Whether you run a pool club, a country club or a golf club, a yacht club, or even a health club, quality member experience is the key to customer retention.
In addition to improving your brand perception and generating consistent revenue, gaining satisfied customers will likely lead to more referrals for your business.
From professional badges and identification solutions to trial memberships, here are eight solid ways to improve your club’s member experience - no matter your industry or specialty.
Make sure your facilities and staff are always prepared with amenities and anything else your business offers onsite.
If you offer free refreshments, make sure you’re well-stocked and don’t run out. If you run a pool club, make sure you have extra fresh, clean towels. That sort of thing.
Make sure you’re never understaffed, even if that means hiring an extra person. It costs more but it offers a much more upscale, much more professional member experience.
Also, if you get customer concerns or complaints over and over on the same issue - fix them!
On the note of having enough employees on hand, nothing sinks the member experience - regardless of the type of club you run - like not having enough staff on hand. Waiting for service or amenities is frustrating and will possibly leave a bitter taste in your customers' mouths.
If you expect seasonal fluctuations - such as surges in the spring or summer - hire seasonal staff and train them well ahead of time. At Imprint Plus, we offer The Mighty Badge, which is easy to customize with insert sheets, and even accepts insert sheets that can be customized by printing on them or simply writing on them with a marker - they’re perfect for volunteers and seasonal staff. Add In-Training Badge Talkers to make new hires feel at ease and confident.
Joining a club can be a harrowing experience for new members, especially if they aren’t familiar with well-established procedures and protocols.
Clearly label sign-in stations, customer service kiosks, or areas where customers can get refreshments or other amenities with professional business signage.
Reintroducing the human element into the experience will also improve it. Level the playing field between your servers and other staff and your customers by investing in high-quality professional plastic badges or name tags.
We offer a wide range of name tags that can be personalized, branded, and are available in full color in a wide range of sizes, shapes, materials, and more.
Custom name badges or photo ID badges can help customers connect with your employees and make the interactions more personal.
Depending on your club's nature, you may also want to issue membership badges to your customers. That will help your staff identify them and, in some instances, it might even encourage your members to interact, creating a greater sense of community and a better experience for all involved.
Even if you have to give new staff to keep up with seasonal fluctuations, one thing you don’t want is staff that are not well familiar with club rules, regulations, and protocols.
We sell helpful badge talkers that can let your staff and patrons know that certain members are in training, but you should still establish carefully outlined goals for training and be sure that your staff are as ready as possible on day one.
The moment something stops working at your club, whether it is a drink dispenser or a faucet, have it fixed right away. Facilities that are not kept up to par with customer expectations are experience-killers.
Also, make sure you keep everything as clean as you want it to be when presenting it to prospective customers, all the time. That way, there’s never a chance that your brand image suffers from poor presentation.
Investing in a robust badge program implementation to enhance employee identification and member engagement is essential. Offering customizable options and identification solutions through a partnership with Imprint Plus ensures that every aspect of the customer and employee experience is seamless, fostering a welcoming and efficient environment.
One of the great things you can do to encourage new members to join is to offer perks and rewards. Consider discounts for new members, special deals (like getting one month free after four paid months or something similar) or hold raffles or giveaways to show customer appreciation.
Little things like that can go a long way in the minds of your members, and differentiate you from the competition, encouraging brand loyalty.
Finally, you can encourage new members to join, improving their experiences by offering trial memberships to them.
Consider letting potential guests try out your facilities for a short time before letting them decide if they want to invest in full-time membership. You might want to create something along the lines of an incentive program for current members to bring along guests or sign them up at a discounted rate. That will encourage new signups and give current members the ability to bring a friend!
If you run your own club and have tips of your own for encouraging engagement and promoting your guest experiences, we’d love to hear them! Get in touch with us at 800-563-2464 and let us know and we will feature it in upcoming content!
