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5 gifts on every club’s wish list this holiday season

5 gifts on every club's wish list this holiday season

‘Tis the time of year when we put together those holiday wish lists. In the spirit of the season, we thought we would share 5 enchanting gifts that every club we know would love to receive.

Enthusiastically connected members

Enthusiastically connected members power the success of any club. Building and maintaining these connections is crucial. That means providing an excellent experience when members are at the club. But it mustn’t stop there. We also need to go outside the club to meet them where they are—online, specifically on their smartphones.

We must provide them with useful functionality, timely reminders, and an intuitive experience that allows them to extend their connection to the club beyond the physical grounds. This is why the member app has become such an essential part of any successful club.

A member app can make things more convenient for your members. Whether they want to book a tee time, make a dining reservation, sign up for a class, order food on the go, or pay a bill from their phone. The app makes it easy.

Plus, the app can simplify planning a get-together with your club friends. For example, Northstar’s member app offers a buddy list functionality that helps members easily organize an outing at the club.

The app also allows you to send targeted push notifications to keep members updated on everything happening at the club. Through its dynamic feed, you can share important announcements, promote upcoming events, and encourage interactions.

All of these features energize members and help them feel more connected to the club even when they are not at the club.

Passionately engaged employees

Empowered employees are a gift to any operation. In fact, they are the backbone of any successful club. Smart clubs know that building this empowerment is the key to everything from improved operational efficiency to an elevated member experience.

One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to launch an employee app at your club. With an app like Northstar’s, employees have the much-desired ability to manage their own schedules right from the app.

Moreover, it can streamline work, allowing employees to create reservations and bookings right from the app.

The app also enhances employees’ ability to personalize your members’ experiences. Through the app, they can see who is at the club, who is seated in the restaurant, and even access members’ profiles.

To top it off, your employees can use the app to access BEOs, pull up powerful club analytics, and more to help further optimize operations.

By providing employees with a new tool to do their jobs efficiently and effectively, you can boost morale, reduce turnover, and improve overall job satisfaction.

Conveniences that surprise and delight

Nothing improves member satisfaction like making it easier for them to enjoy the club. And nothing helps you accomplish that like a smart website solution that makes your site as functional as it is beautiful.

A modern solution can incorporate the ability to make online reservations a snap. Whether it’s getting a tee time, setting dining reservations, or signing up for a class or activity. Plus, it should offer e-commerce functionality to sell merchandise from any of the club shops online.

Another convenience is the ability to set up a member portal through which members can access their accounts to check charges and minimum balances, pay bills, and more.

Having all this conveniently accessible online improves how members view the club and how it caters to them.

Finally, a smart website will also make it convenient for you and your staff to deploy advanced marketing campaigns. For example, Northstar’s built-in tools allow you to segment your members by interests and preferences. And then send targeted email campaigns and notifications to keep members updated and engaged.

Unparalleled understanding

What club manager doesn’t have this one on his or her wishlist? In-depth operational analytics can provide a deep understanding of your club’s performance across various departments – from food and beverage to golf to fitness. That is valuable understanding you can use to improve your club significantly.

This is why Northstar has created NS Analytics. Every module in the Northstar system offers a rich set of NS Analytics reports as well as a set of KPIs and charts. This insightful data puts the information you need at your fingertips. The information that helps you get a clearer picture of the state of the club. And the opportunities at hand.

Northstar also offers member sentiment and behavior analysis data through Happometer. With it, you can track member usage patterns, preferences, and spending habits to identify opportunities for targeted marketing and personalized experiences.

With these advanced tools, clubs can make informed decisions, optimize operations, and improve the overall member experience.

Game-changing operational support

An optimized back-office operation is the gift that just keeps on giving. When everything is optimized here, it lays the foundation for creating an exceptional club experience.

Northstar recently collaborated with hundreds of clubs worldwide to understand how the back-office software could be improved to better serve the club. The result is NS Office. This exciting evolution gives you and your staff a system that is intuitive, powerful, and customizable.

A user-friendly interface delivers modern UX features like a mega menu and customizable shortcuts such as ‘favorites’ and ‘recents’ to quickly access the functionality you need, saving valuable time and reducing frustration.

A robust search function gives you quick access to the information you need – from member records to financial reports. Customizable reports provide valuable insights into your club’s operations, helping you identify trends and make more informed decisions. And there’s much more.

By rethinking how the back office software should function, NS Office helps improve the workflow, increase efficiency, and empower data-driven decision-making to boost your entire operation.

