Australia, like most of the rest of the world, is experiencing an ageing phenomenon.
The phenomenon is a result of a combination of lower fertility rates, increased life expectancy and the sheer, large number of ‘baby boomers’ who are moving through the age structure.
With ‘leading edge’ baby boomers now well into their 50’s, there is increased urgency for recreation, sporting, community and health groups as well as Governments, both State and Local, to address the needs of this growing market i.e. the over 50’s.
For providers of sport and recreation, significant opportunities exist to capitalise on this growing section of the marketplace by developing and expanding the options available for participation. Organisations that capitalize on these opportunities will be better positioned to experience success in the future.
Thinking ahead and preparing for the huge influx of mature age baby boomers just makes good business sense.
The Office for Recreation & Sport SA has developed a guide called "Targeting Mature Age Participants" to help clubs market their sport to this market.
Marketing Plan for your club
To be successful your club is going to need additional members. To get them you are going to need to promote you club in the community and to do this effectively you will need to develop a Marketing Plan.
The Office for Volunteers has developed some excellent resources that will assist you to market your club through the media and market yourselves to sponsors. These can be found at www.ofv.sa.gov.au
Free Website Development - Community Webs Program
A website is a valuable tool for any community organisation. It provides a communication link between stakeholders, existing and prospective volunteers and the community at large. It is also a good medium for promoting and acknowledging sponsors.
The Office for Volunteers has partnered the UniSA School of Communication, Information and New Media (Magill Campus) in an innovative program that provides volunteer- involving community organisations with access to the development of a free website. |
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For further information and to register visit the Community Webs website.
The program works by partnering a student with your organisation who will work with you to design and build your website.
Once the website is complete it is hosted free of charge for twelve months. Throughout this twelve month period on-line support and mentoring is provided. Our aim is to leave you with the skills to update and maintain your website as required.
Well over one hundred websites have been developed through this program to date.
At the completion of the twelve month period organisations are required to seek hosting through a commercial internet service provider
The Office for Volunteers recommends CanDoNet. |
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Seven essentials of a good plan
Understanding the main strategies of business planning will help you achieve the best possible outcome for your organisation.
Vision | Without a vision, your club or association will have no focus. Gymnastics Australia has adopted a whole of sport approach to planning. For example the vision statement for Gymnastics Australia is "Gymnastics….healthy and active lives for everybody" |
Commitment | Be committed to the vision, otherwise your club or association is unlikely to succeed. |
Timelines | Create timelines showing when particular targets or milestones will be achieved. |
Objectives | Avoid a long list of objectives as it is probably not realistic and will make it difficult for you to achieve. |
Reporting | Focus on performance and trends that help determine change. Reports on membership numbers over the past few years, volunteer commitment, methods of fundraising provide an overview of past and present club or association operations. |
Contingencies | Account for the risks your club or association might face and work out contingency plans. A SWOT analysis template will determine a club or association’s threats and weaknesses. |
Change | Any major changes affecting your club or association should be indicated in the business plan. A local school closing could impact on membership numbers at a netball club or association. A good plan will incorporate measures to prepare for this change so that member numbers remain stable or increase. |
- The Perfect Delivery - A Bowls Australia initiative
The Perfect Delivery
Marketing concepts
Here are some important marketing concepts to help you identify and use target markets to increase membership, raise funds and attract sponsors for your club.
Market research: learn about your members
Market research should form the basis of all marketing activities. It helps you get to know who your members (and non-members) are – and why a person would want to become a member or attend an activity. It also helps you understand the environment you’re operating in and about your competitors.
Market research can involve:
- Analysing existing information, like demographic data and research reports
- New research, where you develop surveys, hold focus groups or conduct interviews.
Existing information – where to look
Membership database
Your club should have an existing membership database. An analysis of this will reveal some basics about your customer and will also identify where new members are coming from. Also look for large groups of customers who have similar characteristics, live in the same geographic region or attend the same school, university or other institution.
Registration figures
Check the registration figures over the last 12-24 months. Do the numbers differ for different age groups? Have the numbers fallen? Is it gender differentiated? Is it geographic?
Geographic area
Research your local area for institutions, schools, organisations, sporting grounds and other facilities that may support your club. This will give you general data on age groups, education, marital status, income and interests within the local area.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
If you require more detailed information about potential members, a good place to start is the Australia Bureau of Statics publications. Check your local library or go to www.abs.gov.au.
New research – ideas for your club
Interview existing members
Find out why they joined your club. People join or not join for all sorts of reasons – social activities, the facilities, close to university or transport etc.
Interview lapsed members
Find out why members don’t renew their registration.
Research other clubs
Talk to neighbouring clubs and recreation centres about their membership base. Your association may also have information about members in different areas of the state and nationally.
Interview potential members
If your plan is to attract a different market, talk to potential members about what would get them to join your club or attend an event.
Market research helps define your target market(s).
Target market
Put simply, marketing your activities to ‘everyone’ is inefficient. Not everyone wants the same thing and not everyone is alike. You’ll be wasting time and resources with this approach.
Target marketing focuses your marketing activities on groups of people (or target markets) most likely to become a member.
Target markets are essentially groups of people with common characteristics. Some simple ways target markets could be defined include residential address, sex, age group, occupation, education and interests. For example, children aged 5 to 12 years who go to school in a particular area could be a target market.
You can also more narrowly define target markets by using multiple or specific characteristics. This allows you to further focus marketing activities. For example, women under 40 years of age who are interested in abseiling.
So how do you select your target market(s)? Consider these factors:
- Market research – builds a profile of your existing and potential members
- Club objectives and business strategy – often set out target markets
- Club constitution - may define membership classes.
Remember, you are looking to define who are your current target markets – to help make your marketing strategies more effective.
But you are also looking for potentially new target markets – to grow your membership.
Competitors and market positioning
How you position your club’s image and what it offers is important when targeting a potential customer or sponsor or producing an event.
Where your club stands compared to your competitors also helps a target market understand and appreciate the value and choice offered.
For example a person looking for a week night tennis competition will compare a club’s location, facilities, costs, reputation and time commitment with others in the area.
Here are some questions to ask to help position your club:
- How does your club compare with other organisations?
- What makes your club different from other clubs?
- What are parents looking for in an activity?
- What do participants want in an event?
- What would a potential sponsor look for?
- Does your sport have the right image to recruit new members?
Marketing mix (the 5 Ps)
Marketing involves a combination of elements, commonly referred to in marketing terms as the 5 Ps. The research on your target market, what your club offers and where it is positioned within the market helps identify your club’s marketing mix.
- Product - Having or producing a product or service required by others. This could be your sport, the club, the competitions, stalls or other activities on offer.
- People - Customers or the people who use the services or products on offer. Includes your employees, volunteers and members.
- Price - Pricing the product or service at market price. Includes membership fees and structure, discounts and the ‘cost’ of member’s time.
- Promotion - Ensuring the potential customers are aware of your product. This can be advertising, publicity, sponsorship, brochures, posters or personal selling.
- Place - Where the product is bought. Includes where you train, compete (home and away) and other facilities on offer.
