Membership Issues Opinions On What Works In Today's Private Club Industry |
| The private club industry is in a state of change. The pressures to retain and find new members are many and varied…coming from all sides. |
| The industry today faces huge challenges from the growing golf marketplace, an overabundance of golf courses and clubs, changing demographics, a slumping economy and a stock market ever fluctuating. These factors all create uncertainty, but in reality there are other major issues. |
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Clubs today may not have many of the amenities members want; initiation fees and dues may be out of line with what the market can bear; older members are leaving the sanctity of private clubs and finally, but not least, traditional ways of recruiting simply don’t work any longer. |
| The facts are plain and simple: Members and potential members have more options and the life span of people as club members is decreasing. |
| In this, the second of a four-part series on private club membership issues, we seek opinions on the roles of membership committees and membership directors; surveys and how they can help clubs better understand their constituents as clubs seek to meet the demands of members and potential members. |
| In years past, recruiting
family has been a traditional and successful way for clubs to keep full
memberships. But it ‘s also important to remember clubs 30 years ago were
designed for males with an average age of 64. Today, younger members have
many additional needs and requirements. More female members are playing golf
and many have a major say about joining a club. Families, with additional
needs are joining, creating more challenges for clubs attempting to meet the
needs of every target group. |
| So how do private clubs accomplish these tasks? There’s a general consensus the job falls to club membership committees and membership directors even though some clubs do not have membership committees nor do they employ membership directors. |
| Historically, the position of membership director dates back to the founding of private clubs in England 200 years ago. At that time the position was held by a club officer called the “membership secretary” who screened all applicants and acted as a liaison between the member and the club. |
| Donna Coyne recruits,
trains and serves as an advisory resource for membership directors through
her consulting position with Club Mark Corporation, Dallas, Texas. It’s
her opinion membership directors are a requirement in today’s private club
market. |
| “The membership director should be the sole individual in charge of membership sales and be involved in, if not in charge of, public relations,” Coyne asserted. |
| “Depending upon the
size of the club membership, the director should serve as a liaison between
the club and community, club and members, and management and staff. Defining
the roles of the membership director varies from club to club, however, for
the most part, the person should wear as many hats within the position
because many things affect the membership department within the club,” she
outlined. |
| Leesa Mitchell, CMP, operates Member Solutions, a company that consults directly with general managers and newly placed membership directors. In years prior to the formation of Member Solutions, Mitchell served as membership director at four different clubs. She says the “position is becoming more recognized as a necessity throughout the industry. |
| “Initially 11 years ago, my responsibilities included some catering sales and dining room supervision, but the role quickly evolved into full concentration on marketing and managing the sales processes of new memberships,” she said. |
| “In today’s market,
I believe the role of the membership marketing director is again evolving,
where a stronger need has developed for marketing, both internal and
external. The focus is not only on attracting new members, but retaining
existing members and marketing plays a large role in both,” she declared. |
| The situation is somewhat
similar for Gyda J. Jemery, membership coordinator, Ledgemont Country Club,
Seekonk, MA. Yes, the club has a membership director who “wears many hats
and yes, they should wear other hats and handle more duties (with an
increase in salary if that is the case)” Jemery suggests. |
| The additional duties, Jemery stresses ”allows our membership director to be connected with every aspect of the club and its operations. |
| “Serving on as the social co-chair allows her to have first hand knowledge of our club’s social scene… what a selling tool! Members are comfortable talking with her and referring potential members to her when they are constantly interacting on various committees. She is very much a part of our outside golf outings… a ton of potential members each Monday throughout the season. |
| Jemery says it a matter of finding “as many tools as possible for her to use to increase sales. Knowledge is power.” |
| Rick Coyne, president, Club Mark Corporation, Dallas, Texas is emphatic. Clubs with a membership director are at a distinct advantage over those that do not. |
| “Obviously, I am not in a club environment, but as one of the executive directors of the Association of Professional Club Marketing I am clearly an advocate for this position within the private club environment. On the basis of what we are currently seeing, many more clubs today have recognized the benefit of having someone involved day to day in creating relationships, cultivating new prospects and facilitating the referral process for the existing members.” |
| So what’s his opinion of the
membership director wearing “other hats” and handling additional duties.
“A club must ask itself, what is your priority in having a membership
director? To facilitate membership sales or do the newsletter? |
| “Obviously, any time taken from the
membership sales process diminishes sales.
Our vision at the association is that the membership director
position really needs to be the director of marketing position, covering all
aspects of marketing within the club including membership sales, event
planning and marketing, communications and even the pro shop.
Obviously, this cannot then be a one -person process.
