Club Benfits / Keyboard Warriors

[Guest zoomzoom]

 

 

aka brandy!!!

 

No more brandy for you after what happened at donnington!!

[Guest Lowlife]

So after 12 pages, and almost 170 posts the answer to my question (the purpose of which was to help boost membership)

 

Insurance discount (can get that with any club, paid membership or otherwise)

Mag

Forum and help it provides (Free to community users and doesn't actually belong to the club anyway)

mates (sociable buggers Humans, we naturally mix and engage)

parking in fields getting bladdered at shows WITH a free hog roast

 

BUT all might change in 6 months at the AGM?

[Guest greenwood03]

I've watched and read this thread with interest, and no, i'm not a paid up member - but nor do i seek to make any comments that are intended to inflame or upset.

 

Looking at this i'd say that there are a few distinct topics that need to be highlighted and /or separated.

The 1st is what benefits the Club ( any club infact ) can make available to members - this needs to be separated from some of the comments about subsidizing xyz. There's a distinct difference between using the purchasing power of an organization to provide discounts to its members versus giving them in effect a 'cash back' for being a member. Many discounts ( i refer not exclusively to Rhocar as i dont know what they are) are generic - available to many via other means and not an exclusive ' members only deal'.........so there's still a worth but less so than exclusivity.

 

The next point is that ( i believe ) that Clubs have to decide what it is that they are trying to achieve. A look for example at the Tiger Owners Club would suggest that they are happy to recoup/cover operating costs by way of member donation.......in effect that keeps the Club ( forum) alive and provides a place where knowledge + technical help can be accessed. Beyond that there is no structure by way of AGM's, Regional AO's etc - each little area does its own ad-hoc thing in terms of arranging meets etc.

At the other end of the spectrum the Caterham owners club has its support vehicle/marquee etc which gets rolled out at a few events each year - a very structured AO set up, the usual discounts and beyond that, well not much else aside from its associated forum, which one can now read but not contribute to.

 

Once the aims are clear then its a question of attracting and retaining the 'customer base'......i'd have thought that a conversation with GBS whereby they pay the membership fee for anyone that buys a kit would be a worthwhile avenue to explore? surely they could 'lose' that amount within a kit sale......and one would assume that a new builder is likely to be needing some help/advice along the way. As for maintaining/retaining, this is more tricky - because i see that linked to 3 dynamics:

1/ perceived value: possibly a majority are happier paying to maintain a site/presence rather than so called frills that they don't see benefit from ( magazines/once a year roast etc)

2/ forum activity. a forum with plenty going on ( other than just technical queires) can encourage members to view/participate rather than stagnate.

3/ club activity - area wise. Now this part is always going to be a conundrum, because so many car owners have different agendas: meeting in a pub, in a field, going for a leisurely drive for lunch, a morning blat, track day etc.....and getting enough committment in an area to do 'activities' can be hard work.......actually IS hard work. Thing is its easy to see that without some stimulus in this area Clubs can wither: locally we've seen the JPSC club go from having 12-15 cars at a meet to having 3-4-5, i know a guy who ran the Dax club locally, for the 1st 2 years there was sustained interest, by teh end of year 3 him and his wife were sitting in the pub themselves wondering if anyone else would tuyrn up !

 

There isn't a magic formula ( unfortunately).

Perhaps however a combination of tinkering with the forum to make sure that there's a reason for new owners to resgister (as has been mentioned, stopping pm's, searches etc - without stopping folks reading/posting), perhaps re-evaluating things like the mag or the hog roast ( maybe splurging some of those monies on a marquee that's set up at a cple of shows ).........

 

Anyway: to those that Organise - well done, to those that have ideas for events - get involved and promote/support them......and i hope that the Club continues to live, thrive and serve those that have an interest in 'kits'.

[Guest greenwood03]

just re-read the above - in case of any misunderstanding, in para 1 - i don't agree with the idea of cash backs etc for members, i was highlighting the difference between that and a club generated discount!