A holiday wish for your club

As you’re putting together your wish list for your operation, consider giving your club these 5 gifts. Gifts that can help ensure members are even more delighted, employees are even more empowered, and operations run smoother than ever. Of course, if you’d like to learn more, just request a demo.

May you and your club have a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Revolutionizing Country Club Software Solutions through strategic acquisition

Revolutionizing country club software solutions through strategic acquisition

Technology advances at a rapid pace. That can be advantageous for country clubs, giving them the potential to access new functionality that further increases their operational efficiency, member engagement, and more. At the same time, it can be a bit of a curse, taking time and resources to evaluate new offerings.

Club management software companies understand the importance of a dedicated effort to continuously evolve the software. However, leading providers understand the strategic value of reaching beyond their own development. For example, although industry-leading Northstar has a dedicated team of developers working every day on the system, the company also engages in strategic acquisition of other software providers.

Recent acquisitions by Northstar include MiclubHappometerMy Sailing Club, and TopYacht. The story of these acquisitions helps illustrate how this software-evolution strategy can be particularly advantageous for country club software solutions customers.

Speed to market

One of the most significant advantages of acquiring other companies is the speed at which new features and functionalities can be integrated into the existing offering. By acquiring companies that already excel in specific areas, like TopYacht in sailing event management or My Sailing Club and its innovative Sailor smartphone app, Northstar can quickly extend these offerings to their customers.

Gaining new capabilities

With the acquisitions of specialized providers, a company can rapidly integrate new features and functionalities into its software. A good example is Happometer. Northstar’s acquisition of the company gave them access to Happometer’s innovative capabilities for gathering feedback from club members, staff, and more – including Happometer’s proprietary artificial intelligence that helps determine sentiment from your respondents’ answers. With these capabilities, Northstar is able to further enrich an already robust country club software solution.

Access to expertise

Each acquired company brings with it a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and industry-specific insights. This expertise is often embedded within the company’s workforce and leadership. Instead of trying to build a team from scratch or train existing employees, Northstar taps into the acquired company’s talent pool. For example, when Northstar acquired MiClub they gained access to specialists who have invaluable knowledge of the Australian golf club market. Additionally, the TopYacht acquisition gave them access to a team of experts who understand the unique needs and challenges of sailing clubs. This knowledge is invaluable in tailoring the software to meet the specific requirements of these clubs.

Enhanced innovation

When companies merge, it can create an environment of innovation within the organization. Knowledge sharing between Northstar and the acquired companies’ teams can result in insights and advancements that lead to the creation of groundbreaking features and solutions.

Better serving customers

Acquiring another software company creates the opportunity to bring new functionality and innovations to that company’s customer base. With each acquisition, Northstar can bring a broader range of capabilities, systems, services, analytics, and more to the acquired company’s customers. This immediately gives the acquired company’s customers access to expanded services consolidated in one software suite and backed by a proven leader in the club management software world.

Additionally, acquired companies often bring with them experienced staff who are knowledgeable about the industry and its nuances. This can lead to improved customer support and service, as clients can expect to work with professionals who understand their specific challenges and can provide tailored assistance.

What often goes unspoken is the stability and reliability that an acquisition strategy signals to customers and prospects. The fact that a company is actively acquiring other firms in the same industry shows a commitment to that market. That can help customers feel confident about investing in a future with a firm like Northstar.

Clubs know they must keep a finger on the pulse of technological advancements to provide superior service and remain competitive. When a club management software solutions company pursues an acquisition strategy, it signals that the company understands the need. And can deliver with increased speed to market new capabilities, improved access to specialized expertise, and an enhanced ability to bring new innovations to clubs.

By strategically acquiring companies that excel in specific areas, a provider like Northstar ensures that its country club software solutions remains best-in-class and continues to meet the evolving needs of its customers.

For more information on Northstar’s acquisition of MiclubHappometerMy Sailing Club, and TopYacht, visit the Northstar newsroom. To learn more about the advantages of a complete club management software solution, request a demo.

Improve Club Communications with Member Driven Data

Improve Club Communications with Member Driven Data

1. Member mobile activities and consumer habits are no different than your own – member smartphone usage mirrors your own mobile behavior, especially when you are not at the club (work).

2. Rethink the way you are collecting and managing your member data – create a centralized resource in an easy-to-use environment where your members can manage their profile and club preferences, and that in turn will provide you the most accurate and relevant information about them.

3. Understand what is currently NOT working in your existing marketing & communications landscape – examples include; capturing club interest data, communication lag-times, low response rate, identifying demographics, too much or irrelevant content.

