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Stay updated with the latest news, insights, and trends from our team. Our blog is a space where we share valuable tips, industry updates, and expert advice to help you stay informed and inspired. Whether you're looking to learn something new or keep up with what's happening, you'll find fresh and engaging content right here.

Is There an Invaluable Business Tool Hidden Inside Your Club Website?

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Is there an invaluable business tool hidden inside your club website

How do you view your website? Hopefully, it’s more than an online brochure. At the very least, it should be a means to help promote your club. But there’s really much more it could and should be doing for you.

Leading clubs understand the full potential that the website holds. After all, web-based technologies allow you to do so much today. For example, your website can give your members the ability to find club events, make reservations, connect with other members, and access their accounts. And for the club, it can enable you to collect member payments, manage club resources, and access member behavioral data to help inform your decisions. With a custom website build, you can unlock these capabilities. Moreover, you may be surprised at just how affordable it is to give your club website this invaluable functionality.

Exploring Everything your Club Website can do

A custom-built club website can enable capabilities that can have an impact across the club. It helps maximize what you and your members can do through the website and the club app.

Account Management 

One of the greatest conveniences you can offer members is to allow them to manage their accounts whenever and virtually wherever they want. With a custom site, you can enable this convenience by making account management available through the website or app.

Members can sign in to view current charges, see past statements (with the ability to drill down into the details), make a payment, and track minimums. And you can message members through the site and push notifications through the app.

All of this gives your members the experience that they have come to appreciate with other online services they use.

Reservations

Building participation is critical to optimizing member engagement and even driving revenues. Making it easy and fast for people to make reservations is vital, especially in today’s world, where many distractions can pull them away.

With top-notch reservation functionality, you can make it simple for members to register for an event, make a dining reservation, and schedule a tee time – whether on their smartphone, laptop, or the club app. And that’s just the beginning. You could make it easy for members to:

  • Reserve a court
  • Reserve a ball machine, a practice bay, and more
  • Register for a golf event
  • See instructors’ schedules and sign up for lessons, requesting their favorite teacher
  • Book a spa visit
  • Book a room

If it’s easy for your members to sign up or make a reservation, their participation at your club will increase.

Events 

The advanced functionality of a custom-built site can improve the success of the events you plan at your club.

For example, you can build a capability that allows you can create an event in the back office functionality of your site. Once you do, it will populate the member website and the smartphone app, displaying on the club calendar and offering a link to make a reservation.

You can even build in “Featured Events” functionality that allows you to highlight an event on the member website and app using rich graphics and links to make a reservation.

Ecommerce 

When you go beyond a simple cookie-cutter site, you can start to include things like e-commerce functionality. This allows you to sell merchandise through your website like club-branded apparel and other items. You can even set up a marketplace feature that members can use to shop for groceries and other essentials via the club app or website.

You can connect your online sales capabilities with your backend inventory and retail POS systems for real-time inventory integration.

Hotel, Marina, & POA 

A bespoke website allows you to customize the capabilities to fit the unique offering of your club.

You can enable online booking for your hotel, allowing members to reserve a room through the website or the club app. You can even offer functionality like touchless door access using the app.

For clubs with marinas, the website can be configured to display slip assignments, offer a member boat directory, and more.

Clubs with property owners’ associations can allow members to manage their accounts from the website or app. They can take care of billing online, initiate and track a work order, and schedule a visitor with the gatehouse, to name a few capabilities.

Administration & Insights 

A custom build can integrate the functionalities that can help alleviate the management of your website. That means making adding new pages and updating information easily – sometimes even automating it.

Plus, you’ll be able to draw valuable insights from the analytics on your site, giving you a deeper understanding of what is important to members. It’s the information that can help you make more informed decisions about your club.

Discover what’s possible

There is a reason why leading clubs opt for a custom build on their websites. They understand the crucial role it can play in the club’s success.

If you’re evaluating your site, take the time to consider a custom solution. You may discover the opportunity to uncover an invaluable business tool inside your club’s website.

If you’d like to see how a custom website solution can benefit your club, Request a demo of the Design Agency solution from Northstar. You’ll discover a comprehensive approach that can deliver an advanced solution as unique as the experience you provide at your club. Talk to Northstar today.

Mastering Private Club Marketing to Boost your Loyalty

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Mastering private club marketing to boost your loyalty

A recent study in the National Club Association’s Club Trends publication looked at loyalty levels compared to people’s number of years as members. The loyalty levels were highest among those who were in their first 5 years of membership (the honeymoon phase of membership). After 5 years, the loyalty scores dropped somewhat significantly.

