When memberships are in decline, you have to make sure that you think outside the box if you want to continue to grow your membership base. Ideally, you’ll want to see around a 10% increase at the end of every membership year. At the end of the day though, sometimes people move away and sometimes someone may feel as though a membership just isn’t for them. You are then in a very challenging position, as you need to find out how to balance all of the numbers so that you can ultimately come away with a profit.
Member Introduction SchemeThis is one of the oldest tricks in the book. The main reason why someone actually ends up joining a club is because they are invited. If you are able to give someone an incentive to join you then there’s no reason at all why you shouldn’t see an increase in members. People don’t play alone either, so find a way to make your scheme easy to follow with a good referral program. If you are able to do this then you will soon see people, queuing up at the door.
Join Now and Pay Later
Another thing that you can do is create a join now and pay later scheme. If you have a joining fee, then this is a fantastic way for you to get even more customers. Work out a scheme that suits your course and also make sure that you include some optional extras too. This is ideal if your golf course goes through a bit of a dry season and you would be surprised at what a difference it can make to your bottom line.
Upgrades
It’s also important to make sure that you are giving your site a good amount of TLC. Try and upgrade your golf carts by visiting: https://tcsupfitting.com/atv-utv-golf-carts/, or even try and take the time to understand what your visitors actually want from you. If you are able to meet their needs effectively then there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to come out on top.
Seasonal Membership
Let people join for a very short period of time and let your customers try you out. You can usually do this for a season, such as summer, winter or even autumn. After that period, you can then give them a discount on their next month. You have to remember that not everyone is going to want to join up for a year to begin with so make sure that you give them a smaller membership option.
50:50 Deal
If you are concerned that you are losing members to another club then you might want to try and cut a deal with a neighbouring club. When you do, you can then offer them half memberships. This is when they are allowed to play at your course for half of the year, and then the other course for the second half of the year. When you do things like this, you will soon find that you can give your customers more for their money while also retaining their membership.
Open Day
Consider having a membership open day. When you do, you can then pull out the stops to make sure that the event is the best that it can be. If you only have a very small marketing budget, then this is one way that you can spend it. Get your guests and even your committee to try and put some prizes on for the day and also make sure that it is fun overall. If you are able to create a special interest for this day then this will really benefit your bottom line.
Invite Members Back
A very good way for you to try and recruit new members would be for you to invite some of your old members back. You never know, their circumstances might have changed and they might not have been able to afford to renew their membership at the time. If you give them the chance to join at a reduced price on the other hand, then this might give them the motivation they need to re-join the club.
If you follow the above tips then you will soon find that it is easier than ever for you to get more visitors to your golf club. If you want to increase your customers even more then you can easily invest in a great marketing team, as they can help you to understand where you’re going wrong with your campaigns.
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