4. Mobile app vs. mobile website – realize there is a big difference! A mobile app is native to an IOS or Android operating system that is easily downloaded from an app store or marketplace. It’s a cleaner, condensed user interface that is easier to navigate, faster and more effective in communications with additional features like push notifications & beacon enabled location based services; which a mobile website cannot provide.

5. Choose an app that conforms to your club brand values that is easy to use and manage – determine what functionality you want to offer your membership today and a couple of years from now i.e. push notifications, location based beacon technology, mobile payments, event & activities registration, club dining and tee-time reservations, mobile food ordering, member roster, automated door access, member check-in, etc.

6. Implement a “facebook like culture” among your membership – your member app should be an extension of your Club’s brand by making it a utility in your member’s everyday lives. Make it a social experience for your members to see what’s happening at the club with news feeds, inter-app messaging or simply knowing who’s attending what event.

7. Define member interest tables for target marketing that will increase club traffic & revenue – general demographic information, club within a club interests or any other special identifying matrixes.

8. Capture transactional data that will categorize member behavior & spending analytics – “past performance predicts future behavior” – a member’s club usage can help you create loyalty programs for the more frequent member, generate incentives for the member at risk, or identify new club events and activities that will cater to your entire membership.

9. Determine the most effective and preferred type of communication with your membership – subsections of your membership may have different preferences (email vs. text messages, push notifications, etc.). Normally, smaller packets of information are easier to process and deliver personalized and more relevant content.

10. Educate your membership on the benefits of using the mobile app – “help me, help you”! How, what and why as a member an app will benefit them by increasing the level of service and communication within the club and its staff.


Top 10 Topics of Conversations you should be having at your Club right now:

1. Here’s Why Your Business Needs Its Own Mobile App – November 17th, 2014 By Melanie Haselmayr

2. Benefits of a Mobile App – Why You Should Invest – February 16, 2017 By Promatics

3. App Download and Usage Statistics 2017 – October 16, 2017 By Artyom Dogtiev

4. Responsive Web Design vs. Mobile Apps – Which Is Right for Your Business? – September 20, 2016 By Cheryl Dykstra

5. A Four-Fold Strategy to Achieve Success with Mobile App Marketing – September 07, 2017 By Priya Viswanathan

6. How Mobile Technology Is Changing the Hospitality Industry? – September 29, 2016 By Varsha Kumari

7. 28+ Powerful Facebook Stats Your Brand Can’t Ignore in 2017 – September 11, 2017 By Maddy Osman

8. What’s the Difference Between Push Notifications & Email? – June 26, 2017 By Megan Marrs

9. SMS vs. Push notification vs. Email: When should your app use what? – February 9, 2015 By Jamie Tolentino

10. Mobile Usage Facts and Figures 2017 – January 8, 2017 By Jackie Goldstein

Must know Club Trends for 2024

Must know club trends for 2024

Technology is playing an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the member experience, operational efficiency, and overall management of clubs.

Emerging trends in 2024 illustrate the need for the integration of advanced software solutions. It is becoming a necessity for clubs looking to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Here are some of the bigger trends clubs need to pay attention to in order to stay ahead of the game.

Personalizing Experiences

Research points to an increased desire for more personalized experiences in 2024. Clubs are responding by embracing advanced customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Northstar’s. These systems allow clubs to track member preferences, activity history, and engagement levels. This data is then used to tailor services, recommend events, and personalize communication.

From golf enthusiasts to spa aficionados, look for clubs to continue to improve the way they utilize member data to tailor experiences that align with individual interests.

This shift reflects a broader movement towards customization and even a desire of members to curate their own club experience.

Making Mobile a Priority

Smart clubs realize that the members expect mobile to be a part of the club experience. This expectation is forecasted to continue to grow in 2024.

Members want a club app that gives them the flexibility to make reservations, access event calendars, and receive real-time updates on club activities. Moreover, more and more members are adopting push notifications and in-app messaging. This points to the fact that members have come to consider it more than a convenience. For example, members view the Northstar ClubNow Mobile App as a way to stay up-to-date and connected with the club and other members.

Additionally, clubs are taking advantage of mobile technology to offer everything from contactless check-ins to touchless payment options.

Embracing AI

The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) exploded in 2023 and doesn’t show any signs of slowing in 2024.

Clubs will take advantage of the machine learning algorithms to analyze member behaviors, preferences, and attendance patterns to generate valuable insights. These insights will enable clubs to offer targeted promotions, create a more vibrant and engaging social atmosphere, and more. All of this will contribute to a more personalized experience at the club, whether the AI is helping to suggest tailored event recommendations or customized dining options.