It’s easy to equate length of membership with loyalty. If someone has been with the club for decades, they must be loyal, right? It would be easy to assume that you don’t have to do much for this segment of your membership since they seem locked in. But it could be a costly assumption. In the study, the lowest loyalty level was around the 20-year mark.

Losing a solid member is never good for the club. There are costs involved with replacing them. And the club’s reputation can take a hit as members leave and talk to others about why they left.

Revisiting Loyalty

Your members’ loyalty is directly linked to the connection they feel to your club. That may seem rather rudimentary, but it’s funny how we can lose sight of the fundamentals. And how we have to remind ourselves of the basics – usually when we experience an unexpected exit.

The good news is that it is not difficult to fortify the connection your members feel with your club.

The Not-So-Obvious Competitor

The first step to building stronger connections is acknowledging the challenges of today’s environment. Your members have incredible access to information as well as access to others through the digital channels. This allows them to easily discover alternatives to your club – whether that’s a competing club or other options that would replace your offering in their lives. And it allows them a social space outside of your club to discuss it all with friends. You can understand how all of this makes it easier than ever for them to question their membership.

Going Beyond Staying in Touch

It’s easy to push back by saying, “We do a good job staying in touch with our membership.” While that is important (and laudable), we have to do more if we want to build enduring loyalty. We have to foster a sense of belonging.

Belonging happens when members feel like:

  • They are part of the community
  • Their beliefs align with the club’s beliefs
  • The experience is personalized
  • They can engage how they choose

Your club is naturally positioned to engender this sense of belonging. It’s just a matter of consistently doing the things that reinforce the four points mentioned above. This is where a premier club management software solution can help. Let’s look at some examples.

Bolstering the Sense of Community

The feeling of community at your club is, perhaps, the most crucial factor in creating a sense of belonging among your members. What you do on-premise is important. But you also have the opportunity to extend the community beyond the walls of your club.

As mentioned before, notifying members of gatherings and events is the starting point. But consider how you might help them engage. With the right club management software, you can offer reservation features that allow them to see who is coming to an event. Those features can include access to buddy lists, allowing members to quickly make a reservation for themselves and their friends. And it can include messaging capabilities that allow members to participate in group discussion threads.

These are the kind of features that encourage members to engage and further the sense of community they have at your club.

Reinforcing Beliefs

We all like to be around others who share our values and beliefs. This desire played a part in your members’ original decision to join your club. If you want to build belonging, make it a habit to regularly remind members of the club’s beliefs. Weave it into your campaigns that you send with your club management software. Use your website builder to add banners to your site that reinforce the mission, vision, and values of the club. Place those messages in promotional screens on your club app.

By making a concerted effort to reiterate the shared beliefs, you’ll reinforce for members the ideals that support their feelings of belonging.

Making it Personal

When the club feels tailored to them, members’ connection to the club strengthens. Premier club management software can help you amplify the sense of personalization at your club.

By operating on one database, the software allows you to access insights about your members from the technology you use across your operation. Want to send more relevant messages to your members? Use your connected campaign manager module to segment them into groups based on their interests or behavior and then create messages that feel more oriented to them. Want to personalize a dining experience? Equip your staff with tableside tablets that allow them to access member preferences so they can suggest a favorite drink or dish.

These practices help members feel like the club knows and values them. Being acknowledged like this is powerful when it comes to building belonging.

Giving them Options

Another advantage of premier club management software is its ability to give the members choices when it comes to how they engage. Some like to do as much as possible with the digital tools. Letting them interact through an online portal or the club app is key. On the other end of the spectrum are those members who prefer to interact in person. Of course, there is a wide variety in between that will prefer some combination of the two.

Members should feel like they can choose a way to interact that fits their lives. No matter what their preferences are, these options should feel personalized. Whether that means delivering personalized options through the app or giving your staff access to member preferences to personalize their interactions with members.

Feeling like you have choices affirms the feeling that your club recognizes what’s important to you. That can help reinforce that your club is a place where it is easy to feel like you belong.

This sense of belonging conjures up strong emotions. Take the time to regularly look at your practices to see if you can identify ways that you can improve the sense of belonging to connect with those emotions both at the club and outside of it. Doing so can help you build an enviable loyalty among your members.

For more information on how a premier club management software solution can help you build a sense of belonging at your club, contact Northstar. With the Northstar solution, you can unite all parts of your operation in one database, allowing you to access insights that help you deliver an exceptional experience across your club. An experience that reminds your members why they joined in the first place. Request a demo, today.

