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Ladies Vantage Go Digital and Increase Your Earnings Potential By Meg Bandy and Emillia Viljoen, USPTA Elite Professionals
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hat do you want to maximize? Perhaps it’s as simple as your lesson base, time on the court, earning potential, or time off the court. Whether your office consists of four wheels and an iPhone or four walls and 24 tennis courts, the business end of the tennis racket is often times far more than teaching forehands and backhands. With the drive towards a more touch free environment, more tools are at our disposal than ever. A tennis specific business environment can be difficult to navigate, but here are some tips to find those user-friendly digital tools. The first step when looking to purchase any app or digital tool (software), is figuring out your need or problem that you want to solve and making sure they’re aligned with your business model and goals. Identifying the problem that is holding you back, helps you narrow down the type of digital toll you need. Start with a specific business goal-driven issue for e.g. “I/We need our coaches/pros to be able to take roll on the court and bill the club member accounts directly.” If you’re not sure where to start, talk to your team of pros or customers to uncover current problem areas. Have several conversations to identify the underlying issue, not just the symptoms. Your business may be spread over several apps already and you may want to consolidate under one umbrella. Also, reach out to other pros in the industry to see if they have experienced similar issues. Talk to a pro or coach with a similar business model or organization structure. The second step is to define your software requirements. There are likely dozens of software products and apps designed to address the problem you’re having. You need software or apps that will match your specific needs
closely. Knowing what you want to get out of the software or apps, will help you get closer to the right choice for your business. Here are some things to consider: 1. Does it have all the features to performs all the tasks you need it to do, and does it solve your digital problems and support your business? 2. Would you need separate accounts for each user, and does it meet your future growth needs? 3. How user-friendly is it? Does the software have good reviews? Are the reviews relevant in the evaluation of the software or app. Are testimonials credible? If it is an app, does it work well on both IOS, Android and other operating systems. 4. How will the software or app interact with other software you use for your business? Does it replace or can it co-exist with your current software? 5. Define a budget and how much you’re willing to spend on the software or app. Many apps are free initially, with additional purchase for features. Consider the cost of add-ons. You’ve done a lot of research by this point and you are likely ready to make a final selection from your shortlist. There are however, a view additional things to be aware of: • If the software requires a contract, make sure you’ve communicated with the vendor ahead of time about the terms of your contract. • Does your business qualify for any discounts e.g. a nonprofit organization. • If you have not already discussed payment plans, ask about discounts for paying annually instead of monthly. Some vendors or apps will have the option already built in, but some do not.
• If it applies, discuss what the software vendor will be responsible for post-purchase. If it is an app, it may just be as simple as making sure you and your customers receive notification of updates regularly. Some apps and tennis specific software are easily found in online searches. Here are a few of the dozens we found: Tennis Locker: Great for managing your academy, club or facility, player progress plus much more. This is pretty robust. Team Snap: Works well for the individual pro or school coach looking to manage a group of players. The administrator is charged a monthly fee. MindBody: For the individual pro looking to have scheduling and online payment for group or individual lessons. MindBody will list your business and promote from their site. In-app purchases and add-ons are available. Serve Tennis: The USTA released Serve Tennis in 2020. If you are on a tight budget this is worth looking into and could help you grow business with a free website, member contact and communication, and online lesson booking. You will be included on listings and searches on USTA. com as a tennis provider. SquareAppointments: Customizable booking, scheduling for businesses. Take payments in one digital place. In-app purchases and add-ons available.
