An idea to increase SDC membership

[64V19816]

....offer a free year membership to any ex member absent for more than 10 years. Offer a free year membership to Anyone buying their first Studebaker. I’m sure there won’t be a tidal wave here but this incentive might just work

[DEEPNHOCK]

Lot of dead people vote this way, you know..

[thunderations]

Some of our true CASO friends would only join every tenth year.............lol

[BobWaitz]

I carry a couple of business cards for our chapter with me whenever I go to a swap meet. If someone has a Studebaker for sale I give them a card and ask them to give it to whoever buys the car.

I floated a similar idea idea a few years ago but it never got any traction: Someone at the national level could monitor Craigs List, Hemmings, eBay, etc. and offer a packet of contact information for the national and all the local chapters to sellers as something to pass along when a Studebaker is sold. The best time to get and keep a new member is right after they buy the vehicle and need advice on repairs and parts. I would want to see this done at the national level so people selling Studes aren't annoyed with all the people contacting them.

[tsenecal]

It seems like it could work. The SDC would have to cover the cost of the Turning Wheels for the one year that they were "trial members", but could likely pick up quite a few, new, permanent members afterwards.

[jts359]

With the printing saving's of the new format of Turning Wheels , The Club may have enough to fund this idea. I think its a good one . We have to try something . Ed

[Henry Votel]

??? So if someone hasn't been a member for 10 years they get 3 years free? That kind of policy would make many SDC members who paid for those same 10 years and would be directly subsidizing 3 years of TW's wonder what in the wide wide world of sports the world was coming too.

??? The first year free for new owners? They already can have a discount to $24 rather than $31 and they do not have to buy a Studebaker.

It seems that in every club or professional group I have ever belonged there is a subset of creative thinkers that believe giving away the assets of the entity is a "real stroke of genius". If TW and SDC isn't worth the $2.50 a month membership fee to people then one should recognize that these people know there own minds and leave them alone.

OTOH here's an idea. Put up a 'GoFundMe' page and throw in a thousand or so of your own money to kickoff this great idea and start taking names. Keep us posted after the 1st and 3rd year on how many continued on their own dime and how much it cost you.

[Randy Ridenour]

Sometimes, I think we are our own worst enemy...

[Hallabutt]

I've always thought that a free 6 month membership would be a good idea. I have always believe that it may be a mistake requiring someone, who has a passing interest Studebaker, to join the National SDC, when all that they might be interested in are the local get togethers.

Something really lacking in non-Studebaker circles is information. An informational brochure,could be beneficial. Maybe with title "Why Studebaker," that we could hand out at swap meets, cruises, cruise nights and other car events. No heavy handed selling, just strategically placed container for interested people. It could be as simple as a sheet of paper, copies of which, could be downloaded from a computer master. Some historical highlights, observations, as to why Studebaker was one of the last surviving, independent car makers. Maybe some anecdotal comparisons regarding, relative cost of owning, operating, parts availability, online sources and club activity information.

I have little doubt that even many current owners could benefit from a well crafted information source. it could also help bridge the informational gap between the antique owners and the post war people.

[Avantidon]

Within the past three years, your Board sent out Post Cards to former SDC members who had not renewed their memberships for at least three years and no more than 5 years. The message we placed on the card included an offer to renew their membership at the new member rate for the next year. I cannot remember the number of cards we mailed but it was 500 or so. Of that amount, our offer was accepted by less than 5% of those who received the card. Will we do it again? Probably, because 5% (25) returning members is better than -0-. Membership is an important topic to our Marketing Committee and is always on our minds. As we move through this year, you will here more on this topic.

[jclary]

If anything, I would suggest finding ways to enhance membership in a way that makes it "FUN!" A positive experience worth the price of membership! Perhaps, for new members, a "Mentor" program. Develop a network of capable experienced regional volunteer members willing to provide guidance and "hands on" support to new (especially young) members. Not to do the work for them, but offer friendly assistance guiding them toward resources available. Like all things in human activity, there could be conflicts as a result, but by establishing qualifications, procedures, and rules, such a program could enhance the SDC experience and value of maintaining membership.

While the idea of "free" is a very tempting concept, there is an underlying implication that the cost of membership is not as necessary for "being a member." My personal opinion is that Turning Wheels has been mostly worth the money, but the meets, resources, friendships, and fellowship through the years has been well worth the cost of membership. Discounting the dues is psychologically diminishing "value." I'd rather we concentrate on elevating the experience in a way that makes members understand it is worth the money paid.

[E. Davis]

$31.00 a year for a membership and a magazine like TW has to be the best bargain out there for car enthusiasts. Kartrashian tabloid mags in the grocery store sell for $5.00 and fly off the shelves. We don't need to cut prices just advertise the bargain.

[Mark57]

On a similar note I always reach out to new SDC members in our area and send them a free copy of our Chapter newsletter and invite them to join our local chapter. Over 80% of these folks don't even bother to write back and acknowledge I reached out to them - and as stated, they have already joined SDC. Go figure!

[556063]

The main reason I joined SDC almost 40 years ago was to get information on parts and services through TW. The fellowship and other perks were frosting on the parts information cake.

When I bought a Corvair a dozen years or so ago, I didn't even think about joining a Club. Just type Corvair into Google, and Clark's and the Underground quickly come up. I did everything I needed to do on those vendor's websites without a second thought about a club.

I haven't watched most recently, so I don't know if SDC has worked with Advertisers/Vendors to get a mention in the Advertisers/Vendors catalogs and websites. That's where these new people are looking. Maybe a special promotional rate could be offered to those new members with an order?

The Club is fighting the same issues as retail in general. Corvair Underground routinely promotes the Corvair Club in their ads. Sorry to say, I never joined from the promotion. But you couldn't ask for a better targeted method to reach owners.

[R3 challenger]

Recently, I gave a one-year membership to a friend; at only $24 for first-time members, it makes a nice gift. This person is retired and in an assisted living home, but he has an interest in cars, having been the former owner of my local NAPA store. (In fact, his sister married the brother of author, Fred Fox--that's how I got to know him.) He did not know about SDC.

If just 20% of our members would give such a gift to someone they believe may be interested, that would help our membership numbers considerably.

George