Hello again my fellow CCA members!

My name is Ed Hertel and I am running for the club’s Vice President.

I apologize in advance for the long post, but this is one of the few outlets to get this much information out. I appreciate your time.

I posted an introduction a few days ago. You can read that here: http://www.thechipboard.com/index.cgi/page/1/md/read/id/1780774/sbj/ed-hertel-for-vp-introduction/

Today I would like to start with a series of posts on my feelings about some challenges the club is facing and what I’d love to see happen. I’m starting with one that seems to have the most people concerned – membership.

Why are our membership numbers declining?

There seems to be much debate over the exact reason(s) for the decline in membership. There is the theory that young people don’t join “clubs”. Or maybe the economic hit in 2008 was the blame. It might not be a coincidence that our peak and decline coincided around that time. Or could it be that we signed up of all who would ever join, and have been slowly losing people over the years?

Any time we are given the excuse that its just a normal hobby decline, we are reminded that there are thousands of casino memorabilia collectors out there who are not members of the club. Supposedly, there is an immense sea of potential members out there. Do collectors have to join the club to collect chips? No. Can we change that? I believe we can.

How do we get them?

As I explained in my original post, the organization I worked for was having the same issue of declining membership (aging of base members, not enough younger members…). They hired expensive consultants, and I was fortunate enough to work with them in the various departments. Luckily for the CCA, I work for free!

One conclusion was that the biggest concern of a potential member is what benefits do they get by joining. You might think, “well, duh. You guys paid for that pearl of wisdom?” Well, there was a lot more, but that was one of the main points.

To understand a potential new member, we have to forget about our years (or decades) of friends and comradery, and think if you were just a casual new collector with no ties to the club. If you are happy just picking up chips from casinos you visit, or maybe do some low value buying on eBay, what about the CCA would make you want to join? We have a fantastic magazine, yes. But what if you read through it and there wasn’t anything of interest? (This crazy guy keeps writing about illegal clubs. Who cares about that stuff?) We offer pre-registration to conventions, sure. But what if they don’t go to conventions, or don’t care about banquets or early admittance? We have incredibly knowledgeable members, absolutely. But what if they never hear from any of them?

What we need is to make potential members WANT to join. Ideally, instead of us chasing people, we’d want them to come looking for us.

There have been some efforts started. The Membership & Engagement Committee has put forth some ideas. Making the advanced features of the ChipGuide for members only was a big one, and a great start. I know of many other idea that are just now being vetted. It’ll take time, but bringing value to membership is crucial to attracting new members.

Another finding… the price of membership is VERY important. Ok, ok, yes, I know. The higher the price, the harder it is to get people to sign up. (Again, we paid how much for this?)

This seems simple, but there is actually a little psychology here. Findings have shown that groups like ours have a “sweet spot” for dues when trying to find new members. Remember, you have to think like someone who isn’t emotionally invested in this club. I’ve been told we could raise dues to $50, $75 or $100 a year and we long-time members would gladly still pay. And I believe they would be correct. However, for a casual collector who might be on the fence on whether they need to join, there is absolutely a range they are willing to pay. And you might be surprised how narrow that spread is. It’s like the difference between $9.99 and $10.00, it might just be a penny, but the mind sees more. A collector might impulse buy a membership at $25, but hesitate at $40, and walk off at $50. The difference is minimal (a couple gallons of gas), but it makes a huge difference on whether you get a casual member or not.

For group like us, (a couple years ago) the sweet spot was $30-$35. With CCA dues at $40, we are on the high side, but still manageable. However, I believe it is CRUCIAL we keep the dues steady to attract new (casual) members. (In order to do this, we need to keep costs in check – which will be a future post’s subject).

The above are just a couple subjects. Of course there needs to be more social media activity, advertising and other “get the word out” efforts. Having great benefits is only good if people know about them. I could go on and on, but no doubt I’ve gone on long enough.

But, there is actually something even more important than finding new members…

How do we retain the members we get?

Our consultants had worked with many non-profit membership organizations and the same problem was rampant, retention of members is hard.

You might think the most important part of membership is the initial sign-up. It’s not. With the use of promotions and incentives, signing up new members can be easy. The hardest part, and the most crucial step in maintaining members, is their FIRST RENEWAL. This is the make-or-break point between losing a member and potentially gaining one for life.

Most memberships in organizations like ours are dropped after their initial year. When it comes time to renew, that is when members assess whether they think it’s worth it to continue. Organizations have exactly one year to convince new signees that they should stay with the club. Subsequent renewals are usually easier as they’ve likely been convinced.

But how do we do that? Engagement here is extremely important. We shouldn’t just send new members a packet, followed by a few magazines, and hope they feel like renewing next year. They need to be made aware of what the club can do for them. We need to (gently) reach out to new members throughout the year (unless asked not to) and make sure they feel included.

It’s not easy, but sometimes just the smallest personal touch can make all the difference. We need to develop a system of personal engagement, especially for new members, and continue it throughout the year.

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Ok, well, I’ve gone on too long. Sorry about all that. When I get started talking about club stuff, I tend to go on.

Just as a wrap up, we must remember that its not necessary to join the CCA to collect chips, or log onto this Board, or come to the convention. We need to make this a place people WANT to be.

For those who want the bullet point for what I’d like to work on regarding membership:
1) Increasing the value of membership by increasing club benefits
2) Keep dues down through good cash management
3) Increase the CCA’s exposure to find new members
4) Develop better member engagement to increase retention

I know what you are thinking, why didn’t I just post the bullets and save everyone’s time.

Thanks for reading. Please email me if you'd like to discuss this or any other issue.