More Members?

[Batnoe]

Alright, as the heading suggests how do we get more members for next year? With the economic downturn and the cost of running businesses higher there will be many businesses out there that will have to close their doors which means less jobs.
Footy clubs are also like a business and without supporters supporting them, it could be in a few years time the saints have to close their doors and we wont have a team to barrack for.
We all know The Kangaroos pushed really hard to get more members and they've finally made a profit, but i think they made a profit as other club members bought one for sympathy.
I suggest to you... if you bought a Kangaroos membership last year, dont renew it, and buy another for the saints, we will need it as it is coming up to some hard times.
Hawthorn and Cartlon serioulsy believe that they will have 50000 members for next year, i cant even fatham how we will get 50000 members. is it that our supporters do not commit? we are sick of not making a grand final? or we just dont have that much support?
I know a lot of people and most of them say their second favourite team is the saints- maybe as we have never been any good.

How do we get more members? i think the fact that we are going to Gold coast for a few years is good for members (some QLD's that follow us will buy membership) the failed Tasmanian experience was going to do this for us, but Hawthorn took over.

The GC17 team before they come in has to have 20000 members signed up... i am sure half of those locals would have probably gone for one of the 16 teams already in the competition and will just bandwagon onto the Coast as it will be their local team which means some Victorian teams will lose members.

Should we push for international status? If we get 2 or 3 irish guys i am sure the irish will keep an eye on them and barrack for the saints, therefore buying memberships. Making memberships cheaper so you can sell more so more people at games- this makes it more exciting so more people turn up because of the atmosphere therefore generating more revenue and a status to the St.Kilda footy club so those that do not barrack choose to barrack for us.

what should we do!???

[JeffDunne]

One way I reckon you could not only encourage membership sales but also members attending games, is to make membership like a loyalty program. The more you use it, the more benefits you get.

Recognising people over the length of membership is nice and encourages renewels, but many that consider that important would probably renew anyway.

The most obvious benefit that could be given to frequent users is access to finals tickets. If you attend all 11 home games then IMO you should have greater access to tickets than someone whose been a social club member for 20 years but hardly attends games.

There are other ways value could be added to membership by making its use part of loyalty programs. It's simply a matter of being creative and ensuring it's use is seemless. Anything we've done in the past along these lines has been not worth the effort.

In a more general sense, marketing ourselves through the SE corridor & peninsula is the key not interstate.

[Batnoe]

I am a social member and i cant attend any games during the year because i am in QLD, but will be there for finals, so the fact that i pay $500 a year to be a member yet see no games should be good enough for me to be at the finals should we make it.

I still dont understand why Victorians dont pay the extra money to get the social membership to guarantee them finals spots...

i will continue to be a social member as i want to make a saints final.

the question i ask is how we get more members? get an extra 17000 members so we can compete with the powerhouses?

[SainterK]

Some will argue that membership comes with success, but this is not always true. I think the Hawks "family" club caper has paid off, how accurate that term is doesn't really matter....

[saintbrat]

Should we push for international status? If we get 2 or 3 irish guys i am sure the irish will keep an eye on them and barrack for the saints, therefore buying memberships. Making memberships cheaper so you can sell more so more people at games- this makes it more exciting so more people turn up because of the atmosphere therefore generating more revenue and a status to the St.Kilda footy club so those that do not barrack choose to barrack for us.

what should we do!???

No good pushing for the Isle's of St kilda- not enough residents

But the Bay Side club seems to be the way- unless we can get some sponsors buying their whole companies memberships- rather than us supplying them with memberships.

[Batnoe]

I know fans are all over Australia, but does anyone have catchment areas and how many of each?

obvioulsy, Sydney and Brisbane are 1 team towns so you would imagine most of those would go for those teams

Adealaide and Perth have 2 teams so about 70% of all people would barrack for either one of those teams

Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and now Hawthorn are the biggest followed, do they have a catchment zone of 1 million?

Geeling is their own town and i would imagine most would go for Geeling

That leaves, Saints, Dogs, Roos, Melbourne and Richmond as the teams that are not hugely followed...

Will the Bayside get us extra members as well as our originals?

[Saint Bev]

I am a social member and i cant attend any games during the year because i am in QLD, but will be there for finals, so the fact that i pay $500 a year to be a member yet see no games should be good enough for me to be at the finals should we make it.

I still dont understand why Victorians dont pay the extra money to get the social membership to guarantee them finals spots...

i will continue to be a social member as i want to make a saints final.

the question i ask is how we get more members? get an extra 17000 members so we can compete with the powerhouses?

