This article serves as a case study demonstrating how you can leverage the data collected from your surveys to achieve specific goals for your upcoming season or gain inspiration for areas that require improvement.

We are experimenting with this new format, and your feedback is invaluable to us. If you found this article helpful, please indicate by reacting with a happy smiley at the end of the article. Additionally, if you have suggestions for other case studies you'd like us to showcase or ideas for improving our content, kindly write to our support team.

In this case study, we will examine a member survey that has received over 437 genuine responses. To maintain the anonymity of the participants, we have completely anonymized the data. Therefore, instead of showcasing the 300-400 open-ended comments typical of a survey of this magnitude, we will only present a few sample comments.

As you head into a new season, you may have specific goals that you want to concentrate on achieving.

In this particular case, our primary goal is to decrease churn during the upcoming season. However, due to our ongoing remodeling efforts, we prefer not to make any significant modifications to our course at the moment. These limitations are relevant to our case study.

Having a strategy in place is always beneficial when striving to accomplish your objectives. Here is my plan on how to leverage the data to help our club minimize churn:

To access the necessary information, I will be utilizing our member survey dashboard.

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Our first step is to examine the survey question that asks respondents about their probability of remaining a member in the future.This particular question is situated in the "Further Questions" section of the evaluation points area and is in our case worded the following: "How likely is it that you will still be a member of Demo Club in two years?".

By analyzing the answers to this question, we can determine how many members have been labeled as either "no" or "maybe" concerning their likelihood of continuing their membership in two years. For instance, in our case study, we identified 49 respondents classified as "no" and 81 as "maybe," resulting in a total of 130 potential churns.

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Typically, respondents classified as "no" will have answered a follow-up question explaining why they don't intend to remain a member. In this particular case, the follow-up question is "What is the reason you do not expect to be a member in two years?" This inquiry is usually positioned immediately after the question about their likelihood of being a member in two years.

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To gain insights into why members are not planning to stay as members, analyze the responses to this follow-up question. It is essential to recognize that some members will depart due to natural causes such as aging or relocation. In our case study, we can observe that many of our members are displeased with the board/management (16%), and 14% have chosen other causes, which I can explore in more detail by clicking on the "Click here to see elaborating comments from the 'Other' option" link beneath the distribution view.

A notable concern is the percentage of members who find the cost of membership too high. It's important to understand that the perceived value of membership is closely tied to the overall experience that members have in the club. To address this concern, improving the overall experience is key to ensuring members feel they are getting their money's worth. By enhancing the quality of services and amenities, members are more likely to perceive the value of their membership and stay loyal to the club.

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To gain a deeper understanding of the specific factors contributing to churn, it's important to analyze the survey questions that respondents rated poorly and what they value as members of the club. The priority map is a useful tool for this purpose.

For those unfamiliar with the priority map, we have an article explaining its function. In brief, it shows what's important to members (indicated by its position on the x-axis) and how highly they rate it (indicated by its position on the y-axis). We use this information to prioritize different touchpoints (questions) or service areas (groupings of questions).

If I open up the dashboard once again I'll land on the priority map for the NPS question. In my filter section I can select "No" and "Maybe" in the filter category "Member in two years", the priority map will now show me data from this user group.

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In our case study, the priority map reveals several management-related issues affecting the club, including the following touchpoints (questions):

These are areas that have been rated low but are highly important to the 'No' and 'Maybe' member group. By improving in these areas, we can have a significant impact on the members who are potentially churning.

To get ideas on how to improve the areas of concern for potential churn, the comments section from members can be a valuable resource.

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By searching for keywords related to the priority map, we can find comments and suggestions that are relevant to the specific areas we want to improve.

Searching for "meetings":

"Meeting notes should be made available from the board meetings to all members, shortly after the meetings."

Searching for "board" :

"Show us that you are actually listening instead of telling us and be open and honest about everything the board is engaged with. Especially if it involves spending members money."

Searching for "Communication":

"Communication between board and members should be better - especially with problematic members (there is a them and us mentality from both sides in my opinion). Allow members to vote on the type of beer served in the clubhouse"

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Our members have suggested several ways we can improve the club and reduce churn. These include:

By implementing these suggestions, we can create a better experience for our members and reduce the likelihood of churn. Please note that a survey of this size would often have between 200-300 comments, which will give you a great variety of suggestions.

In certain instances, the comments may include contact details, presenting an opportunity for you to initiate a dialogue with the members. This approach can be particularly useful in reaching out to dissatisfied members and engaging them in a conversation about their concerns.

Now that we have some concrete ideas for improvement, we might need extra support to make them happen. Sometimes, these suggestions may fall outside the expertise of our current staff, or it might be more effective to have a representative from our membership take the lead.

We had the questions about volunteering and sponsorship active in our survey, which will give us a list of potential volunteers. To see who might be interested in contributing, we can view the list of volunteers in the list view.

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Typically, clubs can expect to have 5-20 volunteers available to help, depending on size and current level of volunteer involvement. We can export the list and reach out to members who expressed interest in areas related to the improvements we want to make.

Additionally, the view also contains the sponsor list which can help us identify potential sponsors who might be able to support us financially in reaching our goals.

We hope this case study has given you some valuable insights into how to analyze the data from your survey and identify potential areas for improvement that can help reduce churn in your club. By prioritizing the most important issues and finding inspiration from your members' comments, you can develop actionable solutions to address their concerns and keep them engaged with your club. And if you need additional support, don't forget to leverage the power of your volunteers and sponsors to help you achieve your goals. With these strategies in mind, you can create a more positive and satisfying experience for your members and ensure the long-term success of your club.

As we said earlier we are experimenting with this new format, and your feedback is invaluable to us. If you found this article helpful, please indicate by reacting with a happy smiley at the end of the article. Additionally, if you have suggestions for other case studies you'd like us to showcase or ideas for improving our content, kindly write to our support team.