Nexus Evolves How You’ll Think About Club Management Software

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Northstar Nexus Club Management Software

Northstar announced the release of Nexus – an innovation in club management software. Nexus brings together the key components of an exceptional system, evolving each component to advance club management capabilities while helping elevate the member experience.

A Look Back

Club management software has come a long way since Northstar set the standard in 2003. Technology has evolved at an ever-increasing pace. As have user expectations.

As a point of reference, consider that, in 2003, social media had not taken over yet. And the iPhone would not make its debut until four years later in 2007.

Over two decades later, ultra-connectivity has changed the way clubs operate. And it has changed the expectations of the club experience among members.

Enter Nexus

Nexus rises to meet the expectations of today and advance the possibilities of tomorrow through its four key components.

Office

The Office module is the heart of operations. For the latest version of this critical component, Northstar gathered input from hundreds of clubs globally. The result is an advanced offering that brings you exceptional Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and General Ledger functionality. It also adds in Timekeeping and the Financial Report Designer to help you uncover the insights that can advance your club operations.

Employee App

The Employee App is the youngest member of the Nexus suite. But it is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after additions. The app delivers powerful functionality to the one device that every one of your team members carries.

The Employee App incorporates features from key modules. For example, Club View from the Office module has been integrated. This allows team members to access the entire club roster right from their smartphones to see who is at the club, see all reservations, see who is seated in the restaurant, access members’ profiles, and more.

Additionally, features from the Activities & Spa module allow staff to manage reservations right from the app. They can create any type of booking, including massage, wellness visits, tennis, and squash. And see everything that they have scheduled in list view or calendar view. This kind of control allows your staff to manage their own schedules like never before.

To top it off, the Employee App is customizable, allowing you to apply your club’s design and branding – making the app feel like part of your club.

Member Website

Today, the Member Website is an extension of your club, allowing members to interact in a myriad of ways. That makes it a valuable property.

As part of Nexus, the Member Website evolves its capabilities – all while refining the user experience. Members can make dining reservations, reserve their tee times, and sign up for classes through the site. The club can set up e-commerce to sell merchandise from any of the club shops. You can even give members the ability to order and pay for Grab ‘N Go from the club restaurants. All through the site.

Members can access a complete list of club events through an interactive calendar that also allows them to make a reservation and even pay. Plus they can access their account to check charges, minimum balances, and more.

You’ll also find powerful functionality that makes it easy to manage the site as well as create, send, and track marketing campaigns. With Nexus, The Member Website advances in its ability to help build stronger connections with your members.

Member App

The Member App puts the club at their fingertips no matter where they are, making it easy to schedule tee times, make dining and activity reservations, close F&B checks, and more.

The home screen can be customized by the members with Glances that give them quick links to the parts of the app they use the most. An Instagram-like feed in the app allows them to interact with the club and other members. Plus, buddy lists make it easy to connect with friends at the club and schedule get-togethers. The app even features push notifications which members can opt into to receive announcements and reminders.

Nexus brings together the key components that every club needs to achieve a higher level of operational excellence, while also elevating the member experience. To see everything that Nexus can do, request a demo. And discover what’s possible for your club.

The 5 Reasons for a Complete Club Management Software Solution

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The 5 Reasons for a Complete Club Management Software Solution

You’re always looking for ways to improve things at the club. It could be optimizing operational efficiency. Or, looking for ways to take your member experience to the next level.

Today, technology plays a big role in helping you achieve those goals. But technology in and of itself is not the answer. In fact, just throwing technology at a challenge can sometimes result in more complexity and frustration. The answer lies in coordinating the technology to simplify life and free up time to allow you to focus on an exceptional member experience. That’s where a complete club management software solution really shines. Here are five of the most compelling reasons that leading clubs adopt the complete solution approach.

Reason 1: It Makes Your Life Easier

Go ahead and be a little selfish for a moment. Wouldn’t be great if you didn’t have to wrangle different systems? Think about the hassles you could avoid:

  • No more managing and maintaining multiple pieces of software
  • No more training employees on multiple systems
  • No more integration headaches to make sure those systems talk to each other
  • No more blind spots in your operation
  • No more trying to figure out who to contact for which system in order to get the support you need

Get everything operating on one integrated system and you’ll feel the stress lift.

Reason 2: It Makes You More Efficient

It takes some time and effort to manage any system. When you multiply that time and effort by the number of disparate systems you operate, you start to realize there is an opportunity to free up resources.

Moreover, one integrated system helps you streamline processes. Take the example of reservations. When someone makes a reservation for an event at the club, the related charges should automatically route to accounting and be applied to the members’ account – which they can access online or through the club app. That kind of process efficiency can help everything run smoothly while removing the manual work that can be prone to errors and, quite honestly, be soul-crushingly mundane to anyone tasked with it.

