{"id":11207,"date":"2025-09-18T10:15:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T02:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dkmeco.com\/en\/?post_type=customers&p=11207"},"modified":"2025-09-18T10:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T02:24:41","slug":"youth-on-course-scales-member-support-with-hubspot-from-inbox-chaos-to-ai-powered-service","status":"publish","type":"customers","link":"https:\/\/www.dkmeco.com\/en\/customers-story\/youth-on-course-scales-member-support-with-hubspot-from-inbox-chaos-to-ai-powered-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth on Course Scales Member Support with HubSpot: From Inbox Chaos to AI-Powered Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Background<\/strong><\/span>
\nOpening Doors Through Accessible Golf<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Youth on Course is a nonprofit committed to making golf affordable and accessible to youth across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Through partnerships with thousands of golf courses, they subsidize green fees for over 250,000 junior golfers\u2014helping kids build confidence, focus, and lifelong skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Youth<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGolf is a sport you can carry through your entire life,\u201d says John Mothershead, Director of Member Success. \u201cIt teaches respect, responsibility, and social skills. Our members tell us it\u2019s helped them succeed in school, ace interviews, and connect with mentors in their careers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the organization grew rapidly\u2014adding over 120,000 members in just the last year\u2014its small, passionate team faced mounting pressure to keep up with support volume and maintain the quality experience their community relies on.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Challenge<\/strong><\/span>
\nToo Many Emails, Not Enough Time<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Before HubSpot, Youth on Course handled member support using a shared Gmail inbox. With no ticketing system, no way to assign ownership, and no visibility into customer history, requests were falling through the cracks\u2014and so was trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hot mess,\u201d John says. \u201cOur team cared deeply, but we didn\u2019t have the tools. It felt demoralizing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One holiday weekend became a breaking point. John opened the inbox to find 500 urgent, unanswered emails\u2014and no way the team could recover in time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had to choose between canceling my vacation and letting members down. Either way, it wasn\u2019t sustainable,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd it was impacting what mattered most: our members\u2019 ability to get on the course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Youth<\/span><\/p>\n

Youth high-fiving on golf course<\/span><\/p>\n

Renewal season made things even harder. Thousands of members would try to renew at once, especially in regions with short golf seasons. One mistake\u2014like a delayed handicap number\u2014could mean missing a tournament or a round with a grandparent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew if we didn\u2019t solve this, it wouldn\u2019t just hurt our service. It would hurt our mission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Struggling to Keep Up with the Pace of Play<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Recognizing the need for change, Youth on Course adopted HubSpot\u2019s Service Hub. As the platform gained traction within the golf industry, the team saw it as a way to modernize operations while keeping their mission at the center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHubSpot was growing in popularity among golf associations,\u201d John says. \u201cWe jumped in with Service Hub\u2014and saw results right away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Solution<\/strong><\/span>
\nA Personal, Scalable Service Experience<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

With Service Hub in place, Youth on Course quickly modernized its support operations. Gone was the chaos of a shared Gmail inbox\u2014tickets were now organized, assigned, and answered efficiently through Help Desk, using snippets and recommended replies to respond faster and more consistently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Customer Agent as an Extension of the Team<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest transformation came with Customer Agent\u2014an AI-powered assistant that could instantly answer common questions from members, donors, and course partners, 24\/7.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Customer<\/span><\/p>\n

Customer agent live on Youth on Course website<\/span>
\n\u201cOur members get the help they need without waiting,\u201d says John. \u201cAnd when something needs a human touch, our team can step in quickly\u2014with full context at their fingertips.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting multiple regions and audiences\u2014junior golfers, donors, alumni, and course operators\u2014requires nuance. Youth on Course trained Customer Agent using blog posts, web pages, knowledge base articles, and landing pages to ensure accurate, audience-specific responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/p>\n

Customer Agent Platform View<\/span>
\n\u201cGolf is complex,\u201d John explains. \u201cThe answer for someone in Canada might be totally different than for someone in California. But just like you\u2019d train a new hire, we trained Customer Agent\u2014and now it\u2019s often more accurate than we were.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Help Desk + Breeze Copilot = Human Efficiency at Scale<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Help Desk became a hub for strategic support. With Breeze Copilot, Youth on Course\u2019s support team could instantly access customer history and ticket summaries\u2014eliminating the need to dig through threads or ask customers to repeat themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur support team can now work smarter\u2014not harder,\u201d John says. \u201cThey\u2019re spending less time chasing details and more time delivering real value.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Transformation<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom Rising Demand to Elevated Member Experience<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite a 75% increase in support tickets, Youth on Course improved speed and satisfaction at the same time:<\/span><\/p>\n

Response times improved by 16%<\/span>
\nCustomer satisfaction scores rose by 7%<\/span>
\n\u201cWe were shocked,\u201d John says. \u201cWe had more volume than ever\u2014but we were faster, and our members were happier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Customer Agent Platform Dashboard View<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom Playing Defense to Leading with Strategy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Before HubSpot, the support team was constantly reacting\u2014just trying to keep up with incoming requests. Now, Customer Agent handles the routine at scale, giving the team time to focus on deeper work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, our lean team was stuck playing defense,\u201d John says. \u201cNow we\u2019re on offense\u2014focusing on growth, innovation, and deepening our impact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking Ahead: Smarter, More Personalized Support<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As Youth on Course continues to grow, AI is helping them not just scale\u2014but personalize.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith tools like Customer Agent, we can imagine a future where we celebrate members\u2019 100th rounds or alert them when a new course opens nearby,\u201d John shares. \u201cIt\u2019s not about replacing our human connection\u2014it\u2019s about making room for more of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s especially excited about the upcoming Knowledge Base Agent, which will identify gaps in support content and recommend new articles in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Knowledge<\/span><\/p>\n

Knowledge Base Agent<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another example of how HubSpot listens to our needs and evolves alongside us. That\u2019s what keeps us confident that we\u2019re not just keeping up\u2014we\u2019re leading,\u201d shares John.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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