It’s important to note that AI will not replace but rather enhance human interactions. According to a report from Forrester, “The key to many of 2024’s improvements will be behind-the-scenes genAI that augments customer service agents’ capabilities. This will help agents contribute to success in the common top drivers of CX. Thus answering questions faster and better, resolving problems on first contact, communicating clearly, and leaving the customer feeling respected.”

For clubs, that could mean deploying AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants that can handle routine inquiries, reservations, and event bookings, freeing up staff to focus on more personalized interactions. These intelligent systems can quickly adapt to members’ preferences, learning their habits and anticipations. Thus offering a more tailored and seamless experience. For instance, an AI-driven reservation system could learn a member’s preferred tee time or dining preferences. This ensures a more customized and enjoyable visit.

AI will help enhance other parts of the club operations as well. For example, Northstar has acquired Happometer to offer an advanced member feedback system that deploys AI to understand member sentiment. Additionally, advanced analytics tools powered by AI will help clubs make informed decisions by analyzing member behavior, predicting trends, and identifying growth opportunities. From membership acquisition strategies to optimizing event planning, AI is becoming an indispensable tool for proactive and data-driven decision-making.

Other Areas

Beyond the major trends, look for other areas of emphasis to continue to advance in 2024. These include:

  • Smart facility management – AI and automation will help optimize resource utilization by monitoring equipment, tracking energy usage, and maintaining optimal conditions across the club grounds.
  • Enhanced security measures – technology will help ensure data security. Secure payment gateways, multi-factor authentication, and encryption technologies are becoming standard features in country club software to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data.
  • Continued sustainability efforts – from digital membership cards to paperless billing systems, clubs are adopting green technology solutions to minimize their environmental footprint.

To learn more on how your club can address the emerging trends for 2024 and beyond, request a demo of the Northstar complete club management solution.

Business Intelligence: Putting Your Club’s Data to Work

Business intelligence putting your club’s data to work

A club or resort generates a lot of data. And at first glance, this data may not seem significant. Tee times. Dinner orders. A couple of drinks at the bar. By themselves, these little items don’t really help a club understand its membership or its operations. But if you know how to connect the dots, then you can begin to develop a whole new understanding of your club and its members.

That’s where business intelligence software comes in. It can help you begin to understand your membership and what their needs are. You can find areas of dissatisfaction and address them. Also, you can identify opportunities to increase sales and boost retention. You can even begin to predict what members will do and tailor your club and offerings specifically for them.

Here are a few components of a business intelligence dashboard package and what they can do for you and your club.

The BI dashboard: getting an invaluable view of your operation

A business intelligence dashboard is a tool that helps you get a snapshot of key performance indicators (KPIs) across your operation. This allows you to spot trends ? whether they present challenges to address or opportunities to take advantage of.

A trend or pattern may be developing, but be hidden behind all the noise of all the data that is being generated. However, by being able to visualize the data over time, you can see the trends emerge.

Better yet, a good dashboard will allow you to select the set of data visualizations so you can create a customized dashboard that lets you keep track of the information and trends that are the most important for your specific club.

Analytics: digging into the data to find powerful insights

An analytics function is a natural component of your Business Intelligence dashboard. It gives you the ability to examine different data sets together to uncover insights. For example, maybe you want to isolate a list of members who have resigned and then look at how many rounds of golf they played over the past year. Or how many of them had trouble meeting their F&B minimum over that time period. An examination like this could help you build an early detection report that you can use to address members in danger of resigning.

Smart analytics on the Business Intelligence Dashboard will allow you to drill down to an individual member to see his or her patterns. Or you can look at a group of members ? for example, by membership level ? and examine their behaviors. What services do they use the most? When do they use the facilities? And more.

You can also look at things from the operations side. Maybe you want to know what the most popular banquet entree is. Maybe you want to know which of your restaurants generates the most revenue. And what day of the week is the most popular. And what gender of your members that comes from.

Insights like this can help you make the right choices, optimize your revenue, and develop offerings that surprise and delight members.

Reports: ongoing information to keep you connected and informed

Customized reports within the Business Intelligence Dashboard can give you the ability to monitor specific sets of performance data on an ongoing basis. With a smart system, you can choose from a library of stock reports or build your own.

That customization is important. A GM needs to be able to generate a report that covers the entire business. But for heads of department and other personnel, that is not always necessary, or even desirable. Allowing key players to watch developing trends over time with an automated report tailored for them gives them the information they need.