Reason 3: It Elevates The Member Experience

The less time you spend on managing systems, the more time you can spend on making the member experience everything it can be.

There’s more. A complete club management software solution allows you to integrate unique offerings. Your members can order Grab n’ Go right from the club’s smartphone app. Or schedule a tee time, spa visit, and more. Since it’s all connected, it feels simple and easy for your members.

On top of all this, you’ll have the opportunity to personalize the experience for your members like never before. After all, you’ll have behavioral data on all your members. You’ll start to understand how they use the club since you’ll be able to see their activity across the entire operation. You’ll be able to track their preferences. You can use all that intelligence to anticipate your members’ needs. That can be as simple as communicating with them when an event matches their identified interest. Or, having your wait staff suggest the drink they usually order – prepared the way they like it. A fully integrated system makes it possible.

Reason 4: It Helps Improve Communication

Great clubs know the importance of communication. It has the power to keep members informed and engaged. It’s that engagement we want in order to build that aura of a vibrant club.

A complete club management solution gives you the tools to optimize your communication all from one system. It can be updates posted on the club website and in the smartphone app. It can also be direct messages through email, text messages, and push notifications through the app. The combination of all these channels helps you create that feeling of connection between your members and the club.

Reason 5: It Helps Drive Team Member Satisfaction

These days it is a challenge to hire and keep good team members – especially in the hospitality industry. Your technology can play a big part. Your team members want to provide that excellent member experience. But if the systems keep getting in the way, it can be frustrating. And eventually, lead to them looking for someplace else where they can apply their talents.

With one integrated system, the experience can be as enjoyable for your staff as it is for your members. You can give them tools in the golf operation that make it a breeze to run a lottery and keep members happy. You can arm your wait staff with table-side POS tablets that allow them to spend more time with members while improving order times. Having a complete club management software solution opens up numerous opportunities to help your staff feel appreciated and empowered.

If you’d like to learn more about all the reasons for adopting a complete club management software solution, request a demo of the Northstar system. You’ll discover just how game-changing it can be to have a fully integrated system operating on one database. Request a demo, today.

Is your Club Management Software built for the 3 reasons new members join?

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Is your Club Management Software built for the 3 reasons new members join?

When a club looks at its software, it’s natural to ask, “Does this serve the club’s needs?” But is that really the most important question you should be asking? It’s easy to look inward. And in doing so, it could cause you to deprioritize your club management software’s ability to serve the desires of members. Most crucially, the desires of the new, younger breed of prospective members.

The Eye-opening Math

As the winter 2022 edition of Club Director points out, “Annual member attrition of 4–7% is normal, which means over the next decade you will need to replace more than 50% of your membership. Given that the average age of new members joining a club is 42, the profiles of those new members will be very different than the profiles of those departing.”

When you consider this reality, it changes the way you look at what your system needs to do in order to cater to this rising segment at all clubs.

The 3 Reasons Younger Members Choose your Club

Younger members view the club differently than the generations that preceded them. Not every club is set up to cater to their desires. But as the data shows, it’s becoming imperative.

In order to rise to the challenge, it is important to understand the reasons why younger members choose a club and how your club software can help you position yourself to attract this group.

Reason 1: Understand Me

More than ever, prospective members want to feel like the club understands them. There is an expectation that you’ll leverage data to cater to their personal preferences. That’s possible when your software for club management connects to all parts of your club and operates on one database. That level of technology puts individual members’ preferences and tendencies at your employees’ fingertips, allowing them to anticipate the member’s needs.

Additionally, these prospects expect you to mine all that data to adjust the offering at the club to fit their evolving needs. Again, robust club software will include the data analysis capabilities to understand member behavior and to make data-driven decisions on new offerings – from programs to events to menus.

Reason 2: It’s a Social Thing (But Not in an Old-School Way) 

This may sound like an old-school reason to join the club, but your younger prospects have expectations that give this a new twist. They expect the club to be able to extend social connectivity beyond the club’s physical facility. The prospects want to connect with their club friends online. They want to get a group together to go to an event at the club right from their smartphones. And also want to put together a foursome for a round of golf right from the app. They want the same kind of communication and interaction that they find in their favorite social media apps.

Your club software must be ready to offer the functionality that serves this new paradigm of social connectivity if your club hopes to fulfill the expectations of these prospects.

Reason 3: Treat Yourself

This is a group that likes to indulge themselves (after all, this is the generation that brought brunch back as a thing). They expect the technology to help them reward themselves. That means using the app to easily set up drinks with friends at the club or a round of golf with buddies. Or, planning an escape to the club with the family.

