Developing your membership in a thriving community club   Developing your membership in a thriving community club 

Welcome and Introduction

Setting the Scene John Oates

Setting the Scene What do we want to achieve today?

The Situation in Clubs Today Opportunities for grant support and sponsorship greatly reduced Competition for remaining funds Disposable income of consumer reduced Competition for this Resources limited in the clubs therefore the clubs need to optimise the resources they have to be competitive and “business savvy”

What do we mean by a community club, what does one look like What do we mean by a community club, what does one look like? What do we mean by a thriving club, what does one look like?

A community club Families Women members Community links and reputation Events for the community Communication with the community Data management

A thriving community club Build membership Retain members Sponsorship – support of the business community Sell facilities, events, memberships etc

The Key Issues Interacting with the community Selling the club Building membership Selling sponsorship, advertising etc

What does best practice tell us? We must make changes Whatever we do we need to do well Focus only on changing one thing at a time Focus on the detail Identify the skill sets required Create a plan Take a “professional” approach, think of the club as a business

The Community Reservoir of customers Members for all categories Volunteers Sponsors Performers

The Community - visibility Partnerships – schools, businesses, the Council Communication The Brand and Image Directories, web sites Supporting the Community

Events – interacting with the Community What outcomes could we achieve?

Examples of Events Strictly Come Dancing Open day Bonfire night Calendar Disco for under 16’s Wine and art Barn Dance Opera and Orchestra night Duathlon event Christmas fair Ladies lunch “Take me Out” event Modelizer initiative

What different types of clubs are there What different types of clubs are there? How do we attract the players to these different types of club?

What is the value of the family within the club?

What does the Mum want? Challenge for the children Experience success and failure Develop confidence and self esteem Values and Attitudes Learn about team work Make friends Have fun The Environment – safe with coaches that understand child development

What does the Mother want for herself? Social Value for money Friends Clean loos A welcome

The Role of the Club To sell the family experience to the Mother and to deliver what they promise.

Membership General Discussion

What are the key factors we need to consider when trying to build up membership packages? Group discussion

Why are members important? Participants Loyalty and Commitment They are valuable Sponsorship Value Community Links

The Membership pathway Identify the types of membership Actively sell them Actively retain them

Steps to being successful Identify the membership “products” including benefits and price. This should be built up after researching the competition and what people “want and need” Target audience – how big is your data base and which Communication channels are available to you? Marketing Communication – does it tell the target audience that you have what they “want and need” Active Selling – through the data base and other communication channels Welcome

The Value of Data

The Value of Data Each individual connected to the club has a value, they are a customer Once we have their data, as long as we adhere to Data Protection we can use it as many times as we like. If you can communicate with them you can develop a loyalty and sell them products such as events and merchandise It costs seven times as much to find a new customer as it does to retain one You can increase revenue streams through partner promotions Reduce costs of campaigns such as memberships through use of e-mail and targeting Increase value of sponsorships

General Communication Club Promotion Email Events Sponsorship Packages Advertising Packages General Communication Large customer database ASSET Universally accepted communication

A thriving community club

A thriving community club Build membership Retain members Sponsorship – support of the business community Sell facilities, events, memberships etc

Sponsorship General Discussion

Sponsorship It is accepted that some sponsorships are provided by friends and supporters. However if we are to grow our income streams we will need to be active in the market place finding other sponsorships. Why do we think a sponsor should / would get involved with your club? What would be their business outcomes?

What the Business wants To find more customers To retain its customers To build a brand awareness To build its reputation To motivate its workforce

Retaining Customers

Customer Service within the Clubs Why do we need to retain all of our customers? It costs us seven times as much to find a new customer as it does to retain one Positive Referrals Lifetime value of the customer is considerable

Customer Service within the Clubs It is accepted that businesses like M and S, John Lewis and Macdonald’s offer good customer service. What is it that they offer and do?

Seven Steps to Establish Customer Satisfaction Understand their wants and needs Fulfil their expectations Develop staff commitment Make service personal – personalisation of e mails Establish an excellent customer experience Strengthen the bond with your customer - communication Evaluate your service through questionnaires

Finding people to Volunteer

Volunteers Historically many of the volunteers who were attached to the club were retired and were people with time to devote to the club. Very often they had been involved with the club in the past and had been good rugby players but they didn’t always have the required skills needed e.g. sales and marketing Problem As the economic climate changed clubs were in competition for participants, sponsorship, grants, spectators etc. and the clubs with the relevant skills within their volunteer base had an advantage. Also people’s lives became busier and the number of people who wanted to volunteer for the roles available dwindled. Something had to change!

Other avenues to pursue Enhance your CV – young graduates and students Reduce the roles – create projects Involve the Mothers