Ideas for membership 2013

[Matty C of the Shire]

We want people to come to the game and if people enjoy it, they will tell their friends and FAMILY! Word of mouth is a big thing and we need to work to our average .

 

[Matty C of the Shire]

how about an unlimited pass to the Mermaids' kissing booth?

Hells yes! I'll be in for that, though most of us would be there instead of watching the game haha

 

[Mark^Bastard]

You sure we shouldn't work to our median or mode instead?

 

[Matty C of the Shire]

We should use every median we can use. I was reading in one of the papers, that sharks are ranked 4th in using the twitter and facebook. That is awesome work by jardz and co. Now we need to get the fans in! Get them to sign up and then work on getting them to stay and bring others.

Yes I'm about to get a beer..

 

[Mark^Bastard]

rofl *woosh*

 

[Matty C of the Shire]

Haha. (I'm no media guru, I'm just a clerk in baggy greens)

 

[A.Snowden]

Maybe something for everyone to enjoy at the game..

Yeah it's called rugby league. That's what I go to games for. Footy mates and beers is all you need.

 

[Born&bred]

Yeah it's called rugby league. That's what I go to games for. Footy mates and beers is all you need.

and the occasional dreddies...

 

[Parko]

You question what being a member means to me?

Read my posts in 'memories of Endeavour Field' and 'What Being Black Whit and Blue Mean to You' and that take you a little closer to understanding.

Your post seems to suggest that interstate or, heaven forbid, international members are not worth worrying about because we don't buy beer at the games.

Now Parko, that sort of attitude only serves to alienate what I presume is a fair component of the Sharks membership base.

The 'trust' comes from buying memberships and expecting the advertised goods to be of a certain level of quality. By all accounts Jardz and the club have acknowledged that wasn't there this year and will be rectified.

To think that you simply 'threw away' the goods is disappointing to say the least. When I was home at Easter I bought a huge amount of goods for the students over here, and Gil, without payment, sent heaps of posters and stickers. How about you send the stuff you don't want over to me and I can assure you it will be loved and used by a kid with aspirations. I've heard them kicking a coke bottle around saying that they're Bukuya and Uate and Hayne. You think your membership means more to you than what it would to them, you're kidding yourself...

You keep measuring the worth of your input into the club based on beers consumed at the ground mate. Whatever makes you feel good.

I'll keep doing stuff over here.

I understand completely WHY people become members, and it has NOTHING to do with the 'members cap' or the 'members bag' or the 'members sticker' or even (shock horror) the 'members rape whistle'.

I am merely pointing out that there is no point in complaining about what you get, because if it is an unticketed membership, you are donating to the club! You should not expect anything in return.

You, Sixgill, sound like the kind of person who would know more about charity than anyone else here.

It is sad, that a membership to such a great club is being sold as merely a merch pack.

 

[Parko]

Can't agree with this.

First and foremost the point of a membership is that it's a membership. You officially become a member of a club. Money, merchandise and seating is secondary to that.

Someone may want to be a $75 member so that they can decide what seating they want each game. Maybe for some games they go with their mates and stand on the hill, other games they want seats with the family, and then some games maybe they take some of their clients to casual hospitality seats. Maybe they spend $300 on average every game day. It doesn't matter if they do that or just are a member, being a member means something.

Here here!

 

[Parko]

Instead of the packs for the cheapest membership, maybe it would be better to have the option of a home game ticket?

Would be better for the crowd and probably cheaper for the club. The only problem is that it may devalue the other membership packages though.

Does anyone remember how pissed off we were when the tigers tried to pull a single game membership stunt this year?

 

[Sixgill]

I've said for quite some time that the concept of "Sharks Dollars" vouchers / rewards / loyalty program should be investigated.

These could be used at the Sharks Shop, on-line subscriptions & purchasing, postage, extra tickets, Leagues Club meals, at ground facilities, away game tickets, etc.,

Perhaps basic items such as a badge, key-ring or car sticker could be supplied as well.

Given that the estimates are that you get close to a 170% return on vouchers then it has an added flow-on effect.

Obviously, stock control and availability can be an issue.

With such a variety of opinions expressed even just here, I think it's obvious that the Member / Brand-consumer / Fan / Whatever-you-want-to-call them, are looking for tailor-made solutions.

I sincerely hope I haven't come across as a sook on here.

Every post was written with the intent of improving membership for 2013.

Any criticism I make is supported by many healthy posts I have previously made supporting and complimenting the club on their initiatives and endeavours to improve membership numbers.

 

[Parko]

Agree entirely. Hence you wonder why every Club bothers with all the paraphernalia. But if you're going to do it, then do it well.

I'm more for the idea of purchasing a membership, then receiving the privilege of purchasing members only goods. It adds a level of exclusivity to the membership. In this case, the merch should be of top quality.

 

[Parko]

Mainly for the kids I would suspect.

Kids are such a tiny percentage of memberships. It's the young working adults that the club needs to get a hold of. Turn the casual fan into passionate supporter.