The reporting capabilities should include:

  • Access to a library of stock reports
  • The ability to analyze and create visualizations
  • Drill-down functionality to dig deeper into a KPI
  • Seamless interface to Excel to work with formulas
  • Ability to share custom reports

Business Intelligence: It’s how you make your club smarter

Business intelligence is the eye in the sky that allows identification of emerging trends, optimization and tailoring of offerings, and the ability to allow key players to have confidence in their decisions.

With an intuitive dashboard, powerful analytics capabilities, and insightful reports, business intelligence tools can help your club unlock its unrealized potential. And help you realize the vision of what your club can become.

With the Northstar complete club management software solution, you have access to powerful business intelligence tools. And since the platform is built on one database, you can feed all your data from across the operation into those tools, helping you uncover the insights and identify the opportunities for you to make your club everything it can be. To learn more – request a demo, of the Northstar Technologies solution, today.

Sign Up for Success: Building Member Participation and Loyalty with Your Reservation System

Sign up for success: building member participation and loyalty with your reservation system

It’s no secret that boosting engagement is a perennial issue for clubs. After all, it can increase the utilization of your club offerings. That can increase revenues while naturally helping to build loyalty at your club.

It’s easy to think of building engagement as something that takes a fresh multi-tactic campaign, or maybe the implementation of some new program. What’s easy to overlook is your existing systems and how they can be leveraged to help you build engagement. A great example is your reservations process.

Reservations Hold the Key

A premier reservation system gives your members the ability to book online or through the club app. That delivers the unrivaled convenience of booking a reservation from virtually anywhere and any time. That’s the kind of convenience that can help you improve your bookings and boost member participation.

Additionally, the right system can also help you streamline the management of facilities and your staff. That can cut across your operation, affecting the activities you offer as well as the management of your spa, rooms, and even marina. Let’s take a look at each and what the right reservations system can help you do.

Boosting the Activity in your Activities

A smart reservation system can really up the participation levels in the activities you offer. As mentioned before, it makes it easy for your members to sign up, and it also helps ensure participation by allowing you to send reminders. Those can happen via email, texts, and even push notifications through the club app.

That increased participation is important when you consider the opportunity activities create to increase members’ expenditures as they attend an event or social gathering. Of course, getting them to attend activities increases their interaction with other members as well. That helps build relationships that help support further participation and loyalty to the club.

In addition to strengthening your members’ ties to the club, a smart reservation system can also help you manage your staff and facilities. The premier offerings operate on one database, connecting systems across your operation. This not only lets you take reservations, but also allows you to schedule staff for an event, a teaching pro for a lesson, and more. It helps you manage resources, too – whether that’s a golf simulator, a court, or a ball machine.

Revitalizing the Spa

A well-managed reservations process is a necessity for the club spa. The right system can take the anxiety out of getting members’ reservations right. That includes easily handling packages and gift certificates. Better yet, it can help ensure a stress-free environment by allowing you to easily organize the resources needed for the scheduled treatments, and schedule the staff and facilities as well as track commissions and more.

Getting the Rooms Right

For your rooms, a well-rounded reservation system is crucial. It should allow you to offer online booking with real-time availability management to make it effortless for your members to book the room they need. Additionally, it should offer the convenience of charging expenses to the room – with those expenses flowing through to the room folio so you and your members have a consolidated accounting of all charges. The best systems also offer additional features like a GDS interface (to connect with services like Hotwire.com and Hotels.com) and yield base pricing management to optimize bookings and revenue.

Ensuring Smooth Sailing at the Marina

For clubs that feature a marina, a smart reservation system can help streamline the operation. Premier systems will give you complete dock management with the ability to administer slips, moorings, and dry storage. You can also implement user-defined billing determined by slip type, length of boat, and more. And take advantage of other features like metered electric billing.

Booking Better

The premier reservation systems operate on one database allowing you to easily tie all this booking functionality to your financial module. For example, with the Northstar complete club management software, charges can be automatically routed to your accounts receivable and members can see the charges once they login to the online portal or the club app. This is just one of many advantages of offering a solution built on one database.

It’s natural to think of a premier reservation system as simply a nice convenience for your members. But leading clubs understand the real potential it holds. From helping you optimize the way you run your operation to improving bookings, boosting participation, and building member engagement and loyalty.

To take a deeper dive into all the possibilities, request a demo of the Northstar complete club management software solution. You’ll be able to explore a premier reservation system. And you’ll discover all the advantages of a solution built on one database to help you connect and optimize operations across your club. Request your demo, today.

