Mark Caster is a PGA Professional at TopGolf in Wood Dale, Ill.

Mark Caster on the importance of guerilla marketing:
Our facilities have been successful at what we call “guerilla marketing.” Rather than the typical newspaper or radio advertisement, we send a couple friendly, outgoing people to different locations in the area to meet and interact with potential new customers. At TopGolf, our staff is passionate about our facility and what we do, so it’s easy for them to translate this when they are out in public trying to bring people through our doors. The staff passes out free games or gift cards and talks to people at local businesses, bars and sporting events. We convey our enthusiasm, tell people what we’re all about and give them incentive to visit us by offering a chance to play at no charge. We have even challenged our staff to competitions: They hand out coupons for free games at TopGolf, and we are able to track which coupons were handed out by each staff member. The person who had the most coupons redeemed within a 30-day period received a cash prize. Our eager and devoted staff spreads the word about TopGolf, and customers have certainly responded.

Mark Caster on the business impact of guerilla marketing:
We think it’s important to find unique ways to get closer to our local community to establish ourselves as a place to go to have fun and play golf. The competitions have also been effective in creating incentive for the staff to go the extra mile to build our customer base. For example, the winner of the competition usually brings in as many as 25 people in a 30-day period. Once they’re here, our goal is to sell them a $35 playing card, which includes $45 in game credits, or even an executive membership. We feel that once they visit us once, the appeal of our facility will have them coming back even more often. To us, guerilla marketing is one of the most effective uses of our marketing budget.