A "NEW" KIND OF MEMBER REFERRAL PROGRAM

Of course you want your members to recommend your club to their friends.

But before you get all excited about rolling out a referral program that rewards members who send you their friends, you should know that these schemes can be counterproductive.

Here’s an example of why:

A buddy told me that a friend of his joined a particular club and then said to him, “You really ought to get in on this.” My buddy took his friends advice and likewise paid the $50,000 initiation fee to join. My buddy would probably have recommended that club to everyone in his inner circle, but a disturbing betrayal made any such recommendation impossible. As he handed over the check for his initiation fee to the membership officer of the club, she said, “If you know anyone else who might want to join, just keep in mind that we’re giving 3 months free dues to whoever sends them in.”

When my buddy realized that his friend had made over $3,000 by “recommending” the club to him, he felt a lot less good about the decision to join.

And a lot less good about the friend.

My buddy immediately knew that if he recommended the club to any of his friends, they would be made the same offer that he had just been made. There’s just no way that he was going to risk that.

If you try to bribe your members, they’ll think less of you. If you try to get your members to bribe their friends, they’ll think less of you.

Friendship is built on trust. A friend makes a recommendation because they believe it will be good for their friend. They don’t do it to benefit themselves or the club they’re recommending.

That wouldn’t be a friend at all.

That would be a salesperson.

Your members are not salespeople.

So, how do private clubs effectively win referrals from their members without turning them into salespeople – without gimmicks and bribes?

First, you must impress members with your performance. Focus your efforts on being consistently and truly remarkable. It’s the most effective thing you can do. Most clubs try very hard to make sure their members have good things to say – those that don’t have no chance.

Second, get their attention by sending a distinct letter or email message. Stay away from club newsletters, flyers, posters, and statement inserts (gasp!).

Third, tell members why you want them to refer their friends. Speak to their hearts, not their heads. Clubs are a unique platform for friendship, camaraderie and belonging – tap into that.

Fourth, make it easy for members to act. Members are not inclined to stop by the membership office, they are not inclined to give you a call. They don’t want to fill out some long form, answer a bunch of questions, or do a lot of work just to recommend their friends.

Finally, let members know exactly what will happen after they provide a referral. Keep them updated on status if they wish, and do not persist in your attempts to follow up with member referrals.

No bribes. No gimmicks. No schemes.

The only reward your members want for recommending you to their friends is for you to make those friends happy.

The results may surprise you. Even clubs with a seemingly “fully-tapped” referral base generate loads of new referrals. Two such clubs are Palos Verdes Golf Club and the Jonathan Club – both recently concluded our new member referral campaigns.

We crafted an authentic message to create a spark with members, and fanned the flames using technology – automated emails, private micro-websites, and some other cool stuff behind the scenes to make the entire process simple, transparent and friction-free for members and the people they recommended. A simple e-mail sparked 38 new referrals on behalf of PVGC and 86 new referrals on behalf of Jonathan Club in just a couple of months.

Yes, they probably could have done even better if they had offered free dues, a voucher, or an incentive to the friend, not the member – essentially dropping the entry fee. Yes, they could have reduced some other barrier to join.

But in the long run that makes members feel a lot less good about their club – which makes them a lot less likely to refer their friends.

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