They expect a technological concierge that connects them with all parts of the club. Your software for club management should enable a robust app that intuitively empowers them to connect with friends, make reservations, and even pay from their smartphones.

Generations have always been a bit different from one to the next. But there is something else at work today that clubs need to pay attention to. Your younger prospects expect an experience augmented by technology. Technology that personalizes experiences, enables the connectivity they expect, and makes it easy for them to reward themselves. These are the factors that can help you assess your club’s offering and evaluate your club software to help deliver the next generation of club experience.

If you’d like a closer look at a club management software solution that helps you evolve your offering, request a demo of the Northstar system. You’ll discover a complete solution built on one database to help you deliver the optimal member experience today and tomorrow. Request a demo, today.

An all-in-one Club Management Solution: Why Now More Than Ever?

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An all-in-one Club Management Solution Why now more than ever

Baby Boomers shaped the Club culture, but with millennials and their younger siblings taking over the baby boomers, the club industry was already undergoing massive changes. Clubs that once were mainly centered around Golf had to branch out in multiple directions and activities to stay relevant to this new demographic. However, in the middle of it all, the pandemic hit us, and how!

The Post-Pandemic Surge in Younger Member Interest

With the increased interest of the younger audience after the pandemic, exciting new ideas, and technology emerging every day, it is indeed the time for clubs to catch up with the millennials’ completely interactive digital world, and thus arises the need for an all-in-one solution that makes clubs more tech-savvy.

Creating a Seamless Digital Member Experience

Not only a hassle-free, personalized experience at the club, but an intuitive and responsive interaction with the club digitally makes the millennials feel engaged and is the motivator for them to get on board or retain their membership with the club. An end to end online experience with smooth navigation across the club’s website and member app: quick reservations, automated notifications, instant updates about events, inviting buddies for a friendly round of golf, repeating custom orders, easy bill payments or access to personal club account information adds to the seamless experience that the member today expects.

Empowering Club Staff with Smarter Solutions

While your solution must make your member’s life easier and their club experience richer, it should also enable the club staff to easily and efficiently manage the daily club operations. Software built on a single database minimizes the risks of business disruption caused due to multiple interfaces.

A Single Source of Truth for Better Decisions

Having a single solution at your club also ensures the implementation of a single source of truth practice, wherein all the stakeholders across the various departments use the same data to make better business decisions. Data-driven business intelligence enables clubs to have a competitive edge over their counterparts and enhances the member experience manifolds.

Why Millennials Demand Seamless Technology

The Millennials have different tastes from their predecessors and expect an uninterrupted technology as a standard to enhance their Club experience. After all, Member is the king, and the clubs must choose a smart, all-in-one technology to help treat them as one.

The Extraordinary Opportunity to Redefine Service and how Club Management Software can Help

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The extraordinary opportunity to redefine service and how club management software can help

When the pandemic hit, something happened that most people didn’t stop to think about. Something that almost never happens. Your members’ long-held expectations of service were altered drastically.

Members understood the need for things to change, like reducing face-to-face interactions. In fact, that’s why some clubs discontinued things like valet service.

Getting people to change their expectations is extremely difficult at best. That’s what makes the situation today so unique. The disruption of the pandemic has created a rare opportunity to reset the service expectations at your club. For example, when the pandemic started, some clubs set up self-check-in rather than having a staff member greet guests. Now may be the time to make this the standard practice. Another example is scheduling tee times. Pandemic concerns moved some clubs to recommend booking tee times online or through the club app. Again, maybe now is the time to make this the default.

Embracing technology

Along with changing expectations, the pandemic has sped member adoption of the technology. And not just among the younger generations. People of all ages have discovered how to use technology to manage through the pandemic. This is an important shift in behavior that clubs need to take advantage of. A post from GGA Partners helps reinforce the shift, “…clubs have also learned that the use of technology is far more accepted than it was two years ago…”

Of course, this does not mean automating the club experience. After all, that experience is very much defined by the attention and care your staff delivers. Rather, this is a clarion call for clubs to recognize the opportunity. To reevaluate the service they provide and identify ways to use technology to augment the service while streamlining operations.

But clubs should not hesitate or put off examining their operations.

The window of opportunity is closing. If you wait too long, you could lose the opportunity. In other words, your members will naturally expect things to go back to how things were as more time passes.

Powering the new paradigm of service

The easiest way for clubs to take full advantage of this opportunity is to look at their club management software. A complete solution will allow a club to easily look across the entire operation and uncover opportunities where technology is freeing up staff so you can reallocate team members to help streamline how you operate.

