Q&A with Caroline Ceisel In the golf industry, top-notch customer experience is the ultimate goal. In a new CX Star conversation with KemperSports Director of Loyalty and Insights Caroline Ceisel, you’ll learn how the leading sports and hospitality organization is mastering the CX long and short game. Ceisel also shares her predictions for what’s next in golf innovation and some surprising stats from a recent survey, including which age group of golfers is growing the fastest. Hint: they also love TikTok.
Q: Tell us more about KemperSports and your role as Director of Loyalty and Insights.
I’ll start by sharing a little background on KemperSports . We’re a leading sports, entertainment and hospitality company, with a focus on creating the absolute best golf and sports experiences. We’re headquartered in the Chicago suburbs, which is where I sit as Director of Loyalty and Insights, but we also have regional offices throughout the U.S. We’re proud to manage more than 145 golf courses, private clubs, sports venues, and destination resorts nationwide.
I love my role for so many reasons, but one of my favorite things is that I get to tap into the voice of the customer in every single aspect of my job. It’s unique, and it gives me a special perspective into what’s working, what’s not, and how we can always continue to improve. I'm constantly getting feedback from customers across our properties nationwide, and then I get to work with our operators to create experiences based on those insights. No matter who I meet with throughout the organization, I’m always bringing the voice of the customer to the conversation.
Another enjoyable part of my day-to-day is the access I have to data and research. We have a proprietary survey tool called TrueReview to analyze our guests’ experience and understand each property’s Net Promoter Scores (NPS). In addition, I also get to gather data from our employees to better understand their challenges, successes, and overall experience.
Q: Who are your target customers?
At KemperSports, we have several different audiences we serve. First, there are our clients that own the properties.
Then we have our end customers, a group that is mostly made up of golfers, but that could also include youth sports participants, event guests, and/or people dining at a course restaurant, for example.
Finally, we have our employees, which are made of two subsections. The first group of employees are our operators: the general managers, superintendents, and teams managing each individual property. We also have our corporate employees who work at our home office and regional offices in finance, operations, marketing, HR, legal, etc.
Q: What are your biggest challenges as Director of Loyalty and Insights?
One of the biggest challenges we face is dealing with disparate systems across our 145 properties. As you can imagine, each has its own point-of-sale (POS) system—whether for food and beverage, the golf course itself, or pro shops—which makes it challenging to obtain a single, unified view of the customer. We also want to factor in a customer’s activity online, on social media, etc., which can be complex.
To overcome this, I collaborate closely with our technology team and it’s a work in progress to integrate these different systems. By bringing everything together, we hope to ensure a seamless customer experience for all customers, tracking their interactions across all properties and channels to better serve their needs.
Another challenge that’s a bit more out of our control in golf is the weather. It obviously plays a huge role in the experience of our golfers. There is a constant need for timely communication with customers on weather conditions, and we want to get in front of them, help set expectations, and of course, work with them if they’re disappointed in a golf experience due to the weather. On the flip side, weather is one of our greatest opportunities, because what better way to enjoy being outdoors than on a golf course?
Q: What are some successful CX projects you’ve worked on? How have those programs impacted your approach to CX?
We conducted a golfer experience survey at the end of 2022 and gathered some really great insights from 16,000 of our golfers that we were able to act on. One of the most interesting parts of that survey was seeing a huge increase in the sheer volume of golfers hitting the course because of the pandemic.
As we remember, outdoor activities were some of the only social gatherings available to us for many months, and golf was a safe, socially distant way for people to exercise, socialize, and get out of the house. Our survey revealed that people also found it great to unplug and de-stress from the intense news, illness challenges, childcare and eldercare issues, among other things. The increased interest in golf was a positive side effect of the pandemic. It really infused the sport again with new players, and we've been building on that momentum ever since.
An important part of building on that momentum is removing some of the stigma and exclusivity that’s associated with golf. It’s something we heard from our survey respondents – that they feel nervous about going to a course or they don’t know what to wear or bring – and we’ve taken those insights to our operators to better engage our guests to grow our golfer base.
This means implementing initiatives like partnering with Roger Steele on our “Make Golf Cool ” campaign to help grow the sport and move it forward by making it more welcoming, accessible, and fun. Also, in 2023 we launched our annual Youth Golf Week to capitalize on the interest of younger people who may be intimidated by the sport. We encouraged young players to come out on courses, try free clinics, and help remove some of the exclusivity that younger, less seasoned golfers may experience.
