Membership Recruitment Ideas

[duncan mackie]

The more I give it thought, the more i'm into this combined membership thing with other clubs rather than reciprocal arrangements. I think with the right policies and ideas in place it has mileage for struggling clubs, maybe good for 2 clubs in the same town like what we have.

This really has given me food for thought.

Just to highlight another practical aspect, specifically relevant to struggling clubs.....if you are struggling its for a reason, and inviting your membership to enjoy the benefits of other clubs is as likely to result in members moving to the other clubs as increase your membership!
Whilst you might say that would only be valid if the other clubs were better...there's not a lot of marketing benefit in linking up with worse/poor ones.
You also have to recognise that your membership fee decisions become intrinsically linked with those of the other clubs over time.

These schemes work best when all the club's are healthy and the geography means that people might visit occassionally but are unlikely to want to play all their golf at one of the others.

 

[IanM]

Our Reciprocals are with clubs a good hour or more from ours....

The "struggling for a reason" comment is spot on. Same as any business... understand your product, your market and price accordingly.

We lost Dewstow near us in the last year or so. Always had a decent course for lower cost than the courses nearest to it.... they let the condition on and off the course slide to such an extent, paying more for the other options became increasingly attractive.... so folk moved. Result, closure. Slight over simplification, but that's about it!

 

[Val]

Just to highlight another practical aspect, specifically relevant to struggling clubs.....if you are struggling its for a reason, and inviting your membership to enjoy the benefits of other clubs is as likely to result in members moving to the other clubs as increase your membership!
Whilst you might say that would only be valid if the other clubs were better...there's not a lot of marketing benefit in linking up with worse/poor ones.
You also have to recognise that your membership fee decisions become intrinsically linked with those of the other clubs over time.

These schemes work best when all the club's are healthy and the geography means that people might visit occassionally but are unlikely to want to play all their golf at one of the others.

If you have 2 clubs in a town, both with declining membership, similar fees and similar course quality (i'd argue our greens are better though ) and both looking for ways to attract more members then what is the solution? Neither are struggling as such but neither prospering either.

In a 10 mile radius from my house I reckon we have at least 12 golf courses all competing for members, stretch that to 20 miles and the number is probably nearer 50 courses. In 10 years time we'll have more than 1 casualty I reckon.

 

[Grant85]

A few issues here:

Having offers for new members is great and is the natural way to encourage participation, but obviously you have to be careful not to discourage existing members from jumping ship.

It's a bit like Sky v BT v Virgin Media. You get a good deal for a year or 18 months, then the price goes up and you move onto the next one. But generally people are more attached to their golf club and there is (currently) less moving about.

Ideally deals would include or benefit all members and not have the appearance of a fire sale for a struggling club.

1. Incentive for all members to increase performance or membership. Say a members dividend. e.g. fees are c. £1,000 but all members get a dividend onto their bar card if club income or surplus funds goes above certain thresholds or membership goes up to xxx. This can be evaluated and set each year by committee with regular updates.

2. More flexible memberships. This is a big one for clubs to swallow because it will encourage existing members to 'downgrade' their subs. But a 5 day membership with x weekend rounds, or a supplement to play at the weekend. Something that is more closely related to participation. Appreciate this may be necessary to restrict the number of these at a club.

3. A new parent membership. Have a reduced category for people with young children who will likely play much less and get x no of rounds. Maybe allow this for no more than 3 or 5 years per member with primary school age kids.

4. Clubs merging. Again, a difficult one for many to get their heads round but lets say 2 clubs in the same area. Fully merge and become the same club. Geographically, clubs right next to each other, this is even better.
Keep both courses but share staff and resources as best you can with full access for members at both venues for the same or reduced fees. Possibly do away with one clubhouse and just have a pavilion / starters hut and save a lot on running costs / maintenance. There may be potential to sell a practice area at one venue also.
Can have separate competitions on the same day and potentially much better potential to sell tee times to general public / societies at peak times.

5. Set out course with a view to improving pace of play and generally encourage people to play a lot quicker.

6. Think like a business. increase revenue / reduce costs / improve user experience / market your club to the best of your ability.

7. Be pro-active. Take measures before things get too bad or else any actions you take will have the measure of desperation.

 

[r0wly86]

I will go in a slightly different direction. Of course the state of the course is important to golfers but I'd say not so much to membership. Nomadic golfers are more common because they can get good deals at good courses.

Membership of a club needs to stress the benefits of membership which should be more about just playing.

Nice facilities and club house, cheap lockers. Good practice facilities maybe free practice balls for members.

There needs to be a good club feel, people will put up with slow play etc if they enjoy being at the club. A pro who interacts well with the members is worth his weight in gold. If they do this like free group coaching and clinics this yes also really good.

An attractive price will get new members in; a club enjoy being in even if they aren't playing golf will keep them there.

