| Member Retention Tips |
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Why Club Messenger? In short a friend and one to many beers. The friend Andy, whose background is the leisure industry, had over the years become a keen golfer. He was explaining how he had turned up to play a round of golf only to discover that he could not as the course was pre booked. "If only I had known before setting out", he said. That started the "how do most golf clubs communicate with members conversation"?
One to many beers later and I had agreed to develop a solution for his club. People want to know what is going on. Just about every complaint can be solved by better communication.The approach was to treat members as customer and add value to their club membership. After a few month's research, talking to golfers and the manager at the local club we had a solution, the daily report as you can read in Septembers edition of Golf Club Secretary Magazine. The approach was to treat members as customer and add value to their club membership. After a few month's research, talking to golfers and the manager at the local club we had a solution, the daily report as you can read in Septembers edition of Golf Club Secretary Magazine.
As you will see the last line of the article says. "In the meantime, the ability to generate new revenue streams for Golf Clubs using Club Messenger is being investigated". That's just what we did and you can find out what we came up with here. John Reynolds MD That's Clever Ltd
Ten tips on member retention
Attracting and retaining members is essential to the success of any club. Members that are happy are more likely to promote your club to new members and encourage social members to join. They are more likely to take part in social events and promote your other facilities, conference, weddings for you. Here are 10 solid strategies for retaining your existing members and making sure your new members stick around.
1 Market to your existing members. Your current members have paid so they have made a commitment now you need to come up with ways to add value. Focus most of your time, efforts, and resources on better serving your current members. Go deeper instead of wider. 2 Be consistent in your approach and interactions. Treat your members with honesty, humour, and respect and maintain this over time. If you are consistent with them over time, they will see you as dependable, credible, and trustworthy. 3 Follow through on your commitments. If you promise to send information or to follow up, do it. You will gain loyalty and trust by always doing what you say you will do. 4 Connect with your members. Find out about their lives, their hopes, goals, and desired outcomes. Ask questions that encourage a deeper sense of shared understanding. The greater the level of connection, the greater the mutual satisfaction. 5 Have fun. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day drudge of members issues and board requests. Of course these are important, but members also want to work with people who enjoy what they do. The more fun you can have while providing strong outcomes, the longer your members will stay. 6 Communicate. Members want to know what is going on and feel like someone is listening to what they have to say. Just about every complaint you get could have been solved by better communication. 7 Ask for feedback and input. At some point in the working relationship, solicit feedback. Ask your members how they feel about your club and ask if they have suggestions for how the working relationship or outcomes can be improved. Asking for their ideas shows that you care about their opinions and value their contributions. 8 Share resources. Many of your members will be in business. Do you have the name of someone who could help a member move ahead on a business plan? Tell them about it. Why not start a business club directory and allow your members to advertise thier services. Sharing resources is a terrific way to build loyalty and satisfaction. 9 Reward members for staying with your club. Consider implementing a loyalty program, where your long-term members are rewarded for staying on. You might offer them gifts, products, or services for a certain level of ongoing participation with your club. 10 Keep learning. The more you focus on gaining new knowledge, new skills, and new experiences, the more you have to offer your members. The more you have to offer, the more they will benefit. The more they benefit, the longer they stay. Keep focused on your own professional growth and learning. Both you and your members will benefit. Thank you for visiting Club Messenger we hope the information was useful. Now take a look at this days we could all do with more of... |