Amanda Norvell, Sr. Director, Online Marketing, Golf Channel participated in a compelling interview with Loyalty360 to discuss how customer experience is such a vital part of her company and its GolfNow Rewards loyalty program.
Who is the champion of Customer Experience at GolfNow?
The customer experience is a major priority for us, and it literally takes a small army to provide the best possible experience from web to tee to our nearly 2 million golfers. Our focus on customer experience extends to our most loyal customers who participate in our rewards program, GolfNow Rewards – Presented by Srixon/Cleveland Golf.
There are dozens of people across our Customer Service, Marketing, CRM, Product, Technology and Sales teams that allow us to give golfers the best possible experience when using GolfNow, as well as a dedicated group at Srixon/Cleveland Golf that we work with, so it truly is a group effort.
How do you define CX?
At GolfNow, we love the game of golf. We are committed to encouraging more golfers to play more golf, and we want to see the game flourish for generations to come. If we can offer unique opportunities to the most avid golfers, and make it easier and less intimidating for new and casual golfers to pick up the game, then we’re achieving the standard of customer experience that we strive for.
How do you measure the effectiveness / efficacy of the program?
We are constantly engaging with our golfers via our social media channels, as well as soliciting feedback on GolfNow Rewards – Presented by Srixon/Cleveland Golf. We administer quarterly surveys to our casual customers, as well as our most frequent bookers, to see how familiar they are with our program and to determine what our strengths are, and where our areas of opportunity exist. In 2014, we saw a continual increase in the volume of responses, and an increased awareness of the Srixon/Cleveland Golf brand, which provided us with valuable insight into what our customers want to see in GolfNow Rewards.
How does the "Voice of the Customer feedback" impact your customer experiences?
Customer feedback helps us ensure that we are listening to our golfers and determining the best ways to meet their needs. For example, we heard from a number of our top customers that they were really interested in receiving rewards well beyond 50 qualified reservations, which was the highest rewards tier in 
2012. This was great news in itself because it meant that several golfers falling into this category were playing a ton of golf using GolfNow’s platform. Based on their collective feedback, we worked to be able to offer a new rewards program in 2013, featuring benefits and perks for up to 100 qualified reservations. This was well-received by our top bookers, and we are continuing to develop other ways like this to improve the overall customer experience.
Is the basis of your CX strategy short-term, medium, longer term or all three?
We look at our strategy in short-, medium- and long-term timing. There are benefits to understanding where you want to go today, next month, as well as over the next few years and beyond, and it is important to plan for each.
Has there been an “ah-ha” moment in this journey?
Working with Srixon/Cleveland Golf has been a fantastic partnership, and has made it possible to offer even more great perks and benefits to our golfers. This is the first time GolfNow has ever partnered with another major golf brand for our GolfNow Rewards program. We’ve been thrilled with the outcome of working with a great team at Srixon/Cleveland Golf, and believe that the feeling is mutual.