Here’s the “Episode Recap” from our last post: Netflix experienced new heights of success during the pandemic but is now facing a significant loss of subscribers due to competition and a changing economy.

While clubs are a completely different industry, they too achieved record-breaking numbers influenced by the events of the last three years that are threatened by the same challenges causing Netflix’s recent decline. (Read Part 1 of this post here.)

Now more than ever, clubs need to be fresh, relevant, and proactive so they don’t face the same misfortune.

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Here are 10 best practices for setting your club up for success:

1. Focus on the variables you can control. This includes staff training, onboarding, professional development, keeping up with research and trends, and partnering with industry experts.

 

2. Always have an up-to-date understanding of your members’ wants and needs. Use micro-experience surveys to get a pulse on your membership, identify trends, and determine whether certain aspects of the club are experiencing a positive or negative change in satisfaction.

 

3. Establish a true, comprehensive, and relevant strategic plan. Define how your club is going to thrive, provide value, and be fiscally responsible for the next year, three years, five years, and beyond.

 

4. Develop a long-range capital plan.

 

5. Practice great governance. Conduct regular governance reviews, annually define governance and management alignment, and be proactive.

 

6. Never stop innovating. Continue to try new ideas, share best practices with and learn from others in the industry, and keep members entertained with programming that is fresh, fun, and FOMO-inspiring.

 

7. Stay connected with your members and keep them engaged with effective communication. 

 

8. Invest in your team. Leaders are only as strong as the people they surround themselves with. Training and education are not one-time events. Make learning fun, interesting, and part of your culture. Get help finding top talent so you don’t have to sacrifice your member experience.

 

9. Revisit and reinforce your vision so it’s sustainable for the future.

 

10. Create a club brand that is so strong, so consistent, and so captivating that your members would never be willing to let it go. 

 

Your members are facing increasing choices about how to spend their time and money. If you follow these key concepts, your club will be the show they can’t stop watching – the channel they can’t turn off – and the service they refuse to cancel.