[Guest mower man]

I have No problem with zero owners or any other car group ,the club has always attracted owners of other makes from cobra to caterhams . Not every one has the same interests and I certainly would not be attracted to 200 miles for the sake of it , where circa 500 miles. to Lemans was very enjoyable [3 times ]. I need to chill out I agree but my point is why fix it if it asnt broken the changes in commitee are mainly being caused by people standing down NOT a power struggle !.Lets all look forward to better weather and the activitys we enjoy mick

[philshelton]

This thread has been an interesting one I think what we need now is input on what members and prospective members would like from the club. Now is the perfect time to have these ideas so matters can be brought up at the agm and acted up on. With a club of this size and geographical spread we are never going to please everyone and event locations will always be a problem for some. I shall start a new thread for posting of ideas and if could be kept to just that it will be easier to work out just what people want. It must also be remembered that only a fraction of the membership use the forum if more of the membership could be encouraged to use it events/runs out could be better attended when arranged at short notice

[philshelton]

All I was after was all ideas in one place to save going through all the forums and upsetting someone because their input was missed

[steve in stockport]

12 pages of what is the club and committee going to do for me if I pay £15 and not one single person asking what they can do for the club.

 

I joined because I wanted to be part of a club of like minded people, didn't know about or ask about any of the benefits I might get. A few years later I took over as area secretary for Staffordshire, even though I live 40 miles away, to keep the area going as I liked the gang that are down there. Then 5 years ago took over as chairman, again to keep things going because nobody looked like coming forward to replace Tim. Laura and I have travelled all over the country lugging club gear round in two cars, at our own expense and have mostly enjoyed being at the helm. But now I've had enough and really can't wait to stand down at the AGM.

I have even thought about calling it a day before then, but I'll stick it out although I can't see me getting too involved in anything that's going on, I don't want to make any decisions that you're all going to be stuck with in my final months.

 

So to all of you asking 'what do I get for my 15 quid?', which barely covers the admin costs of your membership and mag, I say turn it round and ask yourself what you can do for the club.

[enforcer]

Well said that man

[speedtripledan]

Well said Steve !

[Guest boggybogstar]

 

 

So to all of you asking 'what do I get for my 15 quid?', which barely covers the admin costs of your membership and mag, I say turn it round and ask yourself what you can do for the club.

 

well said Steve, totally agree, im hoping that what im doing is actually helping the club in terms of activity in the South, or wider nationally, with the amount of meets and trips we plan.

 

The issue is there is a concept of rivalry which is wrong, theres a concept of protecting the old and not embracing the new.

 

Ive spoken about benefits, and in tge main thats what this thread is about, thers been a misunderstanding that a benefit means cashback.

 

I joined 4 years ago and probably wouldnt have completed my build without the help on here in the timescales i did, but once built thee seems to be a fair few on here tgat want more.

 

Ive stepped up to help, but im afraid it wont be as a dedicated RHocar area secreatary, ill continue to advertise events but it will involve everyone, not just members on here

 

Again, excuse the spelling, these tablets are a nightmare

[Guest MarkB]

Sorry Tonybbut this has to be said,

 

Most of your posts have asked what financial benefits you can get for YOUR runs out.

 

We DO embrace the new, YOU cannot embrace the fact that some people are not interested in blatting all over the uk and Europe. You belittle people who do get pleasure sitting in cold fields having a laugh.

 

You talk as if the members of this club have never been for a drive in their cars, in some cases you are right because they are still building them!

 

Class this as an outburst/rant/being ill and fed up..... Whatever, I am saying what I see.

[Guest Lowlife]

Steve, as the instigator of this whole thing, I agree with you entirely!!

 

My whole point was that when someone tries to "challenge" the club over membership the same reply is given!!

 

What has come out is that individual members try to arrange trackday events, run outs, breakfast meets etc BUT they are not supported. So the question moving forward is how can the club be promoted in a different more encompassing way to attract new blood (as membership is in decline)

 

I know of posts advertising / promoting trackdays in the past that have been slammed down as a rip off etc, where the poster was merely trying to get like minded people along to something other than a pub meet.

 

I think the previous 13 pages have been a great debate with virtually nobody criticising anothers opinion, brilliant stuff

[Guest Lowlife]

Sorry Tonybbut this has to be said,

 

Most of your posts have asked what financial benefits you can get for YOUR runs out.

 

We DO embrace the new, YOU cannot embrace the fact that some people are not interested in blatting all over the uk and Europe. You belittle people who do get pleasure sitting in cold fields having a laugh.

 

You talk as if the members of this club have never been for a drive in their cars, in some cases you are right because they are still building them!

 

Class this as an outburst/rant/being ill and fed up..... Whatever, I am saying what I see.

 

 

LOL Typed too soon

[Guest boggybogstar]

funny , , i disagree but lets not turn the debate eh, otherwisethe healthy debate will go downhill fast