Thankyou Batnoe and fantastic attitude. I can't for the life of me understand why supporters need encouragement to buy a membership. Why wouldn't you automatically want one to show your support instead of needing incentives, whats wrong with people. If you love the place so much buy a membership, its not rocket science.

[Batnoe]

I am a social member and i cant attend any games during the year because i am in QLD, but will be there for finals, so the fact that i pay $500 a year to be a member yet see no games should be good enough for me to be at the finals should we make it.

I still dont understand why Victorians dont pay the extra money to get the social membership to guarantee them finals spots...

i will continue to be a social member as i want to make a saints final.

the question i ask is how we get more members? get an extra 17000 members so we can compete with the powerhouses?

Thankyou Batnoe and fantastic attitude. I can't for the life of me understand why supporters need encouragement to buy a membership. Why wouldn't you automatically want one to show your support instead of needing incentives, whats wrong with people. If you love the place so much buy a membership, its not rocket science.

No, what i am saying is, i will always buy a social as it donates money to the club even though i cannot make it down to a game... why just get an interstate member of $90?

I am saying why dont the victorians who have a chance of seeing the saints buy a social membership to guarantee finals tickets as there was another poster saying that the people that turn up to all home games (and not necisaraly have social games, get into finals automatically) i was just replying to say, i will continue to buy social membership even though i cant see games during the year and i should still have first right to get to finals should saints make it if i am paying the extra money

so what did i say wrong?

[fonz_#15]

i think loyalty over the season should get you finals tickets, it works brilliantly with european soccer clubs. it rewards those who follow the club week in week out.

not being disrespectful to those who are from interstate, its great that you help out the club, but it s***s me no end that some who go to 15+ games a season miss out on big games.

[saintbrat]

and how do we keep members who wont' re- sign
i) favourite players leaves
ii) don't like the recruiting
iii) don't like the style of play and

and another myriad of trivial reasons-
Support the club regardless of the current captain, the current coach, the current CEO or the current water boy
I know the club recieves calls saying "if you( the club) sign soand so I'm not renewing"........

support the Club because it is St Kilda warts and all-
players leave
new players Come
coaches leave
new coaches come

[Batnoe]

i think loyalty over the season should get you finals tickets, it works brilliantly with european soccer clubs. it rewards those who follow the club week in week out.

not being disrespectful to those who are from interstate, its great that you help out the club, but it s***s me no end that some who go to 15+ games a season miss out on big games.

i too think you should reward the players that turn up to all 15 games.. some of us cant though!!

I think they need to alocate more to the saints instead of selling them to general public

back to the story though- how do we increase our members numbers without necesarily winning a flag

[fingers]

More members?

Get JeffDunne's avatar to the games.

[Saint Bev]

I am a social member and i cant attend any games during the year because i am in QLD, but will be there for finals, so the fact that i pay $500 a year to be a member yet see no games should be good enough for me to be at the finals should we make it.

I still dont understand why Victorians dont pay the extra money to get the social membership to guarantee them finals spots...

i will continue to be a social member as i want to make a saints final.

the question i ask is how we get more members? get an extra 17000 members so we can compete with the powerhouses?

Thankyou Batnoe and fantastic attitude. I can't for the life of me understand why supporters need encouragement to buy a membership. Why wouldn't you automatically want one to show your support instead of needing incentives, whats wrong with people. If you love the place so much buy a membership, its not rocket science.

No, what i am saying is, i will always buy a social as it donates money to the club even though i cannot make it down to a game... why just get an interstate member of $90?

I am saying why dont the victorians who have a chance of seeing the saints buy a social membership to guarantee finals tickets as there was another poster saying that the people that turn up to all home games (and not necisaraly have social games, get into finals automatically) i was just replying to say, i will continue to buy social membership even though i cant see games during the year and i should still have first right to get to finals should saints make it if i am paying the extra money

so what did i say wrong?

You didn't say anything wrong. There are lots of people who for what ever reasons are unable to attend games but still take out a membership (including Social club). I just don't get people who need an incentive to be a member, or as Saintbrat said, don't renew for lame reasons. Like you "I want to be in that number, when the Saints go Marching In"!!

PS - Would love to go to the footy every week. We have kept our footy and social club memberships going since we left Melb 18 years ago. I fly down to Melb for games when I can. Do I not deserve to go to the GF if we get there?

