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So, as many of you will know, CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, but what does this really mean? For some this means marketing, for others it means a sales database and for others a communications register. So what is the right answer? The real answer is a combination, but it depends on your business, your goals and your customers. CRM is typically a technology solution that helps you deliver strategies to manage sales for new business and prospecting as well as manage existing business relationships and customers. In the club world, whether golf or city, public or private, CRM is vital in the battle for retention and growing your new business opportunities. So, if you don't have a CRM system or are thinking of implementing one, speed is of the essence, as you can be sure your competitors are already using or considering it!! I know purchasing or buying software licences can be a daunting process, especially if you are not that tech savvy, but it is an absolute must to manage your business. The blue-chip organisations use systems like salesforce, but I think that would be like using a sledge hammer to knock in a nail for clubs (multisite and very large operators aside). There are many smaller providers that work for clubs, but if you really want to do CRM right, it must integrate with your club management system. CRM is about knowing your customers and members inside and out, and the only way to do that…

Brora Golf Club, who recently celebrated their 125 year Anniversary in 2016, is widely recognised as one of James Braid's finest pieces of work. An hour north of Inverness, this challenging but fun golf course is meticulously maintained by green staff and has been regularly acclaimed for its quality. The club offers a true links golf experience and is described by 5-time Open Championship winner Peter Thomson as "the best traditional links course in the world". With breath-taking views of the course and ocean from the newly refurbished clubhouse, Brora is a real gem on the North Coast 500 route and a must play links course. The club consists of a championship golf course, a bar offering food and beverage and a well-stocked pro-shop.   Tony Gill, a previous CMAE Treasurer and CMAE Scottish Regional President, has been secretary of Brora Golf Club for 12 years now. This was his first post as a club manager having previously worked as an accountant in the airline telecommunications industry. Tony comments "I was very fortunate to be introduced to the CMAE in the very early stages of my new role within club management. The education that the CMAE provides has benefitted me enormously in the job and I am tremendously fortunate to have met an incredible group of club managers who share my own passion for improvement through education." So why did Tony need a system change at Brora and what the benefits are now and going forward? When Tony first started…

As we all know, taking back-ups of club data is a chore, but we all know the importance of doing it, right? ESP's Ray Reilly does, that's for sure. Ray, a member of the support team at ESP Leisure for the past 13 years, works closely with our clients and system users. As part of his day to day duties of looking after our customer server base, he uncovered a few challenges that our clients were having around data back-ups, that were causing some headaches. Typically, ESP clients would tend to use USB sticks or older 'tapes' to back up their data, but these options are prone to failure, both technically and operationally. Either the back-up may fail for some reason or staff may forget as part of their end of day procedure. Ray described a client in particular where there was an issue with data. The client had forgotten to take a back-up for a few months and then they had a fire in their server room. This incident alone cost their business thousands of pounds in lost revenue, resolution, data recovery and lost data. With this in mind, Ray put his thinking cap on. Leaning on his technical expertise, he decided to find a solution to combat these failure prone back up options. Within a few weeks, Ray had designed an automated cloud based back-up solution that requires no manual process from staff members, working seamlessly with ESP Elite. We call it uVault!!! So we asked Ray, what…

ESP Leisure have secured the signature of one of the big targets in this January's transfer window. Mike O'Connell from Burhill Golf and Leisure has joined the ESP team as Operations Manager. Mike decided it was time for a change and in turn has been the target of many companies in the golf and leisure space. Despite the multitude of interest, Mike signed with ESP Leisure, which is great news for the company and our customers. Mike will join the team with a wealth of experience across golf and leisure through his time with American Golf and The Burhill Golf and Leisure Group. He spent over 10 years with American Golf and over 13 years with BGL, including managing one of the busiest golf centres in the UK, Hoebridge Golf Centre. Mike is joining the team as operations manager and will be overseeing the provision of services and solutions we offer to new and existing customers. At the heart of Mike's remit will be to increase our overall customer service levels whilst providing a more streamlined and effective delivery of service. Mike comments, "This is an exciting direction for me, having been involved operationally at venues with American Golf and BGL, I can now use my experience and knowledge to better help ESP deliver their products and services to new and existing customers". Mike continues, "Having used ESP software for the past 13 years at BGL I know its huge advantages to clubs. This, combined with my many years management…

Allerton Manor Golf Club has partnered ESP Leisure to use their core modules of Admin, F&B, Retail Bookings, along with extra add on modules, Accounts Integration, Course Ranger Software, Integrated chip & pin and finally ESP's on the go Mobile Technology. We look forward to working closely in the future.

The London Golf Club (LGC), situated close to Sevenoaks and Brands Hatch has been a regular in the lists of top golf clubs in the UK and Europe for many years now. With two championship quality golf courses, LGC has been host to major tournaments on both the European Tour and Senior European Tour calendars, including the prestigious Volvo World Matchplay and one of the European Tour's premier events, The European Open. As a multi-faceted business, LGC's requirements for technology are vast, from managing events and weddings to providing online tee times to members and visitors. The ability to provide an integrated solution to manage all aspects of the club is of the highest priority, especially with a new major 5* hotel construction project underway. LGC chose to implement ESP's Elite Golf Management System back in 1994 when it opened its doors for the first time, but in 2010 decided on a technology change. The club moved their systems to the offering by NFS Hospitality, a US centric solution adopted by many clubs in America and some here in the UK. This decision was not taken lightly by the club and at the time they felt it was the right move. Following five years with NFS Hospitality, ESP Leisure were approached by Dan Naudo, the club's general manager, as he felt it was the right time to move back to the Elite system. Dan comments, "We were with NFS for 5 years, but just felt the progression and development of…

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club are now live with the Elite solution, Using F&B, Retail bookings, CRM and accounts integration. Great to have met the team for training at our offices and have another fantastic leisure client on board.  

West Hants is a prestigious and luxurious facility that boasts internationally renowned clay tennis courts, an indoor tennis centre, four squash courts, a state of the art gymnasium, two air-conditioned fitness studios as well as an indoor heated swimming pool and a dedicated High Performance Gym. ESP are providing Admin, Access Control, Retail and Bookings modules to this fantastic sports and fitness venue and look to forge a great partnership.

Whitehaven Golf Club have chosen ESP's Elite to run Admin, Retail, Bookings, F&B, Range and Access Control. Whitehaven Golf Club is one of the Western Lake District's finest golf clubs, An 18 hole championship course with a state of the art 16 bay driving range. ESP is delighted to be providing Whitehaven with our proven management solution and the partnership of which will form over the coming years.