Pickleball’s popularity continues to rise, and as new players visit your courts their first impressions will decide if they stay.

Within their first few weeks, new members will decide whether or not they’ll become club regulars.

If you want your new pickleball players to stick around, you need to show them your club’s value and provide an unrivaled experience.  

So how do you make sure you leave a great first impression? It all comes down to how your team tackles problems.

Reactive vs. Proactive Management

Reactive management is when your team responds to problems as they arise. At first glance, this might seem like the right approach. After all, how do you solve problems before they happen?  

While it’s important for your team to be agile when responding to issues, reactive management can negatively impact your new pickleball players.

The first few weeks of a new member’s experience at your club will determine if they keep coming back. If you wait until the last minute to address a potential problem, you risk leaving a bad first impression.

Even if you’re able to provide a solution, a negative experience could discourage new members from returning.  

You can avoid these pitfalls by practicing proactive management.

A proactive management style is based on anticipating your members’ needs so your team can solve problems before they happen. Proactively looking for inefficient or unintuitive systems gives you the opportunity to fix them before your members have a negative experience. As new pickleball players start visiting your club, giving them a great first impression will make them more likely to stick around.

Proactive Management for Pickleball

As the sport’s popularity continues to grow and courts fill up, your local pickleball players will be looking for somewhere to play.

With courts in such high demand, the reservation features and perks you provide could be the deciding factor that makes them choose you over a competitor.  

Here are two proactive steps you can take to impress new pickleball players.  

Offer Mobile Class Registration

One of pickleball’s biggest appeals is the social atmosphere of the court. Pickleball players want to maximize the time they spend on the court, and you can help them by making the registration process as simple as possible.  

Offering mobile registration gives new members access to your class information when and where they need it.

By increasing the visibility of your lessons, you can prevent confusion about the schedule and remove barriers that would make it difficult to sign up.  

Streamline Your Court Reservations

Connecting with your members is one of the best ways to keep new pickleball players returning.  

Studies show that every two interactions a member has with your staff in a given month results in an extra visit to your club the following month.

By maximizing your staff’s efficiency, they’ll have more time to spend connecting with new members.  

Streamlining your court reservation system simplifies your staff’s workload and saves them time. With less time spent behind the front desk, your staff can focus on providing a personalized experience and promoting your club’s other perks. A

s your staff develops deeper connections, you’ll add value to your club experience and drive more loyalty.  

As more pickleball players flock to your courts, giving them a great first impression will encourage them to stay. Being proactive about meeting their court registration needs will help you provide the best experience possible.  

Interested in learning more about how Club Automation can power pickleball at your club? Get a demo today.