[Batnoe]

I am a social member and i cant attend any games during the year because i am in QLD, but will be there for finals, so the fact that i pay $500 a year to be a member yet see no games should be good enough for me to be at the finals should we make it.

I still dont understand why Victorians dont pay the extra money to get the social membership to guarantee them finals spots...

i will continue to be a social member as i want to make a saints final.

the question i ask is how we get more members? get an extra 17000 members so we can compete with the powerhouses?

Thankyou Batnoe and fantastic attitude. I can't for the life of me understand why supporters need encouragement to buy a membership. Why wouldn't you automatically want one to show your support instead of needing incentives, whats wrong with people. If you love the place so much buy a membership, its not rocket science.

No, what i am saying is, i will always buy a social as it donates money to the club even though i cannot make it down to a game... why just get an interstate member of $90?

I am saying why dont the victorians who have a chance of seeing the saints buy a social membership to guarantee finals tickets as there was another poster saying that the people that turn up to all home games (and not necisaraly have social games, get into finals automatically) i was just replying to say, i will continue to buy social membership even though i cant see games during the year and i should still have first right to get to finals should saints make it if i am paying the extra money

so what did i say wrong?

You didn't say anything wrong. There are lots of people who for what ever reasons are unable to attend games but still take out a membership (including Social club). I just don't get people who need an incentive to be a member, or as Saintbrat said, don't renew for lame reasons. Like you "I want to be in that number, when the Saints go Marching In"!!

PS - Would love to go to the footy every week. We have kept our footy and social club memberships going since we left Melb 18 years ago. I fly down to Melb for games when I can. Do I not deserve to go to the GF if we get there?

Oh ok, sorry about that, i thought you were being sarcastic when you said fantastic attitude saying that i expect to make the grand final- when in hindsight if you fork out money you deserve to go. if i could go to every game i would, i live and breathe saints... i just live in the wrong town and i work on days where i cannot go

i will be going to a few more next year now that we play on Sunday... I went to 2 games last year, but none were home games so none ended up being free anyway, so in a way i donated $500 to the saints.... That to me means i am eligable for tickets should we make it


SAINTS- get on board, buy an extra membership, get your friends to buy one (country or interstate member) $90 and that is 5 home games which is cheap enough and can get them into barracking for a team...

[JeffDunne]

While I understand and certainly appreciate the support from interstate members being one myself now, I don't reckon we're going anywhere as a club if we are reliant on growth in interstate memberships to survive or catch up to other clubs.

Selling memberships in the hearland is the life blood but so too is getting people to games. We need to start improving both, quickly. Selling social club memberships to the converted or interstate memberships will help the bottom line but they really don't take us forward as a club.

We need to create an army of supporters that gets to games.

[Batnoe]

While I understand and certainly appreciate the support from interstate members being one myself now, I don't reckon we're going anywhere as a club if we are reliant on growth in interstate memberships to survive or catch up to other clubs.

Selling memberships in the hearland is the life blood but so too is getting people to games. We need to start improving both, quickly. Selling social club memberships to the converted or interstate memberships will help the bottom line but they really don't take us forward as a club.

We need to create an army of supporters that gets to games.

I agree, they should halve membership prices, which therefore should double sales? we still get the same money but with twice many people to each game buying merchandise can only be better for the club!

is it a financial issue or dont we have many supporters

[iwantmeseats]

I am SURE we have enough supporters to compete. However, I am also sure we have a abnormally high amount of fickle and less committed supporters. May have something to do with our somewhat unique history, dont know.

[WayneJudson42]

Given that the club sells memberships to people who can't make it to games, why couldn't they reward loyalty and offer a 2nd membership for $50? After a certain time. This would be a one off offer... every 5 years or so.

It's basic marketing, really. Lose a bit on the front end...

BUT they will get an extra few thousand people selling raffle tickets, and buying merchandise.

Plus, they may get hooked and pay full membership the following year.

Plus, if the primary member has a reserved seat, they'd probably have to buy another one.

Or, they could offer a bonus kids membership??

You know it makes sense!

[WayneJudson42]

While I understand and certainly appreciate the support from interstate members being one myself now, I don't reckon we're going anywhere as a club if we are reliant on growth in interstate memberships to survive or catch up to other clubs.

Selling memberships in the hearland is the life blood but so too is getting people to games. We need to start improving both, quickly. Selling social club memberships to the converted or interstate memberships will help the bottom line but they really don't take us forward as a club.

We need to create an army of supporters that gets to games.

