Private clubs are defined by exclusivity and tradition. Their waiting lists are generally extensive, and there is never any fear that someone of the appropriate caliber wouldn’t be pleased to fill a gap in membership.
In recent years, however, we’ve seen a drastic shift from this comforting convention.
With new methods of communication, changing economic times, and altering lifestyle values, many clubs can no-longer count on a ready-made list of prospective members.
To keep our clubs healthy, it’s vital that we attract new membership. To do so, we need to reevaluate our methods of membership development and review the fundamentals of successful strategies to expand our pool of potential members.
Back to Basics
Our clubs were created to foster an environment where people with similar interests could congregate to enjoy fine living with their like-minded peers. Therefore, current club members should play an integral role in determining who would be a good fit for the particular club’s environment and culture.
The acquisition of new members used to have been just a matter of selecting the next suitable candidate from the lengthy waiting list. Since that source of membership has been drying up in recent years, many club boards are stymied by the prospect of actually looking for new members.
They don’t want to advertise, because it might give the impression of desperation. They don’t want to loose the club’s hard-earned and well-deserved prestige by letting it be known to the general membership or broader public that there is a shortage of interest of any kind.
How do we address this issue? The answer is to establish a membership development committee. When used effectively, it can mitigate the appearance of desperation while helping clubs grow their membership base.
Different Points of View
Some people might wonder, “Isn’t that the purpose of the membership committee?” In theory, the membership committee could be responsible for these duties as well, but keeping member growth as the main goal of a distinct working group ensures a more focused approach to the actual recruitment process.
Those club members with appropriate backgrounds and skills can also be tapped to give the committee added direction. For example, those in the marketing and communication fields can help strategize effective approaches to recruitment for the target demographic.
Rather than developing “advertising”, the membership development committee can also tap into the club’s greatest resource: its members.
Since social interaction is one of the lynchpins of the club community, members’ social circles are excellent avenues to explore for new members. Members should be incorporated into the process and, in conjunction with the committee, establish the best way for members to serve as ambassadors for the club.
When members are proud of the club and its traditions, they are likely to discuss it with others in their social circles. When members discuss their involvement in their clubs with their peers, they are serving as the clubs’ representative and promoting membership to their friends, who they very well might propose as candidates for club membership. These sorts of interactions serve as the core of the member-get-a-member recruitment campaigns in place at many clubs across the country.
Granted, not all members are natural ambassadors. Sometimes they need a little push. There are several ways to nudge members in the right direction. One option is to write a simple letter from the cub’s president explaining the importance of current members in expanding the club’s social circle through word-of-mouth new member recruitment. Another way might be to filter the information down from committees through casual conversations or an announcement at the club’s annual meeting. Most people just need the opportunity to build shared enthusiasm for membership development, and working it in to club culture is a great way to point people in the right direction.
Providing the Right Tools for the Job
When members are nudged out in to the wide world of recruiting, it’s important that they have information that they can share with their peers. Providing standardized material to the club’s ambassadors and members helps to ensure that the club puts its best foot forward, every time. This way, members are armed with the message that the club’s leadership wants heard, and members can share this information with the friends or acquaintances they feel are most suited to the club’s environment.
Clubs can hire an in-house employee or contact a specialized membership development firm to help with the creation of promotional materials. Resources such as brochures or videos are easy ways to present a positive image of club life. Regardless of whether you go for in-house or contracted material, ensure that you have a strong plan and a defined strategy to present through your publications. Defined expectations and goals can help to guide the process and produce a more effective and targeted final product with a stronger message.
It’s also important to keep in mind that while a new staff person or firm may have expertise in their field, they may not be entirely well-versed in the culture of your particular club. There’s more to creating excellent marketing materials than good design-sense. A thorough understanding of the underlying principles and traditions of the club help give members a true sense of the community that they will be joining. Capturing the intangible feel of the club may be challenging for those who know it well, but it is nigh on impossible for those who have not experienced it first-hand. Be sure to have a strong idea about the thoughts you would like your materials to convey, as well as a plan to get those ideas across effectively. If you provide your members with something to which they can personally relate, they’ll be much more comfortable using those materials to promote the club.
Know Who’s Coming to Dinner
Current members view the club as second home—a welcoming place to which they look forward to returning. The people that they would invite to join the club community will be people that they would welcome in to their own homes. When current members look for someone to add to the club family, they look for someone who they would feel comfortable introducing to other members and who they feel comfortable including in their personal social circle. That’s why club members should make up the core of the new member recruitment process. There’s more to a person than their financial qualifications for membership; they have to fit in with the values and culture of the club community. Having current members recruit people that they would personally want to share the club experience with takes the guesswork out of screening, and helps to ensure that the right people are brought in to the fold.
While it’s true that there are specialty membership development firms that can help with this process, nothing can take the place of member involvement. Members best understand the sense of pride, loyalty and belonging that goes hand in hand with club membership—something that current members take pride in conveying to prospective ones. That genuine enthusiasm is hard to match, even for trained professionals.
Plan for Your Future
A successful club thrives because of its membership and is only as strong as its membership allows it to be. When the membership levels drop, a delayed, reactive response may be too little too late. George Bernard Shaw said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” Be proactive with your membership development, and take matters in to your own hands. Let your members share their pride with others, and give them the right tools for the job. Let prospective members know that they’re not just joining a club, they’re becoming part of a family.
Brian R. Kroh, CCM, is general manager of John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Florida, and chairman of the National Club Association.