Engage Your Members In Winter Too

I’ve always been a big believer in engaging your members or clients during the off-season.

Here at Coppinwood, we had a concert with renowned Canadian singer Michael Burgess in November. It was very intimate, very special. It’s one thing to say, `Come out for a dinner party,’ so I thought, here we are at Coppinwood, which will hold about 150 people.

We organized what we called Michael Burgess and the Coppinwood Idols, so we had some of our members sing. It was almost like a variety show, We had some people who had actually sung professionally before, so we got two or three of them up on stage.

I know Michael Burgess and I realize it isn’t possible for everybody to bring in such a name, but engaging members in any way during the winter months helps your operation.

We also did a Brunch with Santa over Christmas and everybody goes, `Oh my goodness, you’re doing something for my kids and my grandkids.’ That was sold out.

The nice thing about an event like that is that it’s not just `Hi, we’re having a Christmas dinner,’ or `We’re having a Christmas lunch.’

While the temptation may be there to think “member, member, member,” this is an event that not only includes the members, but their families as well and people love that.

We’ve got a little charity poker night coming up and that offers an opportunity to engage the charity and engage the members at the same time.

You don’t need to do 15 things in 15 days. Every month or two is a good pace. For example, we’ve started a wine society here.

Your members love being at the club when it’s warm and they’re golfing, but what’s wrong with coming out in the winter for a concert or a winemaker’s dinner or a Brunch with Santa? Members love to see each other because they’re all friends.

Such events serve a couple of purposes.

First, it’s great for the club, but secondly, it gets people together for a fun night and develops camaraderie.

I was blessed when I came to Coppinwood last year in that I had a staff here that could pull such events off. Our executive chef, Andy Coote, created a fabulous meal for the Michael Burgess night. People were not only talking about Michael Burgess, but also the meal.

All of those things show your members that you care, even in the off-season.

Related Posts:

• Holiday Parties Are About More Than Money
• Off-Season Trips Help You Know Members Better
• Special Events Are Worth A Try
• Member Surveys Are Constructive, Not Destructive