3 Ways To Grow Your Club Membership

club development

THE ROLL UP - INTRO

Retaining current members and attracting new members is a vital task for any lawn bowls club. Even retaining current membership numbers and sustaining a solid member base could be seen as a success. Successful retention and then increasing your clubs numbers is hugely important considering membership numbers are decreasing year on year not only here in Australia but also worldwide. How do we reverse this trend?

Figure 2.1 - taken from Bowls Australia 2019 Census Report - Trend of playing memberships in Australia from 1980-2019 - link to census report

Reflecting on the above graph, think how much society has changed since 1980. From pace of life, societal values and technological advances many aspects of life have shifted and evolved.

These changes over time directly and indirectly effect bowling clubs and therefore bowling clubs must shift and evolve in conjunction with society in order for members to see value, opportunity and relevance in their lives today.

I am sure we have all at some stage encountered, heard of or witnessed stories of clubs continuing to 'hold on to the past' in areas of governance, direction and administration. Not only learning from others mistakes but also not wanting your club to 'kick the can down the road' and await your membership numbers to start dwindling....

let's take a look at some actions you and your club could approach in order to help not only your club but our sport reverse the declining numbers of members and clubs.

3 Ways To Grow Your Club Membership

When it comes to sport, recreation and entertainment we have more choice than ever today. Not only do we have more choice which bowling clubs have to compete with for our attention, but we also have less time and freedom when it comes to sport and recreation.

There is not a one size fits all, golden ticket to increasing your membership numbers, but a combination of approaches and strategies must be explored in order to see your club attract the next generation of bowlers.

1) NON-MEMBER COMPETITIONS / TOURNAMENTS

Using your current base of members as marketing consultants for you is a simple but highly effective tool. Word of mouth from a trusted friend, family member or work colleague is one of the best referral techniques to entice new members to give lawn bowls a go. Providing a one day tournament or competitive competitions for members to play alongside a non-member can be an easy sell to attract someone to your club who would not have walked through the door by themselves alone.

Providing a relaxed and fun atmosphere at these events is key, with relaxed rules on clothing and footwear to be worn, short 5 end or timed games would also be advised so more games can be played. New members therefore have the chance to meet with other existing members while playing and create positive interactions and club ties.

Including prizes, addition of background music, lunch in between games, raffles, or on green games such a "corner to corner" or "last bowls standing" can all add to a successful day.

Tournament examples open to non members;

- Family Pairs (see Taren Point BC example below)

- Bring a Mate Pairs

- Corporate Cup - for local businesses to compete in

- Work Colleague Cup

2) OFFER FLEXIBILITY IN MEMBERSHIP

Offering a variety of membership options can appeal to a wider audience and help to increase the membership base of your club. Not everyone wants to be a full time bowler every weekend/evening and play in every competition your club offers. Reasons for joining your club may range from being a social member to a competitive playing bowler and everything in between.

Membership Options;

- Non-Bowling Social Member

- Social Bowling Member

- Club Competition Bowling Member

- Full Competition Bowling Member

- Corporate Member

- Twilight Member

3) IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS

Have a think about your current members. Are there any gaps in terms of community demographics (like age, culture, gender or even people from different business sectors)? If so, this might be an opportunity for your club to connect with new community groups.

Tapping into existing sporting clubs can also be an avenue for success with sports that have an "off season" that co-insides with your bowling "on season". Offering your club facilities to community groups can also be a stepping stone to attracting members from outside your current member base.

TBA Community Action - Tell Us Your Story!

We would love to hear from you regarding some initiatives either your club or a club you know of has successfully introduced to help them retain and/or increase club membership. We at The Bowls Academy believe strongly in sharing knowledge and information around the bowls community. We will collate your responses and provide a blog post on some of the good work bowling clubs are doing out there to help or sport thrive - please email your story to [email protected]

FINAL END

Don't let all your clubs hard work in attracting new members go to vain, getting people to sign up as members is just the beginning. Providing support to new members is an important part of the process and will help keep members around.

Maybe a membership officer can help to make sure new members feel welcome and are provided with an induction kit or all the information they need to know and ongoing support. Don't forget.... keeping members is just as important as trying to attract new ones.