Social media and club membership

[Keith Clements]

I see many posts on social media, including forums such as this, from owners of a Jowett, or perhaps restorers/mechanics, who are not members of any Jowett club.

Should we try to encourage them to join a Jowett club and, if so, how do we do that?

[k. rogers]

It would be interesting to know why they're not members, after all, it was once general knowledge that you saved more than the cost of membership on discounted insurance! In fact, most companies insist your a member of a one male car club I thought?!

[Keith Clements]

Yes we should find out why. But who should ask?

Before answering their question you could check to see if they are a member, but sometimes they are in the process of joining, so perhaps ask them which classic car club they belong to.

Some are members of other classic car clubs as they own other classics. But then should we limit the club resources available to them or the assistance we provide?

Should we give freely and hope they feel obliged to join?

Pushing the benefits of joining is quite difficult unless you know what the prospective member is actually looking for.

Usually it is parts or technical assistance or someone to mend their car; much of which they can get without joining.

[Jeremy]

There seem to be a lot of things muddled in together here:

Asking why people don't join/why they are not member is a simple question, not cluttered by anything else. The answers to that will be personal to the individual and could provide some insight. Why not run a poll on here or Facebook, it might help provide an answer.

The rest of the comments seem to be about how non-members are treated. It can be very off putting to be faced with the join or else kind of reaction that can be received, a club can be perceived as hostile or inward looking. Frequently this perception can be generated by the actions of a few. Far better in my opinion to be outward looking and welcoming to all. Answer questions, support and help, with the hope that this encourages joining. Live the club and dare I say it Jowett ethos of camaraderie.

Club benefits are vast, we all know that, some are tangible but others are intangible. These intangible ones are in many ways difficult to describe. How do you convey the huge sense of family and friendship that you get by being a member? Perhaps you start by being welcoming and offering support to all? Demonstrate the intangible and illustrate the tangible and maybe you have a winning approach to gaining new members.

[k. rogers]

Well said Jeremy, I agree!

[Forumadmin]

Please formulate some questions you would like answered via a poll. You can instigate the poll yourselves.
Or you can do your own survey of who is asking questions on Facebook, how many questions have they asked and have they joined the club.

[Chris Spencer]

Some very valid points from Jeremy - It's unrealistic to think that every owner of the marque wants to be a member of the club and I'm sure they have their own reasons for not being members - If they were that interested then they would join the club so why waste time attempting to convert the minority - Surely it would be a far better exercise and use of resources to ensure that our current members are well accommodated to the extent that they remain club members. Has I've previously stated elsewhere you will not expedientially grow the club larger than the volume of Jowett vehicles that survive - hard to say how many Jowetts do survive but a quick tally of the registrars would give some indication - personally I think that the club does very well to attract & retain the membership at our current volume. In essence 'There's little requirement to flog a horse that's already cantering to a gallop'

[paul wilks]

Well said, Chris! I knew of a gentleman who lived near Warrington who owned two pre-war Jowetts. He was not a member. I visited a couple of times, just to introduce myself and the Club. He was unconvinced! Why join? Access to spares. "I've loads. And what I haven't got, I'll make." What about the social aspects? "I don't like a lot of people."(!!) I was going round in circles- so, in the end, I confess, I gave up. Far better to spend time with those who really do want to be members and who (whom?) we can help.