Before the “recession” hit, private clubs around the country historically welcomed, even targeted, the 50 and over prospective members.  This demographic represents financial stability, appropriate social etiquette, they’re likely NOT first time clubbers, they (almost) always pay their dues, and support the other revenue streams of the club (F & B, spa, events, etc…).

Fear and Loathing of Spending Money

While the strategy and anecdotal conversations behind choosing this target market hold true today, what is different for many prospects ’after’ the recession hit is they simply don’t want to commit to discretionary items.  Private country club memberships (especially second or third ones) are at the top of the “let’s commit next year list” or the “let’s get rid of the other membership first” list.  Which in turn adds unwanted names to the Clubs’ Resignation Lists!  In addition to creating new opportunities to capture and appeal to this newly cautious demographic… why not also target their kids… so to speak?!

Even in a healthy economy, most traditional golf memberships include children through the age of 23. This covers kids of members until they are typically through their college years.  But then what?  If you take a look at your point of sale system… you might be surprised to learn the twenty something’s do a lot of dining and entertaining on their own over the summer and during holiday visits.  We agree, once they leave mom and dad’s membership – most college grads aren’t in a position to dish out the necessary deposit to join a club on their own.  But what about a “gap” membership category aka – a “junior” membership? You’d be surprised… but there’s a large opportunity to capture this new aggressive market – often forgotten about every 20 years! 

Junior Memberships

We especially love the idea of junior memberships – with conditions – because it’s a great opportunity to find out if ‘after’ they’ve been junior members, whether you really ‘want’ them as regular, full members down the road. Think about it… there’s a built in vetting process… they can succeed and be that financially stable/responsible, social clubber who pays dues and supports other revenue streams, or… they can be the loud, financially irresponsible clubber who berates the staff, bullies other members, and prefers five-somes or six-somes on the course.  There’s always one.

Take it a step further… and look at the late 30 – 40 year olds.  A younger demographic than is typical of a targeted private club market; but this age group should not be over looked either.  They have their own money, make their own purchasing choices, and Mike Gatti, Executive Vice President of the Retail Advertising & Marketing  Association, a division of the National Retail Federation, Washington, D.C. (www .rama-nrf.org) says, “Parents treat their children more like adults than the previous generation of parents did.”  This provides hope for F & B Managers and more experienced members – that children ‘can’ behave in the main dining room of a private club!

Critical Thoughts

“Our Club’s older members are not using and supporting the Club the way they did in their youngers years…”

“Our roster is down to just 200 members -  a handful of fantastic members have passed away this year and there’s no one coming in to support the dues…”

We’re hearing comments like these more and more.  If they sound familiar to you, this may be the time to begin targeting a younger demographic and adjust your membership offerings accordingly.  Take a look at your current membership roster – is there a built in potential to grow your membership?  Consider new opportunities and new demographics – there’s never been a better or more critical time to be creative.

About Tanya Blackburn

Tanya is a marketing/public relations enthusiast and former television journalist with a nose for news and a knack for simplifying complex information into easy to understand, impactful key messages.