More importantly, a complete solution can help you identify where you have the opportunity to use the technology to augment the member experience.

This could mean giving your members options (book a visit to the club spa online, through the app, or at the club). Or putting the data at your staff’s fingertips so they can personalize the experience for each member (imagine your spa employee asking Ms. Smith if she would like the hot stone massage that she had last time with the masseuse she prefers).

The right software solution can help you offer more options to your members and provide an even more personalized experience. And all while improving your image as a modern club.

Today’s unusual circumstances have created a unique opportunity for clubs. A rare opportunity that opens the door for clubs to reset member expectations and evolve the member experience. But that opportunity won’t last forever.

For more information on taking advantage of this unique opportunity to redefine the service at your club, request a demo of the Northstar system. You’ll discover a complete club management software solution operating on one database to give you the visibility and exceptional control to help you deliver the next generation of service at your club. Request a demo, today. 

5 Problems That Property Owner Associations Face and How Club Management Software Can Help

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5 Problems That Property Owner Associations Face and How Club Management Software Can Help

There are some problems that just always seem to crop up for a property owner association (POA) or homeowner association (HOA).

Some have resigned themselves to just living with the challenges. Others look to technology to help mitigate them. That’s a step in the right direction. But these well-intentioned attempts can fall short if you don’t have a solution that can integrate all aspects of your operation.

Let’s take a look at 5 problems and how POAs and HOAs can put the right technology to work to evict the challenges in their operations.

Problem 1: Disparate Systems Give You Headache After Headache

Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for a POA or HOA to have multiple systems, each handling a different aspect of the operation. In fact, it’s too easy to just accept all the inefficiencies — and risks like the errors and omissions that come with importing and exporting data from one system to another.

Add to that the work it takes to update and maintain everything as well as train any staff on multiple systems.

But you don’t have to accept these headaches. There are systems like Northstar’s that integrate all aspects of your operation. So you only pay for and maintain one system. And if you ever have a question, there’s only one support number you need to remember.

Since the system is integrated, it all operates on one database. This gives you powerful reporting and, most importantly, one source of truth to help you make better decisions in your operation.

Problem 2: Lost or Forgotten Work Orders

It’s crucial to maintain the standards of the community. A reliable system for work orders is a vital part of that. Today’s leading solutions bring all aspects of managing work orders into one system. Once requests are logged, they are automatically populated to your crew’s devices in the field, so they know exactly the scope of work. Your community member can track the progress of the work order online or through the community app. And once the work is marked complete, any charges to the member can be automatically billed.

Work orders don’t get lost. Billing isn’t forgotten.

There are other advantages as well like the ability to schedule recurring tasks and to transmit work orders to third-party service providers.

Problem 3: An out-of-touch Gatehouse that Upsets Residents and Guests

It can be embarrassing to have a visiting guest detained, especially after you went through the trouble to notify the gatehouse.

Today’s technology can make that scenario a thing of the past. It can give your members the security they appreciate without sacrificing the hospitality to their family and guests.

A modern system will allow your members to schedule guest visits online or through the association app. At the gatehouse, attendants can immediately see approved visitors. Members can even schedule recurring visitors like a housekeeper or gardener.

Once guests arrive, the attendant confirms the visit and the system automatically notifies your member of their arrival.

Problem 4: Overlooked Billable Charges

There is no problem quite as crucial as overlooked billable charges. After all, it has a direct impact on the financial viability of your POA or HOA. Moreover, it can result in you constantly worrying that you’re missing something important.

You can get real relief from the worry with association management software that operates on one database. These systems integrate all aspects of your association. So all assessments, fees, dues, and more are captured in the system. With Northstar’s solution, those assessments can be efficiently routed to accounting and automatically billed. In fact, you can schedule recurring charges and offer ACH and credit card payment options to your members.

Problem 5: Missing the Indicators and Trends

Disparate systems lead to a hodgepodge of information, making it near impossible to glean any meaningful insights about your operation.

With an association management system operating on one database, you can get a clearer picture. You can see across the entire operation. You can set up key indicators to track. And implement powerful reporting that allows you to identify trends and opportunities.

All of this helps you make decisions that improve the health of your POA or HOA while ensuring the satisfaction of your members.

For more on how to eliminate the problems that can plague a POA or HOA, request a demo of the Northstar system. It’s a comprehensive solution built on one database to give you unprecedented control over all aspects of your operation. Request your demo, today.

Do you use all 4 channels in your Club Management Software to build awesome member connections?