Ringing up the Rewards with a Smart Retail POS System

Ringing up the rewards with a smart retail POS system

There isn’t a modern club out there that doesn’t have some type of retail POS system. We think of it most often as a denizen of someplace like the pro shop. But forward-thinking clubs have recognized the advantages of incorporating the technology into multiple areas.

For one, it gives you more revenue-generating opportunities. But even more importantly, it offers convenience to your members. Maybe they want to pick up a quick snack before they head poolside or a club-branded water bottle from the club store before they hit the courts.

A smart retail POS system helps you take advantage of these opportunities. And then it goes further.

Elevating your Service

Imagine your member stepping into the pro shop to buy a sleeve of balls before his round. Now imagine your staff member calling up that member’s profile from the POS terminal and seeing what brand he likes to play and asking him if that’s what he would like. It’s a small thing. But this has a huge effect on that member feeling connected to your club. And this is just one example. Imagine this same level of custom attention being delivered wherever your member is spending money at your club.

There’s much more. A smart system will allow you to track and redeem a gift certificate that the member received (and even offer the ability to limit the redemption of it to certain areas of the club). You can quickly issue a credit. Easily apply discounts from promotional offers you have sent out. And effortlessly manage bulk purchases – like when your member buys a package of five lessons and you need to track redemption.

Most of all, a fully-connected retail POS system makes this seem effortless to your members, creating a great vibe at your club.

Building a Next-level Retail Experience

Creating an exceptional retail experience in your club means going beyond the POS terminal. A great retail POS system recognizes the need to build a digital experience as well. With e-commerce capabilities incorporated, the system will give your members the convenience of purchasing food, items, and services from the club website or through the club app.

Again, this delivers the convenience your members value and helps you deliver a contemporary club experience.

Streamlining the Back of the House

A characteristic of a truly great retail POS system is what goes unseen. It’s all the smart functionality that improves everything behind the scenes – from purchasing to inventory management and more.

For example, with the Northstar Retail POS system, you can generate purchase orders and track them through to receipts. Since the system operates on one database, it seamlessly connects with inventory control and accounts payable. This reduces the manual work of entering data into different systems. At the same time, it helps you keep track of everything. Inventory is recognized as it arrives and can be sold right away. And the inventory updates as sales happen – whether that’s from a terminal in your club or through your e-commerce store. This complete inventory tracking helps keep your retail operation running smoothly.

Additionally, you can generate the reports you need to make better decisions for your retail needs.

  • Purchasing – reports in real-time covering on-order, back-ordered, and received items
  • Inventory – reports that detail inventory count, valuation, turn-over, and profit margin in real-time
  • Insights – data aggregation and analysis to track trends, identify potential problems, and more

Today’s premier retail POS solutions help clubs do so much more than set up a terminal to receive payments. They recognize the opportunity to increase revenue-generating moments while helping optimize operations behind the scenes. All in service of creating convenience and an exceptional experience for your members.

If you’d like to see what you could accomplish with the retail offering at your club, request a demo of the Northstar Retail POS system. A robust system built on one database that helps deliver a fully-connect approach to ring up all the rewards your retail offering can deliver. Request a demo, today.

4 Must-Review Trends in Country Club Management Software

4 must review trends in country club management software

All clubs experience the pressure to modernize – whether that’s to streamline club operations or to improve the overall experience for both members and staff. This has club managers regularly doing value assessments on potential upgrades, weighing the gains (both short and long-term) against the costs.

Over the past few years, technology has become a key area where many clubs are opting to make the investment. Here are four trends that have emerged in country club management software. These trends have managers taking a closer look at their technology.

The Exponential Benefits of Integrating Everything in a Single Platform

In the past, clubs often used a variety of different software solutions for different parts of the operation. Membership management would have its own solution while the golf operation had it’s own software. And the back office operated on a totally separate system.

Today, the trend is to migrate to a comprehensive suite of tools that cover all areas. This allows clubs to operate more efficiently since there is no need to manually enter data from one system to the other. Plus, the staff doesn’t have to learn multiple systems or worry about maintaining multiple systems. Furthermore, when all parts of the club operate on one database, the club benefits from uber connectivity. A simple example is someone signing up for a class in the fitness facility. Once they sign up, the charge is automatically routed to the accounting module. And the transaction instantly appears on the member’s account page on the club website.

