In a world where more and more businesses are offering subscription-based services for similar products, many of these businesses rely on offering a free trial to prospective users to allow them to test out if their product is the right fit. If you’re looking to grow your membership, it’s time to start looking at your club the same way.
In 2019, the SCGA launched the Free Trial Membership program to remove a common barrier of entry for prospective club members. Many golfers are hesitant to join a group of people they’ve never met, so this offers golfers the opportunity to meet club members and participate in an event before committing to join a club for an entire year.
Since the program’s inception, over 2700 golfers have signed up for a free trial with one of the 118 participating clubs. Last year, over 75% of these members continued on for a full year of membership, many of whom would never have joined without this option.
"The Vineyard Ladies Club free 1-month trial has been working great,” says Membership Chair Bobbi Sawtelle. “We’ve had a number of golfers sign up for the trial and all but one who signed up with the trial went on to become a member."
The Free Trial option is available to any club who has created their Online Join/Renew Portal through the SCGA and is open to new members. Your club has the option to choose whether trials last for 30, 60 or 90 days and what tournaments, prizes and other benefits trial members are eligible for. But remember: while you may not want a trial member winning the club championship, the goal of this program is to invite these golfers to as many events as possible and give them the complete member experience during the trial period.
You can learn more about how the Free Trial works by watching the video below:
To start offering a Free Trial with your club, fill out this form and we’ll get you started!