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Do you use all 4 channels in your club management software to build awesome member connections

When your members feel that deep connection with your club, good things happen. They frequent the club more, creating more revenue-generating opportunities. They have a heightened sense of loyalty. And there is an increase in the potential of them sharing their positive feelings with prospective members. This is where the Club Management Software plays the key role.

That’s awesome. That is if your members feel that deep connection. It’s easy to think, “Well, why wouldn’t they?” After all, they’re part of the club. But just because they’re in the club doesn’t mean that they’re always feeling into the club.

Just like in any business, it takes less time, money, and effort to grow revenue with your existing base than it does to grow revenue by expanding the base. That doesn’t mean that new member efforts aren’t important. It simply means that we shouldn’t overlook the more lucrative opportunity associated with member engagement.

Communication is the key. That means taking advantage of the multiple channels available to you in order to create a coordinated effort. An effort that helps you build, rebuild, or fortify those deep connections that boost the success at your club.

Let’s look at four channels that you can leverage through club management software in order to construct a multi-channel communication effort.

Prioritize robust email capabilities

Email is one of the older communication technologies we have available to us. That gives it a stigma of being ‘old school’. But before you set it aside for newer, shinier technology, consider that email still outperforms the vast majority of marketing channels out there. It’s because email is embedded in our lives. Everyone knows how to use it. And it offers unique advantages. Unlike a text message or a notification, it doesn’t demand your immediate attention. You can choose to review your email when it works for you.

Leading club management software offers robust email campaign capabilities. For example, with the Northstar system you can:

  • Access dozens of professional templates and easily build graphics-rich emails to engage your members
  • Keep a library of your club’s graphics and images to quickly access as you build your emails
  • Easily ensure your emails look great whether they are viewed on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone

There’s more. You can customize your sends to a specific group based on the parameters you choose. Maybe it’s by age or gender (or both). Maybe it’s by their membership type, interests and preferences, or spending habits. When all capabilities of your club management software operate on one database, these segmentation options become readily available in your email program. On top of it, you can pull a variety of reports. Track who opened the email. And who clicked on which link. This kind of insight helps you understand what’s important to your members. And helps you continually send better, more relevant communications that build more meaningful connections.

Add in the other ubiquitous communication technology – texting

It’s no great revelation that texting is widespread. It is especially true among your younger members. Texting is popular because it’s quick, taking just a few moments to send or answer a message. It’s convenient, utilizing a device that everyone carries. And it’s easy – it’s more like having a conversation as compared to email which feels more like composing a letter.

Moreover, it demands attention. When someone texts you, your phone chimes or buzzes. It’s the default setting for most. Sure, you can set up your phone to alert you when a new email hits your inbox, but way fewer people do this. So texting tends to feel a bit more urgent than other communication channels. This makes it ideal for sending messages about a timely subject – likely maybe a reminder of an event happening that evening at the club. Or reminding the member that a payment is due. Texting is also great for alerts – like letting members know when their Grab n Go order is ready.

Additionally, you can use texting to expand your marketing. If you’re sending out a marketing email, why not accompany it with a text that echoes the marketing message? Just like with your email, a premier system will allow you to segment your recipients so you are sending the texts only to those who would find the message relevant and helpful.

Taking advantage of texting has the unique ability to help your members feel up-to-date and in the know. That builds and reinforces that feeling of being connected and engaged.

Amplify your message with in-app messaging

The smart utility of a club app is enticing to members. They can quickly make reservations, book tee times, check their account, and more – all from the app. That drives adoption. And opens up another channel in your multi-channel communication effort.

Once members have your app, you can connect with them through in-app messaging. Like texting, it gives you the opportunity to send reminders, alerts, and breaking news at the club. Plus, you can extend your latest marketing effort with in-app messages that align with and reinforce your brand message or promotion.

The in-app messaging is unique in that it is only available to those who have the app. You can use this to your advantage by doing things like promoting specials only available through the app. This bit of exclusivity makes your members feel rewarded for being connected. All while giving you another channel to help strengthen the engagement.

Connect with your members in the newsfeed

Your app’s newsfeed gives you another great communication channel to incorporate. This Instagram-like feed is a fun way for members to see what’s going on around the club, get introduced to upcoming events, and more.

One of its strengths is its ability to incorporate photos and graphics, helping you build engaging posts for your marketing effort. The newsfeed is also unique in that it gives your members the ability to interact with the communication – liking posts and sharing with other members. This does a couple of things. First, it entices your members to engage. That helps build those deeper connections. Second, it allows you to quickly see what’s popular with the community, tracking likes and shares. This enables you to post more of the things that your community signals are most engaging to them.

Building deeper connections with your members is the most efficient way to have a bigger impact on the success of your club. And the most effective way to build those connections is to leverage these four channels in a multi-channel communication approach.

