SMALL BUSINESS, BIG DATA: GATHER WHITE PAPER #8

At the core of the golf industry is small business.

Small businesses typically employ a handful of people, they operate in a limited geographical region, and they frequently rely on the founder’s vision to direct strategy.

These attributes of small businesses are what make them unique, agile, and successful.

However, just because a successful business is small, it doesn’t mean big data can’t help it grow. And maybe more importantly, help it operate more efficiently.

Golf instructors and their businesses are examples of entrepreneurs who operate at the heart of the golf industry. This White Paper will provide a case study on how data can assist golf academies and instructors as they address typical golf industry challenges.

You may not operate a golf instruction business, but the following example demonstrates how data can inform any business.

Data and golf instructors

For most golf instruction businesses, the pandemic years have been phrenetic. Demand for golf lessons has been high; and as independent contractors, instructors have been incentivized to make hay while the sun shines. The result? An instruction workforce that is well compensated but burned out.

To reduce burnout, the general advice to instructors is to teach less! But how do instructors do this strategically? The conventional wisdom is to identify a desired income level and organize a schedule to meet it. This advice makes sense, to a degree. But data can provide a smarter solution.

Instead of deciding how much a golf instructor wants to earn each year, an alternative strategy is to consider how many hours they want to work. Once instructors have decided they want to teach 25 hours each week, for example, historical data can be used to maximize revenue for those predetermined number of hours. Why not limit teaching hours to when instructors get the biggest bang for their buck?

Distinguishing between strategies that focus on how much instructors want to earn and how much they want to teach is nuanced. But there is a difference.  

• Teach to hit an income target: Without a strategy, this approach could motivate instructors to meet a target by being available during times when demand is low. The consequence of this approach is that it takes more hours than necessary to reach a monetary goal.

• Teach a specified number of high-paying hours: Instead of focusing on total income, use a strategy that maximizes revenue by identifying the highest-demand hours for instruction. As well as using time more efficiently, the benefit of this strategy is that less hours on the teaching tee increases the likelihood of instructors maintaining a quality product.

Happier golf instructors

One tool that can be used to fight instructor burnout is happiness! As behavioral psychologist Cassie Holmes points out in her book Happier Hour, having more time to yourself correlates with happiness; and happiness counteracts burnout. By focusing on the number of hours spent teaching golf rather than the amount of money made, instructors will have more free time. Organizing around a monetary goal does not have the same effect.

Putting theory to practice…

Case study: Booming Golf Academy uses data to make better decisions.

We analyzed Booming Golf Academy’s basic scheduling data to demonstrate how it can inform both instructors’ time management and strategic business decisions.

Question: How can data help instructors avoid burnout?

If instructors are trying to avoid burnout, which days and times should they be available to maximize their teaching revenue?

Days. Data trends for Booming Golf Academy show that Sundays and Thursdays are least popular for instruction. Just based on this analysis, it is obvious that instructors should take these days off to recharge their batteries.

Times. On days instructors do teach, when should they be available?

By analyzing Booming Golf Academy’s data, different trends emerged for each instructor. For example, instructor A is busier in the mornings than instructor B. It is noteworthy that instructor A and B differ in age. Consequently, their client bases tend to differ in age, too. Instructor A’s clients prefer morning and afternoon appointments. Instructor B has some clients who like to work on their games in the mornings but gets busiest in the evenings. If both instructors are trying to spend less time on the range, data tells us there isn’t a universal solution. They should adjust their schedules differently.

So what?

By understanding their booking trends, golf instructors can manage their time to maximize revenue, increase personal time, and reduce the likelihood of burnout.

Instructors can also use data to customize their offerings. The most popular lesson length among clients of Booming Golf Academy is 60 minutes.

So what?

Becoming familiar with lesson trends should nudge instructors to evaluate their pricing. For example, the rate for 60-minute lessons is less than two 30-minute lessons. Therefore, should the price for 60-minute lessons increase? Yes! By increasing their rates for 60-minute lessons, the instructors and academy will maximize revenues.

Question: How can data help golf academies operate more efficiently?

If Booming Golf Academy wants to operate more efficiently, how can it optimize its marketing budget? And should its growth come from more clients, or higher rates for instruction?

Academy short-term decisions. The more academy directors know about their customers, the better strategic decisions they can make about their business. For example, it is useful to know how far in advance golfers schedule their instruction. This knowledge can influence marketing strategy: clients’ booking habits can inform us how far in advance programs are marketed. In the case of Booming Golf Academy, clients schedule appointments an average of 30 days in advance (median 19 days).

So what?

If golfers schedule instruction 30 days in advance, last-minute promotions are unlikely to be successful and will waste marketing dollars. Catering to the habits of Booming Golf Academy’s clientele requires sufficient lead time to develop programming and promotion.

Academy long-term decisions. Like most businesses, Booming Golf Academy is seeking growth opportunities. But what should growth look like? Should Booming Golf Academy target more clients, or increase per-client spending?

The business’s organic growth accelerated during the pandemic. But like many golf businesses, recruiting and retaining instructors proved difficult. By looking at data trends, the academy knew it had to reconsider its marketing strategies and pricing. It had to either continue with its exponential client growth trajectory or reposition its brand in the market. 

Having established a robust client base, the academy decided in 2021 to focus on increasing clients’ annual spend rather than gaining more unique clients. There were two reasons for this decision. More clients would mean more demand for instruction. This was problematic because the market meant it was difficult to recruit golf instructors. This led to the second reason. With the uncertainty of appointing instructors to share the workload, the academy would risk overloading its existing burned-out workforce.  

The data-informed decision to increase client spending paid off – In 2021 the academy increased its annual revenue despite not growing its client base.

Conclusion…

Big data use is not only for big business. Data can inform small businesses; they can become more efficient and strategic.

1. To leverage data, businesses need to collect it. Understand the data your business accumulates and what its missing to make more informed decisions.

2. The vision and flair of a small-business entrepreneur and data are not in conflict. Data will simply inform leaders and empower them to make better decisions.

3. No business is too small to benefit from data. Yes, if you are a small-business owner, that means you too!

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