In football they say, “Offense sells tickets and defense wins championships”! That may be true but without ticket sales there won’t be enough revenue to field a team. I am confident you can tell that my metaphorical story has a significant parallel to the private club industry. A vibrant and exciting membership helps sell memberships and an efficiently run club will have profits for reinvestment. There is a balance of “show time” and “efficiency” that can properly exist at a successful private club.
The private club industry has been totally on defense. Most private clubs have been attempting to survive through an entire focus on budget cuts and very little focus on membership development strategies and investing in membership experiences. The defense reaction has gone to skeleton staffs and a mindset of “we can do this ourselves” to produce the new member results for which they desperately require to flourish. If members aren’t entertained, they won’t attend the game and, especially, won’t invest their time in your club.
Encourage Members to Take Advantage of All Services and Amenities Make sure your members know about all of the services and amenities that the club offers and how you can help introduce them. Too often, clubs assume the members know more about club and activities than they do. New experiences for a member can create the perfect talking point next time they’re with their friends and family.
Tap Into and Introduce Your Network Clusters When great networker’s get together in the same room, the energy is unmistakable, and they share lead like there’s no tomorrow. It’s important to get clear on who you want to attract as members and how your membership network can help you get referrals.
Recognize and Thank Your Referral Sources. This could be accomplished with a simple phone call, short ‘thank you’ in person, or even better, a handwritten note. The important thing is to express your appreciation. You’ll also encourage additional referrals this way.
Membership marketing and, ultimately, growing your membership can be a sophisticated and complex process Whether you are contemplating starting on your own or hiring an industry expert, the more you utilize your offense the better chance of “selling tickets and orchestrating exciting offensive strategies” for your team!
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