Crushing Club Marketing Ed Heil: Private club marketing expert

If the goal of private club marketing is to influence thinking and behavior, then a basic understanding of the brain can increase the chances of success. In this episode, we speak with Laura Leszczynski, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Strategic Club Solutions.

Industry experts will tell you that clubs that have strategic plans in place are more inclined to have wait lists for prospective members. Coincidence? Not according to Ryan Doerr, CEO of Strategic Club Solutions.

Chris DeConna is a marketing coordinator and graphic designer at The Ranch Country Club in Westminster, CO – and he’s changing the game for club communications. Even though he’s spent about 4 years working in private clubs, Chris’s background is outside the industry. His most formative communications training coming while working in college athletics as a media relations specialist.

By following and observing what athletic departments were doing, Chris recognized they were on to something.

Getting your club to buy into social media and participate with meaningful content is difficult. Chris Tritabaugh, Superintendent at Hazeltine National is elevating his club's prominence, engaging members and building his personal brand through his Twitter.

Chris started his account in 2009 when Twitter had established itself for those "in the know", but for most people in the club space, it was perceived as risky. Tritabaugh began setting fire to a community of avid golf fans and turf experts.

Proactive communication using social media and video kept the team at Pelican Isle Yacht Club ahead of the conversation when it came to a multi-million dollar remodeling project. It was also a key part in a record-setting membership drive that occurred once the renovation was complete.
 
We connected with Pelican Isle's Kathie Pedit, marketing sales and membership director, and Megan Somerville, membership coordinator, to learn their secrets to success.

You want a younger membership yet you need to retain your existing legacy members. Each demographic values things like luxury, status, and relaxation differently. While some of your older members may go to the club to get away from work, your younger members may want a place to hunker down and treat the club as a second home or office. In this episode of Crushing Club Marketing, Amy Lynch, CEO of Generational Edge breaks down all you need to know about marketing to different generations.