Recruiting Membership
| 2015 Q4 | story by EMILY MULLIGAN | photos by STEVEN HERTZOG |
“Membership has its privileges,” so says the old American Express slogan. That saying holds true at Lawrence area membership-based businesses, which work hard every day to recruit, retain and serve their members. These members are not just important to business; the members are the business.
Alvamar Golf and Country Club, Body Boutique and the Lawrence Chamber are all longtime membership-based businesses in Lawrence. Representatives from all three businesses say a successful membership-based business is all about people feeling known and remembered, whether it be their favorite drink, their workout style or their small-business specialty.
Alvamar began as a public golf course in 1968 and now has two full courses, a pro shop and a member clubhouse, all surrounded by acres of neighborhoods and housing designed to border the golf courses. Plans are underway to add on significantly to Alvamar beginning in 2016, and a sale is pending to Bliss Sports. People are drawn to membership at Alvamar not just for a love of golf, says Director of Operations Craig Palm.
“It’s a lifestyle—people want a place that is an extended home. That is what makes it special,” Palm says.
Body Boutique, a women-only fitness and cycling center, has been open for 25 years. It began in a small space next to Munchers Bakery and now occupies a $1-million facility just west of the original. Having members who are only women is just part of what sets the tone at Body Boutique.
“Everyone wants to be fit and healthy. When people are ready to make that jump themselves, they have to have an emotional connection to it. The feeling and community element here are unique to us because we’re all women,” says Molly Fister, membership manager.
The Chamber began 136 years ago with the purpose of advancing the commercial, industrial, educational and civic interests of the city of Lawrence—all of which it still does today. In more recent years, the Chamber has become actively involved in economic development opportunities in Lawrence and Douglas County, working to attract and retain new businesses.
“It’s not your grandfather’s Chamber anymore. People don’t join because it’s the right thing to do—they want to get a benefit from it,” says Cathy Lewis, Chamber vice president for membership.
Recruitment
All three businesses offer a multitude of benefits to their members, but the key is to find ways to communicate those benefits to current and potential members in this day and age of media, mail and email inundation.
Palm, of Alvamar, says one of the most old-fashioned member recruitment tactics still works best: networking.
“Everybody wants to have other like-minded people be members with them. I’d like my best friend to be a member so we can play golf, go to the bar or a social together,” he says.
Alvamar has an “ambassador committee” whose members wear yellow Alvamar shirts to events around town and strike up conversations about the member benefits.
Lewis and the Chamber staff have begun going on personal visits with new and potential Chamber members.
“We have huge advocacy efforts for businesses—we want to be able to talk one on one,” she says. “This gives us a chance to interact a little more and find out how we can help them.”
Body Boutique also relies greatly on referrals, and it recently has begun using Instagram to promote both the benefits of exercising at Body Boutique and its refer-a-friend contests.
“It is all about image, finding images and ideas that merge together a high-energy atmosphere and the community of women here,” Fister explains.
Direct mail is still part of each business’ recruitment tactics, as well as email marketing, events and “all the other standard marketing things,” as Lewis says. But having clear messages that cut through the clutter and motivate people to sign up is increasingly difficult, they all agree.
So, what is it their members are looking for? Most of them want benefits that will help them in multiple aspects of their life.
For example, Palm says, although most of his members enjoy the game of golf itself, being able to invite business colleagues to play a round and use their membership as a networking opportunity is even more important to Alvamar members.
Fitness is not just about personal health; it affects things like health insurance and even improves women’s family lives, Fister explains.
Lewis says small businesses and larger businesses look for distinct types of benefits from the Chamber.
Most small businesses are interested in the Chamber’s services, such as a promotional video about their businesses and the ability to market to other Chamber members and post jobs to other members.
Bigger businesses like being able to have their employees participate in Chamber activities and make connections in the community, but the businesses are most interested in the Chamber’s economic development efforts. Lewis says creating jobs and wealth in the community broadens each business’ base, as well as alleviates the tax burden and supporting infrastructure.
Retention
Recruiting members is important, but just as important is encouraging them to stay members long-term.
Palm says retention is a key factor for Bliss Sports’ plans for expansion. The new swimming pools and clubhouse facilities will be a nice upgrade for current members.
Body Boutique has an extensive retention plan, Fister says. The fitness industry has a 30 to 40% annual retention rate, but Body Boutique has an 80 to 90% retention rate. She says the key is follow-through: Body Boutique surveys its members regularly and then has conversations about room for improvement, so members’ voices are heard.
Many members regularly attend and participate in Chamber activities and events, Lewis explains, so it is often easy to gauge how meaningful their membership is for them. For those members who aren’t able to participate because of time constraints or business demands, Chamber staff makes a point to reach out and talk, ideally face-to-face, about what their Chamber membership means to them.
Challenges
Like any business, membership businesses have their own unique sets of challenges. It would seem obvious that the economy would affect golf and country club memberships, and it has at times, but Palm says Alvamar’s greatest challenge is even more capricious: the weather.
Alvamar recruits heavily for golf members at the beginning of golf season, in the spring, when the weather is usually pleasant. This year’s spring was challenging because of the particularly rainy weather, he says. After spring, they just have to hope for a moderate summer to keep golfers coming back.
Downturns in the economy bring leaner times to golf and country clubs, Palm explains, so during those times, they might discount member rates or offer extra benefits at no charge.
Interestingly, weather poses an equally big challenge for Body Boutique, although for the opposite reason than golf: People would rather exercise outside instead of inside in milder weather. Fister says in the spring and fall, people start getting antsy to do their workouts outside instead of in the gym. Recruitment proves more difficult during pleasant weather. Those slower seasons are predictable, at least, and Fister says that is when Body Boutique usually redoubles its retention efforts.
The Chamber lives and breathes changing economic times with its members by virtue of its mission. Often, Chamber staff and members know a downturn or change is coming before it even arrives. Lewis says that during the most recent recession, the Chamber froze membership rates for five years.
Help for Membership Businesses
The Chamber is in a unique position to help membership businesses in the area because it is the membership business for other membership businesses. In addition to being able to network and seek support from other Douglas County businesses at Chamber events, Lewis says membership businesses do sometimes contact the Chamber if they are struggling with members or retention.
“We sit and visit with them about marketing strategies, both through the Chamber and outside the Chamber. We are taking that outside look in, and that’s the capacity we can serve for them,” she says. “They can develop a service or benefit for their members that even we have for our members.”
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