Improving the User Experience

The premier software solutions on the market are designed to be intuitive and easy to use, with simple, user-friendly interfaces and straightforward navigation. This makes it easier for staff members to quickly and efficiently access the information they need, and get the most out of the system. Additionally, it improves the member experience, making the web interface and the mobile app easy to understand.

As clubs evaluate comprehensive systems, user experience should factor into the decision-making process.

The Growing Importance of Mobile

There is one device that all your members have that is with them all the time. The mobile phone.

Needless to say, the club app is becoming increasingly important for members. Leading club management software solutions recognize this crucial trend and build in the functionality to allow club members to easily access their accounts, make reservations, and view event schedules. This provides a powerful tool for clubs to build retention by helping members stay informed and engaged with the club.

Data Rules

More than ever, data has taken on a critical role in helping clubs make decisions. Premier club management software solutions realize the importance of having one source of truth to help with everything from day-to-day club operation decisions to direction for long-range planning.

When a club operates on one database, it gives the club that one source of truth.

This is why premier solutions are designed to provide robust reporting and analysis capabilities. It allows clubs to track key metrics such as membership retention and revenue, and make data-driven decisions. All of this can help clubs identify areas for improvement and make more strategic decisions about how to allocate resources and grow the business.

As clubs evaluate the value of a modernization, technology will continue to be at the top of leading clubs’ lists. It may very well be one of the more cost-efficient investments when you consider the impact it can have on both operational efficiency and member satisfaction.

To learn more about what a complete club management software solution can do for your club, request a demo of the Northstar system. It is a comprehensive solution built on one database to deliver one source of truth for your club. Request your demo, today.

Why Tabletop POS looks so Appetizing to Clubs

Why Tabletop POS looks so appetizing to clubs

Clubs continue to look for that perfect recipe. A rare combination of the potential to improve revenues while boosting efficiency. And all while enhancing the member experience.

It’s for this very reason that more and more clubs are implementing Tabletop POS systems in their restaurants.

The Tantalizing Promise of Tabletop POS

With a Tabletop POS system, members can utilize a tabletop tablet to access the menu, order, and pay. Or, they can scan a QR code that opens up the system on their smartphones. Some clubs offer members both options.

The system is enticing because of the control it gives members when it comes to their dining experience. They can set the pace of the meal, ordering immediately if they’re in a hurry or maybe choosing a more leisurely pace if they’re dining with friends. They can also reorder an item with a click (another drink!) They can combine or split the check in the system. And pay when they are ready to go.

All of this can have a huge impact on the perception of the dining experience at your club. And that’s just the beginning.

Addressing Staff Challenges

The Great Resignation has made it tougher to retain staff – especially for the hospitality sector. An addition like Tabletop POS can help you change the game.

The system frees up servers, allowing them to become more of a meal consultant – sharing specials, answering questions, and more. In fact, servers can spend more of their time with the diners who desire the attention.

This is not the only way that Tabletop POS can make the job more rewarding. Studies have shown that the system can actually increase earnings for servers. It allows them to serve more tables and, as a result, increase the number of tips. And, you can set it up to present automatic tip calculations and recommended tip levels which have been shown to boost the server’s tip amounts.

Improving Sales

Tabletop POS can improve revenue in a couple of ways. First, the system helps improve table turnover in your dining room, allowing you to serve more guests.

Second, the system has the ability to boost average ticket amounts by presenting:

  • Enticing photos of dishes you want to feature
  • Add-on suggestions
  • Engaging messages – like a special, limited-time-only creation from the chef

All of this can help increase sales. In fact, a study showed that, with a Tabletop POS system, the length of stay shortened by 10% while the average sales per check rose by nearly 3%. And that’s just one study. Other results show sales per check rising even higher than that.

Finding Efficiencies

When it comes to uncovering new efficiencies, a Tabletop POS system really delivers. The system improves communication between the front and back of the house since the order is entered through the tablet or smartphone and then instantly delivered to the kitchen display system.

This speed of delivery cuts wait times (and meal times as mentioned above). Plus, since the members are entering the orders themselves, there is better order accuracy.

Additionally, you can update menus instantly. And go green, eliminating paper menus which also saves you on the costs of paper and printing.

Serving up Even more Advantages

There are a variety of additional ways that a Tabletop POS system can enhance the experience in your club’s restaurant.

For those members who have lingering concerns about the pandemic, Tabletop POS can provide a dining option with limited exposure to staff.

For groups, one diner can pick up the check. Or you can have a group order where each individual diner pays on their own.

Once an order is placed, you have the option of presenting the members with a countdown clock to show them when they can expect their meals.