If you’d like to learn more, request a demo of the Northstar complete club management software solution. You’ll be able to see how you can easily put together campaigns that build awesome engagement with your members. Request a demo, today.

How to More Effectively Reach Out to Members: 4 Club Email Marketing Campaign Software Must-Haves

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How to More Effectively Reach Out to Members 4 Club Email Marketing Campaign Software Must-Haves

Email is still one of the most efficient and effective ways to reach your existing club members as well as your prospective members. In fact, one study found that email had an ROI of 4,400% (that’s a $44 return for every $1 you spend).

Today, the top solutions allow you to easily create elegant and engaging newsletters and email communications. But the best go a step further, giving you the power to understand your users’ behavior and preferences and then target them with timely, high-value offers and information. The best systems even allow you to automate these communications. If you’re looking to add (or upgrade) this capability for your club, here’s what you should look for.

Look for Advanced Segmentation Capabilities to Target Your Communications

It’s good to send out newsletters and club updates to your entire list. But studies have shown that when you target your emails to your different member segments, you can really boost engagement.

That can sound like a lot of work, but the better email marketing campaign software makes it a snap to slice and dice your members by age, gender, and membership type. Or by interests, preferences, spending habits, and much more. And it’s not just your members. The best systems help you segment your prospects as well, breaking them into different segments based on how engaged they are. And then helping you deliver a message to each segment that is ideal for wherever they are in the journey to becoming a member.

The best systems also integrate seamlessly with your club’s database so that your email segmentation updates automatically when things change. For example, when someone changes membership type or a new member joins.

Find Simplified Systems to Create Engaging Newsletters and Emails

The better email marketing tools recognize that nobody should have to put up with a system that lacks an intuitive user experience.

To identify a best-in-class system, look for features like:

  • A drag-and-drop email builder
  • A robust library of design templates to choose from whether you’re designing a newsletter or creating an email for an occasion like a New Year’s celebration or to highlight dining specials and club events
  • The ability to build your own templates
  • A full-featured content editor so you can adjust the email to your exact needs
  • A graphics library so you can store images and illustrations that you can access as you create your emails
  • The ability to create and preview fully responsive layouts so you know your emails look good whether viewed on a desktop computer, tablet, or mobile phone

Find Club Email Marketing Campaign Software Featuring Personalized Email Automation

A great email system will help create a deeper connection with your members without creating excessive work for you. For example, it will allow you to send automated emails to help onboard new members. Or, it could be set up to send emails to remind members of a tee time or a dining reservation.

While there are many quality, stand-alone email systems, finding one that integrates seamlessly with your club membership software will allow you to incorporate automations that create an exceptional club experience.

Examine the Analytics Capabilities

A quality email system will give you the ability to to track things like opens, bounces, clicks, and unsubscribes. This allows you to see how users receive and interact with your emails. But the best-in-class systems give you a much richer view of your members. These connect with the other parts of your club systems, allowing you to mine member information.

For example, you could identify members who consistently open your food & beverage-related emails but who seem to struggle to meet the F&B minimum. You may decide to segment this group and send them emails a couple of times a month that highlight dining specials or dinner events.

This is just one example of the marketing intelligence that the best systems can help you generate, and then use to make your email outreach exponentially more powerful.

The Features that Separate the Best from the Rest

The best systems deliver on the four must-haves we discussed. But the exceptional system will go beyond email by offering a couple of features that take the member experience to the next level.

Research has revealed the younger generations’ preference for mobile messaging. The truly exceptional offering combines this functionality with the email system to create a more robust member communication tool. This functionality includes:.

  • Texting (SMS) – these are text messages sent to the members mobile phone number.
  • Push Notifications – these are messages (much like texts) that come through the club’s mobile app and appear on the member’s phone when they have alerts turned on for the club app.

With these tools, you can send members timely club updates. And since the tools tie into your club management software, you create automations to send messages like reservation confirmations, payment reminders, and more. Best of all, it gives you yet another way to connect with members. And it helps your members feel like they can choose how they receive communications from you. All of which helps elevate your member experience.

Giving your Club Every Advantage that a Communication System can Deliver

Email is one of the oldest digital marketing tactics available to clubs. That can make it easy to question, or even overlook. Especially with the distraction of the never-ending parade of new digital marketing technologies and platforms. But email continues to prove its value, outlasting other digital platforms and consistently delivering the ROI. It should be one of your essential tactics.

Of course, not all email platforms are created equal. That’s why it’s essential to go through this evaluation. Doing so will ensure you’re giving your club every advantage that a best-in-class system can deliver.