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3 min read

Why Your Club Website May Be Hurting Membership Growth [WEBINAR]

Why Your Club Website May Be Hurting Membership Growth [WEBINAR]

Would you be surprised to learn that your website may actually be preventing your prospects from finding you online? In this month’s Crushing Club Academy webinar series, Joe Jerome, Founder and CEO of Brand Builder Solutions will help you think about your website through the lens of your buyers -- and he provides considerations for your next website redesign.

Join our webinar series to get immediate access to the video here.

The Two Elements to Every Club Website

You have essentially two elements to your club website. One is a “back of the house,” or member engagement part of your site, and the other is a “front of the house,” or member acquisition side to the site. You need different functionality for your current member and your prospective member.

For example, your internal website is focused on your club and is designed to satisfy member loyalty and support your operational efficiencies, like integration of your accounting and POS software, reservations, tee times, banquet management, etc. Having the right technology platform is essential for running a successful operation.

On the contrary, your “external" facing site should be just that, a website that focuses on the needs of your buyers. The question is, “Can one club website meet the needs of both audiences?”

Your Website Should be Your #1 Sales Resource

We sat down with website expert Joe Jerome to break down some of the essential “need to know” facts about club websites, like:

  • How lack of differentiation is impacting your buyer’s journey
  • Challenges of a templated design
  • How to connect with your prospects earlier in the sales funnel

Joe is a big proponent of making sure your website is your number one sales resource working on behalf of the club 24/7. In order to do this, your external facing website needs to be designed with the buyer’s journey in mind. It must create awareness of your club and all that you offer and provide enough information to move someone from interest and consideration to intent and ultimately taking action.

“Differentiation isn’t a slogan anymore. It’s showing your prospects the social aspects of your club through your member and team stories.”
- Joe Jerome, Founder and CEO of Brand Builder Solutions

Here are some suggestions from Joe, straight from the webinar:

[00:27:02] So it's not like everyone who comes to your site is in the same frame of reference; frame of mind. But the way most club sites are built assumes everyone is the same. So there's not a lot of choices in where they (your visitor) can go. But more importantly, for your site to connect and convert new members means each site has an end point. There's a point where they're going to make a decision to ask for more information, download a resource, there are going to be questions they have that shouldn't have to require a club tour or a phone call every time the site doesn't address these questions. But these are the types of questions people have. And if they can't find answers find a way to connect right away, a competitor who is doing this better is going to be talking to these people and engaging through the site. And they're probably not going to be spending as much time with you if you're missing some of these steps.

[00:27:55] Everyone is going online for buying decisions and they're doing their own research before they're ready to get to the intent form. So that's 70 percent of the opportunities we're missing out on earlier in the buying process. And so by being able to provide information and resources through each stage, we're gathering more information, more intelligence so we can begin a relationship.

Ultimately, the faster and better-equipped your website is to help your prospects make a decision, the easier it is to do business with you.

How to Turn Your Website into the Ultimate Sales Tool

What are some ways you can position your site to be more helpful?

  • Replace a long Contact Us form with a short form to learn “what does it take to be a member”
  • Provide resources like “Things you need to know before you talk to us”

When engaging with you the first time, a well-informed prospect is going to already have many of their questions answered, and so will close faster! Because they have done their homework, it makes the job of your membership director much easier and optimizes their time spent on leads.

The Importance of Technology

Joe wrapped up by talking about differentiation and how the right kind of technology is instrumental if your website is going to be your top sales resource.

“You need marketing technology AND operational technology. Operational technology does not help you solve your marketing and sales goals of growing membership, and like your membership director, your website should be held accountable to a sales goal.”
- Joe Jerome, Founder and CEO of Brand Builder Solutions

Finally, it’s important to note that if you decide to have your outward-facing website built using an agency outside of the club technology platforms, a simple URL link is all that’s needed to connect the new external site to your current internal site.

You can access the full 30 minute conversation with Joe Jerome by filling out the form on our Crushing Club Marketing Academy page! By signing up, you’ll get access to all our past webinars as well as any future webinars.

click this link to watch the crushing club marketing academy webinar

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