SOUTH WEST Thursday, March 15 Business meeting, Bristol International Airport
A packed house heard from Bristol Airport’s Jacqui Mills as she talked about the planned developments and partnerships with Visit Britain that will open up opportunities for clubs in the South West to serve a growing number of American tourists to the region.
Matthew Armsby, of BC Technologies, discussed cyber essentials and GDPR – talking about recent data breaches that had appeared in the news. Had they been brought to light after the May 25 deadline for GDPR compliance, they would have incurred much heftier fines than they received. An organisation called IASME has compiled a list of 171 questions you can complete in order to guarantee that you are GDPR ready.
Matthew’s key messages were: map how you use your data, question whether you need as much detail as you currently hold, check that your data security isn’t vulnerable to being hacked and make sure you have consent for the way you’re using your data.
Albatross Digital Golf’s James Wilkinson presented the results of social media campaigns by former club manager Sam Poole and discussed the flexibility and merits of using advertising on social media in order to raise awareness and promote membership.
PlayMoreGolf’s Jamie Carroll then revealed how clubs can implement flexible memberships without cannibalising their current member base.
Solutions to ensure staff are all pulling in the same direction were offered by Andrea NcNeil, of True Resilience. She has worked with many clubs and acted as mediator and group coach helping to co-ordinate a resilient team with a strong focus in working together thus not only improving productivity but also creating unity and fulfilled members of your team.
Artworking’s Geoff Ellis showed the importance and value in golf course images of high quality.
SOUTHERN Thursday, March 15 Business meeting, Waterlooville
The main presenters were Ant Palmer, of Sea Blue Media, who advised on how to commission a club video, and Paul Mould, of Material Matters, who explained how they can save clubs money. He outlined an example where, within seven days, he had a saved a club £3,000 a year on diesel purchases. A number of clubs have arranged follow up meetings.
A worthwhile open forum covered new handicap arrangements, rule changes, GDPR, course closures, bank charges, laundry and membership trends.
