The Site Caddy Story

 

An experienced online application developer with a passion for golf, Founder & CEO John Flanagan began working with Irish golf clubs in 1999 when his home club (St. Margaret's Golf Club, Dublin) asked him to help them manage their web presence — both in terms of online marketing and member services. The Club faced a number of problems - for example:

• The site required constant updates but each edit required the input from a paid contractor
• The membership database could not be connected to the website
• The Club had difficulty getting timely information to members

As a member and not yet a vendor, John’s first motivation was to find an existing service that would fulfill these requirements — content management, contact management, communications, etc.  Ideally in an online package that could be shared by multiple users via the web, and simple enough to be operated by club staff and members.  Surely something like this must exist on the market?

Further research revealed that most golf clubs had similar problems, and that no software or service existed that allowed clubs to manage their own online services for members and guests in an integrated package.  Most clubs relied on local web developers or members to make updates and improvements — neither a cost effective nor time sensitive option.

John architected and developed the first version of Site Caddy as a simple online utility that clubs could use to manage the mostly commonly needed updates (e.g. posting golf results, news and photos, and sending SMS text message updates to members).  However Site Caddy could not do it all — John was still required to consult with clients, design sites, manage most content, implement e-commerce solutions, deploy hosting and email solutions, and much more.

In the first year, Site Caddy was being used by only a handful of golf clubs and societies as John was focused on expanding his Green Island service range.  But Club Managers are a tightly-knit group, and word quickly spread.  Green Island's stable of clients steadily grew, and Site Caddy was developed in parallel to better serve the new clients.

 

Stepping Off The Course

As the economy in Ireland boomed, demand for reliable online sales and marketing firms increased.  Green Island branched first into related sectors (golf professionals, tourism) and then into other demographics.  As new industries were served, much was learned — and a need for a more scalable solution became obvious.  For example: most small businesses suffered the same problems as the golf industry in terms of website management and online marketing. 

In general small businesses are underserved in terms of online services — not because of a lack of quality competitors in the market, but these services are too generic and not focused on the practical capabilities of their clients.

Site Caddy best serves the needs of small businesses which are typically lacking in technical skills and large IT budgets.  To serve these clients, the system must be exceptionally user friendly and offer multiple channels of training and support.  Site Caddy currently powers over 140 client sites from a variety of industry sectors in Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S.

By learning to serve the specific needs of one industry, much was learned.  Understanding the requirements of serving multiple industries on a large scale revealed the need for a highly customizable solution - Site Caddy was no longer just for golf clubs!

 

Call us today for more details on how Site Caddy can save your business.