Playbook
Member Clubs Playbook
Text messaging is your members’ preferred communication channel.
If you want to reach club members instantly for dues and announcements, or to provide exceptional concierge service, business texting is the most efficient way.
Here’s how your club can leverage texting to draw in more members, coordinate events, provide better service, and more.
3 Essentials Before Your Club Starts Texting
1. A contact list of club members.
Collecting members’ phone numbers needs to be a part of your onboarding, if it’s not already. All it takes is adding a section for phone numbers on your website or other registration forms, or advertising a Keyword like “VIP” to encourage members to text you to receive updates (more on Keywords later).
Mobile carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile want your club to only text contacts who’ve expressed an interest in receiving text messages from that business. In other words, they don’t want you spamming members who aren't opt-ins.
Opt-ins are contacts who have expressed a clear desire to be text messaged by your club.
As for your members who have already opted-in, put them into a spreadsheet to upload into Text Request, or export them from your existing contact database. Organize this spreadsheet of contacts by:
Cell phone numbers in column A
Customer names in column B
Any desired custom fields in the preceding columns (start date, membership tier, etc.)
If you don’t know which of your existing members’ numbers are cell phone vs. landline numbers, our Text Request support team can clean landline numbers from your list, so you know the numbers you’re texting will receive your message.
2. A registered 10DLC phone number.
10DLC is an abbreviation for a 10-digit long code phone number. It refers to a standard phone number, like 423-218-0111. 10DLC regulations state that you must:
Register your club for texting
Prove that contacts opted-in to receive texts from you
Show how they opted into those messages
This ultimately helps prevent bad actors from posing as legitimate businesses and spamming or scamming contacts who never asked to be texted. We’ll collect the info you need to get registered when you sign up for Text Request, then pass it along to the proper parties.
For more in-depth information on registration, review our 10DLC registration guide.
3. A review platform.
If you're trying to market to new members, you've got to use reviews to show up and bring in prospects.
New members will have a harder time finding you if you don’t rank in local Google searches. There are many different ways to rank organically, but one of the fastest ones is increasing your number of online reviews.
You also need reviews in the first place to make a good impression on people looking you up for the first time. Below are the platforms we recommend your club be listed on.
Google My Business: A must for ranking in local Google searches
Facebook: Potential new members will enjoy seeing how you interact with current members on social media
Once you’re listed, you can start texting review requests to your current club members.
5 SMS Tactics to Increase Club Member Engagement
1. Text for member due reminders.
Sending payment reminders by text is one of the surest ways to improve cash flow and create better club member experiences. Texting monthly reminders for member dues is more convenient for everyone, speeds up collections, and even has lower costs than some other methods.
Just include a link to the payment portal in your reminder text, and you’re all set!
Texting for collections is especially useful if a card ever declines, payment information needs to be updated, or if someone isn’t on auto-pay. When members can pay on the channel they most prefer, that means more revenue and positive word-of-mouth coming your way.
2. Mass text club announcements.
Keeping members connected with your club is an enormous task, but text messaging helps make it smaller. Mass text everything from:
Holiday hour changes
Renovations
Events
Closures
Upsell opportunities
Restaurant promotions (happy hours, special meals, etc.)
Registrations (more on that below)
Mass texts, like BCC email, give you the power to reach your entire club at once. Any replies become one-on-one conversations that can be used to answer questions.
Ongoing communication like this will keep club members engaged and create better experiences for everyone. It will also help you make more money.
3. Text registration links for seasonal events.
SMS updates about seasonal events keeps members engaged and increases participation.
Most people tend to make decisions last-minute, so sending texts both leading up to the event and last-minute can contribute to a notable uptick in registrations.
Create text templates for yearly seasonal event promotions, and add members to Groups that you can then text targeted season promotions to later. Contacts can be in more than one Group, which is helpful for club members who frequently participate in all your different seasonal events.
Once you have your Groups created, text them links to a more detailed event page on your website or an RSVP page for members who may be interested. Text Request's Link Sharing feature makes it possible to track link click rates across mass texts, so you can get a pulse on engagement.
4. Coordinate volunteers for hosted and sponsored events.
One of the biggest ways to get your club members engaged is by encouraging them to volunteer. Texting is a fast and efficient way to ask members to help.
For example, if you’re hosting a community event and still need volunteers to participate, you can easily send a mass text to your members. You can also share details like time, date, and where to show up.
Volunteers are going to have questions—they'll either reply or reach out beforehand. This gives your team an easy way to handle and coordinate, all through text. It’s the ultimate tool for making sure volunteers and potential volunteers see your messages ASAP.
5. Receive concierge requests.
Your members want to feel taken care of. Text messaging is a great way to give them the power to ask you for anything, particularly concierge requests.
The key is letting members know that they have the option to text you, which you can do by having a call-to-action, like “Text us your concierge requests!” on your:
Website or member portal
Social media
Clubhouse signage
Digital ads
Email newsletters
General marketing materials
You need to share the number members can text for concierge services wherever they spend time, so they can easily access you. The more you do it, the more returns you’ll see.
Ready to Boost Member Engagement with Text Messaging?
Text messaging is the perfect way to get your members involved in more events. Reach out to our team of experts today to learn how we can boost your member engagement together!
