Your brand is in everything that you do … and that you fail to do.
When your club executes a terrific member-guest event, that is your brand.
When your employees tell their friends and relatives how proud they are to work with you at the club, that is your brand.
When vendors or suppliers tell friends and other customers that your club is disrespectful or late with payments, that is your brand.
Much has been written regarding the power of brand and branding. Private club leaders are newly aware of the significance of their responsibility in managing the authority of the club’s brand.
The traditional formula for building the value of one’s brand in the eyes of the consumer has been expressed in the following equation: value equals performance divided by price.
Value = Performance/Price
However, in private clubs—and especially in the best private clubs—the brand value equation must address the emotional involvement of the member (customer) in the equation. As such, for leading clubs, the brand equation is performance equals performance plus emotional experience divided by price. Thus, the brand value equation is:
Value = (Performance + Emotional Experience)/ Price
Nowadays, most members will select an unforgettable experience—especially one that is something out of the ordinary—over price or most pedestrian measures. Underlying the power of your club’s brand is the truth that clubs and club membership are emotional relationships; club membership is not a transactional relationship.
The emotional connection demands that the club connects with its members at an emotional level. Here are four action steps for clubs intent on putting their brand to work:
- Begin with a vision. What does your club stand for? There must be genuine purpose and alignment from vision and mission through the core values of the club. Be purpose driven.
- Know your audience. Most private clubs are ignorant of their local and feeder markets. Know the following demographic characteristics of your members and prospective members:
- Annual household income
- Household net worth
- Educational attainment levels of household adults
- Trends for the local economy
Understand the psychographic characteristics of your membership and understand the push/pull factors that influence people who might join your club.
- Know your competitors. Many clubs create the standard rates and fees matrix for the competitive set. However, they do not know the competitive strengths and weaknesses of other clubs. Unless your club competes for new members only on the basis of price, the factors that influence market standing are tied more directly to programs, facilities and brand. How does your club compare to its neighboring competition?
- Be the hub of members’ heartfelt memories. Given the emotional importance of a club to its members, your club is a family gathering place, a safe haven for friends and family and the maker of memories. Your brand is as influential as the stories that your members tell about their lives at the club.
Your club—whether you agree or not—is a brand that is being continuously referenced, used and tested. The key point to remember is that leading clubs must carefully develop, maintain and use their brands.
Henry DeLozier is a principal at GGA Partners, an international club management consulting firm. He can be reached at [email protected].