MARKETING MATERIAL: Often forgotten or resolved in any old way, we don’t tend to pay attention to those tangible elements that the client uses to interact with our product. This could be anything from a card of the course, an email or a price list to an app for the mobile telephone. They represent our brand and, if we are able to create unique materials, this will help us generate unique services that enable us to stand out from our competition and establish a consistent image in the minds of our clients. On many occasions, there is scrimping on the investment in a professional photographic session or the creation of a website that is capable of generating sales, when the cost could be less than the repair of a single bunker on the course. Where would you allocate the budget?

- THE PEOPLE: This is the critical factor in the provision of any service, and that’s why it’s necessary to boost attention on this area. We often for- get that our team requires the appropriate practice, training and instructions in order to be able to look after clients correctly. No one is born knowing this, for all the ability they have.

New trends such as “Active Listening”, which consists of improving clients’ experience by observing and processing the information they give us while obtaining services, are key to developing successful experiences. It’s no longer necessary to ask clients what they would improve at our club. It’s enough to train our staff to have their ears and eyes open and to define a process that ensures all this information reaches the management so that quick and effective measures can be taken.

In creating unique services or experiences, we need to work not only on the experience in itself but also the ability to generate expectations befo- re they visit our destination and in the relationship that unites us when they leave our amenities. The service begins even before the client has chosen our golf course, so we need to be prepared for the search phase, which is becoming increasingly important due to the growing penetration of internet into golf tourism.

And as for the management of client relations (CRM), few – very few – are worried about maintaining a relationship with golfers after they’ve provided the service, one of the most important phases of our clients’ experience. Current technology and the internet allow us to take this management to limits that before we could not even imagine.

In Spain we’ve had a formidable golf product for a while, and I believe the moment has arrived to focus on the development of services that provide experiences to golfer in each and every one of our courses and resorts.