A recent article in PGA magazine noted that there are 3.8 million Private Club members in the United States, down from the nearly 5.5 million members in the mid 1990s.  Scary, extremely so!

     Is your Club planning to succeed?  Planning at all?

     Having a solid quarterly marketing plan in place to continually generate new prospects for Club Membership is critically important.  A plan should be developed each quarter with specific actions described, accountabilities assigned, deadlines established, and the results measured to determine what worked and what did not.  Everyone seems to agree with this, but I am astounded at the number of Clubs who do not act on it and make it happen. 

Wow, I forgot about that!

     Your best source for new Members is your current members!  This is so basic and so consistently overlooked that it reminds me of the Wizard of Oz.  Dorothy was so busy looking afar that she failed to recognize what was right before her eyes.  After many adventures, she finally realizes “there's no place like home”.  And this is true for potential members.  They are right before your eyes through the current members.

What should I do?

     The most inexpensive and effective means of generating a prospect for membership is through a referral from an existing member.  Yet, in talking to many Private Clubs each week, in most cases it is not happening.  Why is it not happening?  I hear a lot of excuses; oh wait, I'm sorry, REASONS (yeah right) why it won't work.  Yes, there are members that don't want more members since it makes getting tee times harder or that all of their friends are already club members.  But, there are still quite a few that have friends and business associates that they would enjoy having as fellow members.  However, you must have a system or process in place to ASK for a referral.  And it must be adhered to and followed up on. 

     Do you have a referral campaign annually through an e-mail or direct mail campaign to your members with a letter explaining the process and need and include a couple of guest passes for members to give friends and associates?  (Divide the membership by four, and petition each group quarterly assuring an ongoing source of prospects throughout the year.)  Do you have a club-wide contest to see who can give the most referrals and reward certain levels?  Do you go member by member and ASK for a referral?  There are many ways to do it but it needs to be done in an organized and ongoing fashion. 

Here's an idea!

     And don't forget about some type of NEW member referral campaign.  Truthfully, they are the most excited members about their new club and want to have their decision to join validated by having their friends join as well.  They usually will be more “fruitful” than your long time members.  The referral conversation should be an easy one since a relationship was formed during the enrollment process.

And another!

     What about offering a special incentive to upgrade to a higher category?  Instead of the usual reduction of fees for the additional initiation, look to do something that is value added.  For instance, upgrade to a golf category and receive a new set of golf clubs and some lessons.  The perfect segue into this is to offer no or low cost player development clinics to start the spark.  Or offer off peak time, reduced rate playing passes to lower categories of membership to get their interest piqued.

And yet another!

     If you have an Ambassador or Membership Committee get these helpful allays involved.  Brainstorm with them on some ideas on a referral or upgrade program.  The members of this committee are probably your movers and shakers at the club and know a lot of people in the community. 

And a Solution!

    With Private Club Commander's marketing expertise coupled with the industry's leading website technology and a dedicated team of marketing professionals at your disposal, all of the aforementioned marketing initiatives can be accomplished electronically through your website.  Our staff will write your copy, schedule the campaign, provide the tracking, and our website will capture every lead for membership that is obtained through our Sales management tool in our Member Relationship Manager Module.

      We can also help you generate membership leads from other logical sources and provide valuable information on growing your database for membership prospects.  Visit www.privateclubcommander.com today.