A member can flag a server through the Tabletop POS. Since the server can see all the tables in the system, they can instantly know which party requires immediate attention.

All the data gathered by the system gives you the insight to optimize the menu, develop promotional efforts that will resonate with members, and even identify problem areas to address.

All in all, a Tabletop POS system can improve how you operate, While improving the experience for your members and your staff. That’s the kind of recipe that clubs find irresistibly enticing. It’s also why Tabletop POS continues to grow in popularity among leading clubs.

To learn more about the advantages of Tabletop POS, contact Northstar. We can show you what a premier solution will help you do. Better yet, we can show you how it can integrate with your entire operation by plugging into a complete club management system operating on one database. For a complimentary consultation, call Northstar today.

Why your Club Management should Embrace this Season’s Attitude of Gratitude

Why your club management should embrace this season’s attitude of gratitudeThis time of the year we all think a bit more about gratitude. Maybe it is stopping to reflect on what we have. Maybe it is recognizing an opportunity that has arisen. Or, simply appreciating a thank you offered.

It is undeniable that there is something about the holidays.

This is important for clubs to recognize. And to amplify. According to Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at UC Davis and one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, gratitude is “a relationship-strengthening emotion.” Building and celebrating relationships are big reasons why members join. Taking time to tap into the power of gratitude can help make members feel appreciated and strengthen their sense of belongingness at your club.

Most interestingly, gratitude sparks a fascinating phenomenon. When someone expresses gratitude toward us, it does so much more than just make us feel good. It actually increases the likelihood that we will want to express our thanks. This creates a cycle of gratitude. It’s why this time of year people talk about the spirit of the season. Or characterized it as a season of sharing. Here are a few ideas for bringing this attitude of gratitude into your club.

Create a gratitude campaign

You have some great tools at your disposal. Let’s use them to help promote a spirit of gratitude during this season. Start by creating a theme for your effort. Then bring it to life with your email. You can send out a weekly gratitude-themed message. It could be as simple as featuring a quote about gratitude. “At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into an endless sea of gratitude from which I’ve never emerged.”

– Patch Adams

Don’t forget your messaging capabilities in the club app as well. Send those messages out to all members each week. And feature them in the app’s feed. Everyone likes a little bit of inspiration and feeling like they are appreciated. Use your website, too. Create banners with your gratitude campaign theme. Feature some of the quotes you use in the emails. If you want to take it to the next level, consider highlighting club members. Ask what gratitude means to her or him. Then, feature the quote and even a picture.

Take it to your social channels

Your social channels are the perfect place for your gratitude message. Here are a few ideas:

  • Use the gratitude theme you developed and as the quotes you are emailing and featuring on website banners.
  • If you’re featuring members in your campaign, use their gratitude quotes here as well.
  • Post regularly – consider Thursdays and add the hashtag #ThankfulThursday.
  • Create a virtual gratitude tree, asking your followers to post what they are most grateful for.
  • Create little virtual gifts delivered through your social posts – like a recipe from the executive chef or a golf tip (complete with video) from the club pro.

App-reciation

This is a great idea for creating gratitude-themed surprise and delight, and promoting the use of your club app. When someone makes a reservation through the app, send them a thank you with an offer. Half off a spa visit or a free dessert can be a great way to express the club’s gratitude during the season. For the member, it feels great to be appreciated and rewarded.

Using your club management software for data-driven recognition and appreciation

If you have the advantage of an integrated club software system, make an extra push with the staff to use the insight the system delivers about each member. His or her preferences. Either stated or demonstrated. It can be as simple as the staff thanking the member for coming in today and asking if she or he would like the usual (something your staff would know from the system). This simple gesture can have a profound effect. Because it can make the member feel understood and appreciated.

Showing gratitude to your staff

No group deserves recognition and appreciation more than your staff. Including them in your efforts this season can help bolster the spirit of gratitude at your club. Use your system’s analytics insights to identify top performers at the club. Feature these staff members in special social media posts, banners on the website, emails, and more. Another idea is to ask your staff to contribute tips and advice about using different features of the club that members may not be aware of. You can then feature these tips in your efforts and thank the staff member who provided it.

Becoming thank-full

Gratitude is an often underappreciated factor for creating a special atmosphere at your club. This holiday season offers an opportunity for you to experience its bountiful rewards by bringing an attitude of gratitude to your club, members, and staff. Now is the time to make your club thank-full. To learn more about the tools for implementing a gratitude-oriented approach at your club, request a demo of the Northstar Technologies system.