 

[Parko]

Totally agree. I dont like the idea that the club is wasting it's money on membership packs which lets face it most likely dont see much use at all. The reason I want to be a member is to help my club and at the same time they are taking on what I consider to be a cost that isn't needed.

Here here!

 

[Sixgill]

I am merely pointing out that there is no point in complaining about what you get, because if it is an unticketed membership, you are donating to the club! You should not expect anything in return.

Yes, and while you and I and a lot of the posters on here understand that, my concern is that this is not the understanding of the 4000 or so other members who do want something material for their money.

My intent for posting (which may have been lost along the way and apologies for that) is that I don't want to see all those new members that the team have worked so hard to recruit feel like they were 'gipped off' and see no 'value' in membership for next year.

You and I actually have similar views but I'm expressing fears about how I 'perceive' others, more casual fans, may react to the membership packages of this year.

Hopefully I'm just way too cynical and my concerns of 'materialism' and 'value for money' are unfounded and memberships for 2013 will be stronger than ever.

 

[Parko]

I largely agree with the bold, but that is the problem. I don't know how much those packs cost the Club, but if people just chuck them in the bin then they are waste of the 'donation'.

Beyond that, NRL Clubs need to move away from behaving like charities* and look to provide more value and have a more broad based appeal than just milking more and more coin from diehards.



*Well, not entirely. If I were the Club then I would look at setting up two or three funds that people can donate to directly. For instance a fund for the Junior competition and development, a fund for the senior footy club and a 'Community' fund where the money goes through the Club to local charities and projects. The Western Bulldogs in the AFL have done this with great success. You could possibly have one to draw down the debt too, like the Melbourne Demons did.

Something that would take very little effort or expenditure but that would open new stream of revenue, however small.

That first statement is contradictory. How could a donation be wasted? It is not about the merch packs. Its about being a member of the club. Sure, I'd accept quality goods if it was offered to me, but it is not why one should purchase the membership in the first place.

The concept of NRL membership programs is that it draws a very fine line between acting like a charity and acting like a business. Memberships should be reasonably exclusive, I know that the concept of being a member resonates deeply with a lot of people and make them feels like they're a part of something, but it's all just fundraising. It is selling this concept of being a part of the bigger picture for a premium.

How would the figures change if it was sold as season tickets rather than memberships?

 

[Parko]

I think the posters on here are not indicative of membership as a whole.

Whilst you and to some extent I may quite happily see membership as a donation, the majority of others will not.

If the club treats it as a donation watch membership numbers collapse.

What I'd really like to see has been mentioned here a few times and that is the promotion of the idea that membership creates community. At the moment, after the initial package, there is the occasional email of team lists that makes me feel connected. This is easily available everywhere else on the internet.


The promise of a members only section of the website has been around for at least two years now and has not eventuated.

This promotion needs to stop being mentioned on official forms because the promise is wearing very thin. I feel a greater connection to this website than I do the official Sharks one. In fact, while I go here multiple times every day, I rarely visit the official page.

Membership can build community, a sense of belonging. Post game interviews, members questions answered by players and staff, genuine opportunities to interact. This happens on their facebook page which has a huge amounts of likes, but what makes those people step up and become members?

As I started with, members of this forum are not an accurate cross section of Sharks fans. The 'donation' line without return isn't going to cut it with people.

Look at it objectively: if I was a first off member who made the step up this year to buy a membership, would I be happy with what I was told I would get and what I actually did get? Did I get value for money? Do I feel connected? Am I a valued member who gets looked after for the season or o I get the feeling that once my money was received I am treated much like everyone else?

I'm pointing out what I believe the views of the masses are. My grandparents, parents and I have pushed a significant amount of money into the club through times that many on here wouldn't remember.

The sense of belonging and appreciated as a member may be inferred and acceptable to this crowd here, but more needs to be done to ensure members get to October and feel like their money was not only appreciated but there were tokens of 'belonging' throughout the season.

You summed up my point in your second line.

 

[Parko]

I've said for quite some time that the concept of "Sharks Dollars" vouchers / rewards / loyalty program should be investigated.

These could be used at the Sharks Shop, on-line subscriptions & purchasing, postage, extra tickets, Leagues Club meals, at ground facilities, away game tickets, etc.,

Perhaps basic items such as a badge, key-ring or car sticker could be supplied as well.

Given that the estimates are that you get close to a 170% return on vouchers then it has an added flow-on effect.

Obviously, stock control and availability can be an issue.

With such a variety of opinions expressed even just here, I think it's obvious that the Member / Brand-consumer / Fan / Whatever-you-want-to-call them, are looking for tailor-made solutions.

This all just comes under marketing, really doesnt have much to do with club membership, in its true form, at all.

 

[Parko]

There was a lot of talk of not pandering to facebook and having members only areas, but at the moment facebook seems to get more content than anyone.

Even the twitter account often just links to the facebook page, which in turn links back to the official site.

What on earth would they put in a members only website anyway? You need content to fill it with, and theres really not much more they can do.