Saturday, October 29, 2011

Country Clubs in Today's World...


In the last decade the country club industry has been witness to a multitude of changes that have adversely affected the way in which they “need” to operate. Poor economic conditions have created added competition for discretionary spending in the private country club industry. During the last several years many private club owners/stakeholders have been questioning the vitality of the industry as a whole. The truth is, the club industry is simply evolving as the consumers desires change.

The aged paradigm of “doing the same thing, and expecting different results” is behind this industry. Club operators and/or owners must align their specific departments with the lifestyle changes that members are seeking in today’s country club environment. How many private country clubs are integrating family activities into their calendar? How close are the leaders of these clubs to their membership? Are survey’s and focus groups being utilized as a resource to communicate to the general membership?

In order to create value for members, today’s private country club model must be operated as a “business”. Being able to identify profit and loss centers, is a key success factor to a change strategy. As economics play a role in competition for discretionary dollars, so does targeting the correct demographic for your membership. Country Clubs must market to younger generations through all aspects, to augment their current membership rosters and provide vision/sustainability for the future. Through purchasing power, employee share programs, and proven communication methods the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities of a club can be immediately improved with the correct ingredients.

Clubs are failing today for a multitude of different reasons and unsuccessful models. Using some of the ideas mentioned above will create a relevance bridge between the leaders and the general membership. The more relevant a club is to it’s members, the more frequency, and additional dollars will be spent. With the level of competition and proximity, top performing clubs will be those looking forward…