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Bethesda Country Club: Winning new members requires savvy membership programs blended with careful p

The Challenge:

With a wide selection of excellent country clubs in this densely populated and affluent market, Bethesda’s potential members were a discerning group—“shoppers,” if you will. Club leaders and members alike have had to squarely face the question, “What sets us apart?”

The Bethesda region is part of a large and prosperous market in metropolitan Washington, D.C. These professionally driven, family-oriented households have both the means and motive to make the type of big expenditures in lifestyle, education and personal development that are emblematic of our modern age. There is a subtle, but discernable shift among families whose spending priorities tilt more toward rich experiences and social-connectedness. With tens of thousands of dollars spent on private education and far-flung travel and adventure, what will drive a similarly large expenditure on a club membership? And how will the different options stack up?

The Response:

Bethesda developed a Preview Program that encouraged both current and potential members to promote and understand member benefits.

Bethesda has initiated a Preview Membership Initiative through which potential members can experience club life while at the same time embarking on a relatively low-risk process that will likelybut not inevitablyresult in their decision to join. This program, club leaders say, entices more than it pushes or pressures. Given six months or so to enjoy club life as any existing member might—paying dues, but temporarily setting aside the precise terms and amount of any initiation feepotential members develop relationships which take root and begin to blossom. Some are considering club membership for the first time and for these families club membership seems a more abstract or unfamiliar concept (and one with a potentially big price tag). But with the preview program, club membership becomes a tangible and accessible experience and one inextricably linked with Bethesda Country Club members and distinctive amenities.

The Result:
The process worked to enhance Bethesda’s reputation and to build the club’s brand image. With the club more effectively differentiated from others, Bethesda increased its membership and enhanced its finances.

Bethesda now brims with energy from its new and old members alike. Trial members enjoy the hospitality and extended hand of the Bethesda club, encountering both the friendly embrace of existing members and also the knowledge that their own route to entry is fitted to them specifically.

Without being unduly complex or complicated, Bethesda Country Club provides a menu of membership categories that reflect differing circumstances and preferences. And while the majority of Bethesda’s current 900 members are charter members (approximately 500), the club’s tennis and social categories have reached critical mass. Other categories that are outside of the preview program are customized to age, location or tenure in the Washington area. Legacies and young executive (ages 21-39) as well as non-residents and honorary members round out the membership picture.

Existing members are pleased with the results. The Preview Membership Initiative creatively applies financial incentives, yet it is largely consistent and successful in maintaining the integrity and level of initiation fees. The trial membership works in both directions: allowing both potential and current members to assess the “fit.” And there are some instances, albeit relatively few, in which the membership process does not move through to completion. Yet the result of the membership initiative is, from the perspective of club management, largely predictable with conversion rates standing at about 90 percent. Retention is similarly quite high.

Lessons Learned:

Membership marketing should be part of a larger integrated effort. Financial modeling, long range planning and engaging club programming combine to give both new and existing members assurances that the value the club offers is consistently high and enduring.

Membership programs must be well designed. They must also fit into a sound financial framework and sustainable economic platform for the club. Carpenters advise their apprentices to “measure twice and cut once.” So, too, do the designers of Bethesda’s membership development program have a very specific set of assumptions and “what-if” scenarios that allows them to go from calibrating short-term financial incentives to forecasting income statements and balance sheets five years out.

The preview program works not simply because of incentives or its time-sensitive features. Nor are these program features set to meet short-term financial needs. This is not a one-size fits all membership that people are stepping into; quite the contrary, it’s tailored to their particular needs.

Current members now have a fuller understanding of their responsibility for membership development and a new appreciation for how effective they can be as ambassadors for the club. They, too, recognize how a host of benefits can be captured by an energized and friendly membership; some of these are financial, while others are more experiential and intangible. Breaking down barriers to club membership and building the club brand are really just two sides of the same coin.

Club Trends Summer 2015

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