What does the member lifecycle journey at your club look like? If you don’t know, it might be time to drill down on what that journey looks like so you can identify potential areas of improvement.
And according to Jeff VanDixhorn, the chief revenue officer of Club Automation, mobile is becoming increasingly important in the member lifecycle journey for the majority of customers. In fact, as Forbes explains, 82% of smartphone users consult their phones before making a purchase in-store.
“Mobile is absolutely critical in terms of where we’re going with technology in the future and being able to engage not only prospects, but your existing customers,” said VanDixhorn.
In the past, the purpose of a club’s website was to be purely informational — providing insight into specific offerings or where the club was located.
However, as the consumer has changed, a club’s site should now serve a different purpose. Today, it’s a vital selling tool.
“We live in a world where people have shorter attention spans,” said VanDixhorn. “They want information quickly and are less likely to read through a lot of text.”
With this in mind, it’s important for club operators to simplify their sites, only presenting information that is vital to the customer and that leads to lead-generation and higher levels of engagement.
“It’s vital for your club site to be mobile-friendly,” explained VanDixhorn. “Mobile responsive websites should be simple to navigate, include a prominent CTA (call to action), have a lead capture form, provide critical information and rank well on search engines.”
According to VanDixhorn, you also want to make sure you have a mobile application that makes your club’s mobile experience convenient and seamless for new members. “This is something I strongly believe should be at the core of what you’re doing, based on where the world is moving,” he said.
At the end of the day, mobile isn’t going away — it’s become increasingly prominent. As a result, it’s important to understand the role this plays in the current member lifecycle journey, and how to navigate that change.
Of course, mobile is just one aspect of the member lifecycle journey. For a full overview overview of the four stages, view VanDixhorn’s recent webinar on the topic here.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