Gen Z also shared some interesting technology perspectives. For example, 70 percent said they use their golf game to unwind and disconnect from technology. At the same time, 74 percent of Gen Z respondents said they want better technology for things like golf carts, simulators, driving ranges, ball tracking, and especially, booking tee times. Many of them shared that a lot of this type of tech felt dated. It’s an interesting juxtaposition and tells me that we need to be mindful of the types of technology we’re enhancing, and where we need to be careful not to overdo it. We’ve taken this data and used it to inform things like better GPS tracking and guidance for our carts, for example, but not pinging golfers with in-console ads or notifications on the carts themselves, or something like drones overhead.
Another exciting innovation for us is the simulator space, which attracts new golfers to the game and keeps them playing long outside the traditional golf season (May – October) in most of the country.
Q: One of the biggest projects you oversee is the Frequent Fairways loyalty program. Can you tell us more about the impetus behind it, how it works, and what the benefits are to golfers and KemperSports?
We launched the Frequent Fairways program in Chicagoland in 2021, with the aim to grow golfer loyalty in a distinctive way. We used data from customer surveys to design a program that encouraged golfers to try new courses while also offering tiered benefits.
We have plenty of the typical “carrots” – rewards such as a free sleeve of golf balls, a Titleist® hat, or even a driver – to act as incentives. We also developed an app that lets golfers get stamps as they go to different courses. But the core goal goes beyond material rewards. It’s about building social connections and delivering memorable experiences on the course, something intangible that surveys revealed golfers deeply value.
Since Frequent Fairways was the first time we united our courses together through a platform and program, it presented us with another opportunity: to better train our team members across properties. We then enhanced our long-standing training program, TrueService, with new lessons from our learnings. TrueService helps our team members learn best practices, key messaging, operations, and more, to deliver a consistent experience across KemperSports properties.
One of the best benefits of Frequent Fairways, to both KemperSports and our golfers, has been the success related to community building. Whenever we ask for feedback about Frequent Fairways, very few people share anything about the physical rewards. Instead, they talk about how grateful they are to connect with new courses and meet new people, or how much they enjoyed getting out on the links with friends and family. I’m thrilled to share that Frequent Fairways has an 88 NPS, which is quite high. All of these happy golfers are what it’s all about!
Q: How is your CX team embracing the use of AI?
AI is everywhere, and the capabilities are tremendous. For us, though, we’ve still got work to do to get our base layer in order. I mentioned our disparate data systems earlier, but it’s important to get all those data sources together properly before we start deploying AI to do analysis.
We are using AI in other helpful ways, though. My team uses it to consolidate and track video reviews, for example, and better sort through sentiment in large batches of responses. I must admit, though, I often spend time going back in and correcting the areas where AI misses—it still happens! I believe the human element is still so important. These missteps are just another reason to make sure we’re set up for success with an accurate data platform before we dive deeper into AI.
Q: What CX-related blogs, books, newsletters, etc. are you currently reading that you would recommend to others? Podcasts?
I’m a big fan of podcasts these days, as I don’t get as much time to read as I would like! I really like the Intuitive Customer podcast. It dives deep into the psychological side of CX and how to get customers in the right mindset.
I did just read a great book called “Empathy in Action,” which does an amazing job of explaining why you need an employee and customer-centric strategy, not just a business strategy. It’s all about shifting your lens to your team and the people you serve, and I really like that approach.
Q: We must ask: do you play golf?
I'm aspiring to play golf but haven't had time to really get after it yet. I've started learning, and once my kids are older, I anticipate going all in. I grew up sailing and love the outdoors, so I already know I enjoy the fresh air, open spaces, and exercise.
Caroline with her family at a company event at The Glen Club, Glenview, IL. About Caroline Ceisel, Director of Loyalty and Insights at KemperSports
Caroline has over 20 years of progressive experience in extracting key insights from qualitative research, marketplace trends and analytic discoveries to create motivating, human-centered customer experiences that drive growth strategies.
Caroline is Director of Loyalty & Insights for KemperSports, LLC., a leading organization in property and experience management. KemperSports manages over 145 golf courses and event centers across the nation. Prior to KemperSports, Caroline managed loyalty strategy and innovation at Hyatt Hotels and Expedia Group.
Caroline also has over a decade of experience as a marketing, branding and consumer insight research consultant across industries. A sample of prior clients includes Kimpton Hotels, The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Dental Care Partners, Rancho La Puerta, American Licorice Company and Coldstone Creamery.