Conversely if you don't like the club side and are a car park golfer or just play with the same fourball you will question £1000+pa when you could pay and play for far less.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

For me it’s simple

Have a good product

If clubs are struggling to attract members it’s not because of the memberships on offer it’s because the product isn’t good or attract enough - all the top courses and clubs don’t struggle for members and it’s because what’s offered is a first class product

We lost at one stage 160 members over a two year period and mainly because the course was in a poor state - so a revamp was done a new GK was installed , some younger member packages were started plus a membership without joining fee - and lots of money was spent on the course improving the product , we took advantage of Mentmore closing and better sponsorship etc and with the new GK and Golf Director we filled the membership and also have a waiting list now as well

Sort the product out and people will pay for it

 

[clubchamp98]

Main thing coming over here is members only wanting to play March to September.
So the thing to do is charge more for these months .
my membership is £1300 this year.
Make March to September £1100.
Oct to Feb £200.
If they don’t play in winter they can save some money.
Its not practical for some guys to play in winter if they work 9/5pm.
This is not exact but something on these lines may work.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

For me it’s simple

Have a good product

If clubs are struggling to attract members it’s not because of the memberships on offer it’s because the product isn’t good or attract enough - all the top courses and clubs don’t struggle for members and it’s because what’s offered is a first class product

We lost at one stage 160 members over a two year period and mainly because the course was in a poor state - so a revamp was done a new GK was installed , some younger member packages were started plus a membership without joining fee - and lots of money was spent on the course improving the product , we took advantage of Mentmore closing and better sponsorship etc and with the new GK and Golf Director we filled the membership and also have a waiting list now as well

Sort the product out and people will pay for it

Spot on - even though we are relatively expensive I think that the great effort that we have put into our 'product' - improving it and expanding it significantly over the last 3 yrs - is the main reason that we are full and have a waiting list.

 

[Grant85]

I also think 9 hole competitions should be on offer to allow people to play for a couple of hours and still keep their handicap and play competitive golf.

These could easily run on the same day as an 18 hole medal.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Main thing coming over here is members only wanting to play March to September.
So the thing to do is charge more for these months .
my membership is £1300 this year.
Make March to September £1100.
Oct to Feb £200.
If they don’t play in winter they can save some money.
Its not practical for some guys to play in winter if they work 9/5pm.
This is not exact but something on these lines may work.

What happens if every member decided to downgrade their membership? The club revenue drops by around 20% but the running costs are the same so the situation goes from bad to worse.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It's hard and like many clubs we have a host of other clubs around us (for those that know the area, Downshire Sand Martins, Mill Ride, East Berks, Berkshire etc) and so we have to work hard to attract new members and be competitive in our pricing. We are doing a lot on the course and beginning to reap the rewards especially the quality of the greens. WE do offer age related price breaks which has helped attract and keep younger members and we offer payment by DD if required.

 

[r0wly86]

What happens if every member decided to downgrade their membership? The club revenue drops by around 20% but the running costs are the same so the situation goes from bad to worse.

Would you get more members though, there must be some that are put off joining as they can't justify a full year of membership

 

[clubchamp98]

What happens if every member decided to downgrade their membership? The club revenue drops by around 20% but the running costs are the same so the situation goes from bad to worse.

Yes possibly there is no complete answer , but I would have the course to myself for a couple of months.
It would also give the course a rest.

As far as I am concerned your a member or your not.
Trying to get new members by offering deals just upsets the ones you have.

The case in point we had a Anyone under the age of thirty got a discount, but a 28yr old multi millionaire was paying less than 90% of the other members that didn’t go down well with the lads who were just managing to convince the missus that it’s worth £1300 this year.

 

[Crazyface]

That is the interesting point and as neighbours to them we await to see how it pans out. Two of the courses get very wet in the Winter, which would could lead to the third getting a lot of traffic but reaping the rewards with an increased bar revenue ??

If we weren't very well settled at our existing club would be tempted as one of them is £100 cheaper per annum than us and the other £180 !!

LOL !!!

 

[Crazyface]

For me it’s simple

Have a good product

If clubs are struggling to attract members it’s not because of the memberships on offer it’s because the product isn’t good or attract enough - all the top courses and clubs don’t struggle for members and it’s because what’s offered is a first class product

We lost at one stage 160 members over a two year period and mainly because the course was in a poor state - so a revamp was done a new GK was installed , some younger member packages were started plus a membership without joining fee - and lots of money was spent on the course improving the product , we took advantage of Mentmore closing and better sponsorship etc and with the new GK and Golf Director we filled the membership and also have a waiting list now as well

Sort the product out and people will pay for it

This is what I was discussing with a mate from my place yesterday. The word "product" came up time and time again.

 

[badgermat]

I guess it rather depends on what you mean by “membership recruitment”.

If you’re looking to drive churn - attracting existing golfers from other clubs - discounts, flexible membership and improving your facilities would be the key.

But if you’re looking to expand the market - attracting new people to golf and therefore growing membership - you’re going to have to work harder.

Flexible (month by month) membership would help, but the best thing you could do would be to establish a series of new to golf days, letting people who are curious come and try out alongside other beginners without having to endure the intimidation and opprobrium of “experienced” members.