Additional people will be needed to support the mission, but what
better mission to support than the long term image and financial integrity
of the club,” Coyne opined. |
| Romeo Fornaro provides membership sales and marketing assistance to the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, an equity yacht club located in Newport Beach, CA. On the question of whether or not membership directors should wear more than one hat, he’s abundantly clear. The answer is “no.” |
| This is in contrast to the Union Club of New York City, which with a base of about 1,300 members, has neither a membership director nor a membership committee says General Manager Charles Dorn, CCM. |
| “Clubs need to have open communication lines with members,” Dorn suggests, and he includes surveys as only one way to keep in touch. “If clubs have good communications, surveys plays a less important role as the singular means of hearing the members. Along these lines, if surveys are taken and the results are not published or changes not made, there is a credibility issue,” Dorn asserts. |
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“Our club does not have a membership committee. We have the entire membership as a committee…responsible for bringing in new candidates.” |
| The result at the Union Club? “We have not had a negative year in at least the last 15 years,” Dorn observed. |
| On the flip side, there’s strong support for surveys to better understand a club’s positioning, demographics, and constituents. |
| “Absolutely,” says Mitchell. “The problem I find many clubs face with positioning, is they know what ‘demographics’ are, but do not necessarily understand how to incorporate the information into their planning process. |
| “Surveys are a very strong tool if utilized correctly. If you are going to survey your members, you must listen to what they have to tell you and know that they are going to expect reaction from the club,” she stressed. |
| “Depending upon how the questions are asked, whom they are directed to, and how the collation of the results is done determines the value of the survey to the club,” says Donna Coyne. |
| “The answer you receive from any question can depend largely on how the questions are worded, and to whom you direct the questions (classification of member or usage habits of the member) can determine whether the response is really helpful to the club. |
| “For example, if tallies per answer is how the collation of results is done, then the results are usually not that beneficial in knowing the true possibilities,” she outlined. |
| Coyne explained her comments by way of example. “How is the food? How often do you dine? If some rank the food as poor or excellent, and if they dine rarely, then what is the chance the food is always poor or excellent,” she queried. |
| She does feel change can be
implemented without surveys “depending upon what is being changed, the
impact to the club, the memberships and the governance of the club.” |
| Fornaro added “surveys are very important because there’s no better way to know the members’ interests, and if they are satisfied with the club. |
| “Members feel you are thinking of them. How else do you know if club services are good or bad; or if members want a fitness room or not; or if play is too slow on weekends,” he questioned. “But you don’t necessarily need a survey to see if prices are too high to too low for lunch and dinner. Members always want a better price.” |
| Club Mark Corporation does a lot of surveys says Rick Coyne but this whole process can have its hiccups. “It is a very misunderstood process and can be rendered virtually useless by not phrasing them right, or getting good demographic comparison information,” Coyne outlined. |
| “Everybody needs a report card to know how you’re doing. Most clubs have a vocal minority. Surveys can serve to gain majority consensus on issues, silencing this typically malcontent segment of membership. In today’s volatile economic climate, members are continually aware of the price/value relationship of their purchasing. If you are not providing what they want, you need to ask what they want. |
| “Need to spend some capital dollars or do a renovation? Get feedback from the members as to their comfort or discomfort with the various assets that may need to be renovated. Surveys can do this for you,” Coyne recommended. |
| “Yes, clubs need surveys. We have a lot of ways to gain information from members, surveys, focus groups, from staff and management and member feedback. The only truly objective vehicle is the member survey.” |
| But the question remains: can change be implemented without a member survey? The concensus is yes but with qualifications. |
| “Yes, but the committees and board had better have a good idea of how the members feel as whole,” Dorn added. |
| “Sometime the need for change is obvious,” Mitchell said. “However, I believe asking the right questions, and including member input in the planning process is crucial to the success of implementing change and to the positive reception by members.” |
| Coyne says “change can be implemented at any time, and often is, regardless of the members’ wants or needs. However, if you wish to avoid a mass rebellion or worse, a mass exodus, it’s much better to ask the members,” he advised. |
| A dissenting voice is Gyda Jemery who
says “I do not believe so. Members want to see numbers. Change is
justified when survey results can be accurately presented, especially when
the executive board…is being questioned for every decision made.” |
| So what of the membership committee? Again opinions vary. |
| “The role is very important if structured and used correctly, “ says Donna Coyne. “The role can be very diverse, i.e. only in approving new members going to the board for final approval, public relations, membership policy development and recommendations…the list goes on and one, depending upon the club structure. And if developed properly for the structure of the club, then the membership committee can be of great value to the club. |
| “Understanding the type of club is not necessarily the only consideration in any decision to be made. Membership director’s roles, surveys and committee importance and involvement can all have different effects on any two clubs. What really matters is the ability to distinguish your club from the others first,” she emphasized. |