I agree, they should halve membership prices, which therefore should double sales? we still get the same money but with twice many people to each game buying merchandise can only be better for the club!

is it a financial issue or dont we have many supporters

Won't work, I'm afraid... Halving costs devalues the membership. If people can do it, they will at full price.

Have tried this before in my business. There is a certain price point that will maximize sales. Go too high and you'll lose people. Go to low and you won't necessarily make more.

What happens if they halve the price, and only get an extra 10,000?

Do the math... for example:

32,000 x $150 = $4.8 mill

42,000 x $75 = $3.15 mill.

So, we have to get at least double to break even. = 64,000. Can't see it happening with 9 other clubs in Melb.

[Saint Bev]

The club does offer free access to games played in your home state regardless of what type of member you are. As far as I know, St Kilda is the only club that offers their supporters this.

Don't under estimate the interstate members. Apart from memberships we also buy merchandise. Fly down for games and functions. I did read somewhere the percentage of interstate members, I think it was something like 20% of memberships, but don't quote me. Take that away and the club would miss out on alot of money. There are members everwhere, why not encourage them to sign up.

[saint66au]

Well I think we ascertained last year that winning the pre-season comp has bugger-all to do with membership sales..well for us anyway

Our figure hit a brick wall in the week leading up to Round 1..i think we only sold 1000 memberships or so once the season had started

3 Prelims in 5 years...the supporter base has the bar set pretty high this year Id reckon.

The sides who record big membership increases are the sides on the way up. Look for the Tigers to rediscover the big numbers they had in 2000/2001.

I reckon securing Benny might help em along a bit tho

[WayneJudson42]

Well I think we ascertained last year that winning the pre-season comp has bugger-all to do with membership sales..well for us anyway

Our figure hit a brick wall in the week leading up to Round 1..i think we only sold 1000 memberships or so once the season had started

3 Prelims in 5 years...the supporter base has the bar set pretty high this year Id reckon.

The sides who record big membership increases are the sides on the way up. Look for the Tigers to rediscover the big numbers they had in 2000/2001.

I reckon securing Benny might help em along a bit tho

Interesting point. Do supporters join on hope? Look at Carlscum after they recruited Judd. And their promo this year is "They know we're coming".

We did simlar things after Blight and Roo and co.

Maybe we need a big signing? Or a catchy slogan?

[aussierules0k]

[saint66au]

Well, as a Lvl 2 Reserved seat holder, the club has given me an ultimatum. In order to keep our seats, we must become Social Club members. We were SC members for many years - till last year. There's 10 in our (one eyed and large) family, that's $1000. Due to the growing cost of membership and the seats, we decided last year we just couldn't afford to keep the SC part. Now the club is turning the screws by demanding we pay SC fees - just to keep our seats. Our seats are front row in the pocket, not something we'd wanna give up.

Other than the occasional Linton St interstate game (worth $5 entry) we don't use or have anything to do with the SC. So, to keep our seats we are forced to gamble $$$ on the chance we'll get into the GF. In my life we've been in 3. 2 when there were only 12 teams. With each new team the AFL introduce the chances are less.

To rub salt in the wound, the letter I received today (13/11/08) tells me I must pay up by 28/11/08. 2 weeks notice! Of course they push the "pay by the month" barrow... in this economic crisis... perrrrrrleeease!

Not smart by the club.

We go on about the membership fee's and how we need them... what about the media rights and the selling of waverly and all the merch... how much money do these clubs need?

Any Sandy fans here? I've got some questions:

What's a membership cost at Sandy?
Can I watch Sandy live nearly every week?
What's a hot dog gonna cost me?
Will I have to pay $10 parking in the middle of the city?
Can I kick the bluddy footy at half time?
Do they water down the beer?
Will they play very loud ads?
Will they remind us of terrorism and the best way to exit?
Will I be allowed to hang a flag over the fence?

Ahhh thats very interesting AOK..as far as I'm aware thats the first time the Club has attached compulsory Social Club membership to Yearly reserved seating. Up until now the only Social CLub seating has been down on L1 at Jiggster central yes??

Are they offering you alternative L2 seating to move to if you dont want to take up SC membership?

The new Membership brochure should make interesting reading

Oh..and we have room for youi on the MW should you decide to "downsize" a little

[saintbrat]

I reckon securing Benny might help em along a bit tho

as I said earlier that will be interesting- because there are those who will say ' you take Ben" and we wont join.......
It might be same numbers in as go out if it relies on one player..