Tee up new customers with direct mail

Golf Town, the undisputed leader in Canadian golf retail, knows that the heart of their brand lies in the experience. Stepping into one of their 47 stores is like entering a golfer’s paradise: the satisfying thwack of a driver in the hitting bay; endless rows of gleaming clubs; expert advice from staff who live and breathe the game.

But in a world increasingly dominated by ecommerce, Golf Town needed to bridge the allure of their in-store experience to the online realm in order to generate new customers and increase sales.

Playing a challenging course

Fred Lecoq, VP of Marketing and Ecommerce at Golf Town and Sporting Life, believes retailers need to connect with customers on three levels: transactional, functional and emotional.

“If you’re not playing with these three, you will at some point disconnect with customers,” he said.

As such, Golf Town saw its challenge as twofold. First, the company needed to convert a steady stream of traffic to its website, into tangible foot traffic into their stores. Second, they aimed to expand their customer base by attracting golfers who weren’t already shopping with them.

A solution to both was particularly crucial during the peak golf season, when competition for customers’ attention – and wallets – is at its fiercest.

Data-driven drive to the green

Golf Town needed a smarter way to connect the digital and physical worlds. Their solution? A two-pronged, data-driven drive to the green.

Retargeting website visitors

The sports retailer launched a clever retargeting campaign.

When visitors browsed popular product categories (e.g., clubs, balls, shoes, apparel, bags), a pop-up asked for location information. Those who opted in were then sent a personalized direct mail piece, delivered within three days. This mailer offered a compelling incentive: a discount of $25 off a $150 purchase or $50 off a $250 purchase, redeemable only in-store.

The goal was simple – remind website visitors of the benefits of shopping at Golf Town and give them a reason to visit.

Acquiring new customers

But what about the golfers who weren’t already shopping at Golf Town? To reach this untapped market, Golf Town teamed up with Pelmorex, the company behind The Weather Network.

Leveraging the ‘follow me’ function on the weather app, Pelmorex aggregated user locations in real-time. By geofencing Golf Town stores and Canadian golf courses, Pelmorex identified golfers who frequented the links but didn’t visit Golf Town locations. This valuable data allowed Golf Town to refine its direct mail flyer distribution, focusing on neighbourhoods with high concentrations of potential new customers.

Instead of relying on broad distribution, Golf Town could now pinpoint specific areas where their message was most likely to resonate.

A winning round of results

Perhaps this was the only time where avid golfers were thrilled with the highest score possible.

The retargeting campaign, which involved sending 40,000 Canada Post Personalized Mail^TM pieces, achieved a conversion rate of 3.17%, generating more than $158,000 in sales revenue.

“That, in my opinion, is a great performance, knowing this was an in-store-only play,” Lecoq said. The campaign proved that direct mail, when targeted and timely, can drive significant in-store traffic.

Redemptions continued throughout the 11-week campaign. That constant activity confirmed that, when combined with the right offer, delivered at the right time to the right audience, direct mail grabs attention and drives action.

“This solution enabled us to better commit, connect and engage with anonymous browsing in a truly omni-channel way,” Lecoq continued. “We were able to determine that retargeting doesn’t need to be seen as an online-only marketing tactic.”

With Pelmorex, Golf Town was able to work out where flyers weren’t getting the results they wanted. They reduced distribution and shifted attention to the new areas the weather app data had identified. By targeting flyer distribution more effectively, Golf Town saw double-digit sales growth immediately following the campaign.

Leader in the clubhouse

For Golf Town, direct mail was a true hole-in-one, proving that even in a digital world, a well-timed, personalized piece can cut through the rough and drive action.