Promote a weekly drop-in class that works like casual gym membership or yoga classes. Get people out on the course and batting a ball around with a coach. £10 or £15 for an hour session with a small group. Make the barriers to starting low and you’ll be amazed how many want to keep going ... and to join or commit to a programme of classes.

Link up with a local school to offer youth golf coaching or even a whole competitive series. That would get both kids and parents involved.

If you don’t already have them, set up some short tee boxes for youth/beginner golf ... and promote their use. Make the game a bit easier for beginners, but don’t ghettoise them to a separate course.

Frankly, there are heaps of things any club could do to attract more users and even members. The only problem is that most clubs don’t really want to get new golfers, they just want other club’s golfers.

bm

 

[Grant85]

I guess it rather depends on what you mean by “membership recruitment”.

If you’re looking to drive churn - attracting existing golfers from other clubs - discounts, flexible membership and improving your facilities would be the key.

But if you’re looking to expand the market - attracting new people to golf and therefore growing membership - you’re going to have to work harder.

Flexible (month by month) membership would help, but the best thing you could do would be to establish a series of new to golf days, letting people who are curious come and try out alongside other beginners without having to endure the intimidation and opprobrium of “experienced” members.

Promote a weekly drop-in class that works like casual gym membership or yoga classes. Get people out on the course and batting a ball around with a coach. £10 or £15 for an hour session with a small group. Make the barriers to starting low and you’ll be amazed how many want to keep going ... and to join or commit to a programme of classes.

Link up with a local school to offer youth golf coaching or even a whole competitive series. That would get both kids and parents involved.

If you don’t already have them, set up some short tee boxes for youth/beginner golf ... and promote their use. Make the game a bit easier for beginners, but don’t ghettoise them to a separate course.

Frankly, there are heaps of things any club could do to attract more users and even members. The only problem is that most clubs don’t really want to get new golfers, they just want other club’s golfers.

bm

I would agree with that.

Getting more people into golf is a much better strategy. If all clubs in the area did the same, it would benefit all clubs as golf is a social game so a few keen beginners would be more likely to get some mates involved.

 

[Slab]

It seems that some clubs go for simplistic copy-cat offers often with poorly thought through ramifications and negative knock on effects

I wonder if its just that lots of clubs just don’t seem to be creative enough in identifying what will work best for them (instead of just adopting some variant of what ‘appeared’ to work for the club down the road or in the next county, or something they read on a forum, that’s nuts!)

Sure the quality of the ‘product’ has to be a given before you start. If you don’t have a product that represents value for money, any recruitment drive is doomed to fail so don’t bother.
But obviously its not as easy as implying ‘if you build it they will come’ that just has a touch of the Adele Invergordon approach about it (& I get that's not what's being suggested here)
(i.e If I have two sticks for sale and one has poo on it, the other is carefully cut to size, polished and smells nice its naturally more likely to sell… but poo or no poo it doesn’t mean anybody actually wants to buy a stick though )

If you don’t have access to the suitable resources in the club to handle a project like a recruitment drive (or the money to employ) then any recruitment drive is doomed to fail so don’t bother

And this internal resource is critical in the success/failure of the plan. How many of us have seen the horrific club websites churned out because a well-meaning volunteer member thought they could do it properly. So the same applies to those in finance/marketing/social media/event management etc etc who think they can turn things round and get new members. A few clubs will have the right people and good luck to them, but it is not a strategy to be followed by everyone

Just like each course being different in design/layout, each recruitment/marketing strategy needs to be tailored to that particular course at that time considering its membership, its environment, its economy and its demographic…. and just because it worked one year doesn’t mean it will work again the next

 

[Grant85]

Think what a business would do.

They would employ someone in sales and incentivise them to sell memberships or tee off times to people.

Agree about the quality of the product, but for many golf is simply something they have never taken the notion to play, but it's the type of game that once you start playing it is very easy to get the bug.

I played golf when of school age, and basically it was somewhere my mum could park me & my brother during the summer holidays. I never played in competitions or really had any lessons or even much in the way of decent equipment. I can barely even remember playing and finishing the whole course such was my lack of ability and focus.

Fast forward 10 years or so and my father in law asks if I want a game of golf on the day of the Royal Wedding (April 2011). I was hooked almost instantly and properly took it up and joined a club later that year.

 

[Macster]

Interesting topic this, and clearly one that is affecting many Clubs around the country.

I know the reasons Clubs dropped 'Joining Fees' etc, but for me, thats where a lot of these issues stem from, and what we now have is a 'nomadic' Golfing Community, where no one has 'bought in' to the Club, and therefore feel's no real allegiance and/or inclination to stay, and simply jumps ship to try somewhere else whenever the whim takes them, or conditions encourage.
That in turn makes it a nightmare for Clubs to budget, never knowing how many of the Members will rejoin each year.
Ok, I know one could argue that we all should have freedom of choice, and should be able to move freely, but just saying......