| “The membership committee role has been different in every club I have worked with,” Mitchell said. “Club circumstance and historical roles come into play. My opinion…is that the role of the membership committee should focus on the referral, induction and welcoming of new members. |
| “The members employ a ‘staff’ and especially when there is a membership director in place, the committee should not be burdened with ‘administrative’ duties,” Mitchell concluded. |
| “The role of a membership committee is to approve members and to support the membership director with referrals,” Fornaro said. |
| “The committee should support the membership director with ideas. It’s their job five days a week as a committee member to bring in members, not one day a month. Committee members should also attend most club events to help increase the awareness of referrals and urge members to refer their friends.” |
| The membership committee can function like committees in general, and play a huge role in the governance of the private club “so long as they know and understand the limits of their responsibilities. Membership marketing is becoming a much more complex issue than most committee members are prepared for,” Rick Coyne suggested. |
| “Just as growing grass is the
domain of the superintendent, so too should membership marketing be the
domain of the professional membership director. Committees should set the policies, approve new
applications, act as ambassadors making connections for new members both
with staff and other members. Committees
should not be in the sales role. |
| “Today, we are seeing an incredible number of clubs taking the ultimate and sometimes fatal step of discounting initiation fees, thus destroying the value and integrity of the membership. Often, the decision to move in this direction is predicated upon a lack of knowledge, reaction to previous committee’s failure to plan and implement a marketing plan, or pressure from competitors that have mistakenly taken this approach. |
| “Unfortunately, some of the reasons clubs are forced to discount has been because of their rush to increase fees beyond a market’s willingness, or capability to pay those fees,” he stated forcefully. |
| It’s Coyne opinion selling memberships takes no less study of the marketplace than selling any other kind of goods or services, a point he feels will draw little debate, and that means developing a road map of where you want to go. |
| “There are two processes to a successful membership plan–marketing and sales. The two are very different,” Coyne stressed. “The committee should be involved in determining the level of aggressiveness of the program to be implemented and the membership director should implement the process. |
| “Good training is essential for the success of any department head. Golf pros, managers, superintendents, accountants and food service personnel all have their associations for education, certification and the necessary networking with other professionals. Membership Directors have the same kind of opportunity in the Association of Private Club Directors. In the difficult times that clubs are facing, continuing education for the entire staff is a must,” he concluded. |
| Publisher's final thoughts |
| As commented earlier, the membership director’s role comes from history…tradition dating back to the early days of the private club industry 200 years ago in England. The “membership secretary” was held in the highest esteem. This person screened applicants, and if a member wished to recommend a friend or colleague for membership, the membership secretary completed all the paper work and acted as a liaison between both parties. |
| All these many years later, some clubs still operate with this model. At the same time, it is interesting to see how most aspects of club operations have evolved, for example, that of the general manager, the golf professional and the golf course superintendent. |
| All three of these today have many
more responsibilities and issues to deal with than they did even 30 years
ago. The GM today is primary in running the club, the pro is involved more
in the pro shop business than in providing lessons to and playing with
members. The superintendent spends more time dealing with environmental
issues, the changing laws in chemical applications, water and the high cost
of running the physical assets of the golf course. |
| As these positions have evolved, so has that of the membership director, at least for some clubs. It’s my considered opinion membership directors must be more creative in membership recruiting. Your current membership will not provide your club with enough referrals. Of course, there’s always an exception, and maybe a minority of clubs who may never have membership issues. But the majority does have membership issues. |
| The membership director’s primary role today is to build or preserve, in the case of clubs with a full complement of members, the membership through the club’s governing admission policy. |
| This person is the membership
marketing director and must have an understanding of the marketplace, the
concept of the private club, professional marketing skills, be able to
execute approved marketing programs, and feel comfortable attending meetings
of local groups. The mistake clubs make when they hire a membership director
is in not understanding the type of experience required of a membership
director. |
| Ten years ago, only a handful of clubs operated with membership directors. Today this has increased to between 35 to 45 per cent of clubs who have someone in charge of membership recruitment. This number will rise in the future. |
| It’s vitally important clubs put the same energy into hiring a membership director as they would in hiring a head professional. Once hired the membership director should be provided with the tools, resources and continuing education necessary to be successful. |
| A membership director costs a club far less than reducing initiation fees or manipulating monthly dues. Your club has an image to uphold. Adding a professional to your team is better than the stigma of a club in trouble. |
| At least that’s the way I see it. |
| John Fornaro Publisher |
| We welcome feedback and comments on any of our editorial features. If you have an idea for a topic you'd like to see addressed in a future "Publishers Perspective," please contact our editorial department at (714) 596-6611 or via e-mail at jody@boardroommagazine.com |