Before...and After

Club Development, Communications and Strategy

By Bill Volckening
Effective club development requires creativity, energy and planning. The objective of this article is to provide some ideas about club development and promotional projects involving media communication. Whether trying to increase registration, raise money or implement new ideas, your success depends on the quality of your planning, timing and follow-up. There is a long list of creative projects you can use to promote your team. When initiating any promotional club development project, it is critical to have a clear idea about the specific project objectives, available resources, calendar and budget. Always keep in mind that a successful design for club development includes well-defined follow-up planning.

I have two pictures to illustrate the effect of a well-organized club development plan. These pictures show the Whitewaters Swimming Team of Princeton, New Jersey, where I worked from January, 1997 through July 1998. The first picture is slightly out-of-focus and dimly lit, with a small, scrappy group of swimmers sitting on metal bleachers against a wall. The swimmers are wearing a variety of different swimsuits, and two of the older swimmers stand in the back, off-center, holding a small banner blocked by heads. The second picture is sharp and well-lit, with a much larger group of swimmers, uniformly outfitted and seated in a spacious grandstand bleacher area with a huge banner across the front row. At first, these pictures appear to be showing two completely different teams. In fact, it is the same team a few months later. In a brief period of time, we effected a dramatic increase in registration and quality of our program. Our plan worked.

Club development provides a variety of opportunities for creative, rewarding administrative work. The list of media-generated communication projects includes: newsletters, handbooks, fliers, press releases, web sites and team outfitting. It is important to remember that everything your club produces is a reflection of the quality of the program. At first, it may not be obvious how certain projects, such as team outfitting, influence club development. Remember that professionalism appears in many different forms. Outfitting is just like any other promotional tool. It functions as a clear visual sign to all outside observers. If the team looks good, you look good. Each communication project is an opportunity to advertise, so it’s important to maintain consistent quality across the board. Take advantage of each opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism by putting significant effort into each of these projects. If you aren’t sure about what you’re producing, collect samples from other local swimming organizations and compare them to what you’re doing.

Start by setting some specific club development goals and locating creative resources. If the goal is to increase registration, have a clear idea about how many new registrations your program needs. Be realistic about limitations, such as pool size, pool time, rental costs and staff. Next, locate creative, resourceful individuals who are willing to volunteer. On your club application form ask people for their occupations. Always look for people who could contribute in specific areas of expertise, such as fund raising, accounting and desktop publishing. It is particularly helpful to find people who have computer skills and communication backgrounds. Depending on the project, finding more than one person to share the responsibilities is a good idea. Make sure to network, because people are resources. No matter how much money your club has in its budget, the greatest resource is always going to be the people who care about the organization. Never underestimate the importance of meeting others and establishing friendly relations. Having an awareness and respect for other people’s work is simple preparation for recognizing how you can help others, and more importantly, how others can help you.

Continue planning by defining your program’s strengths and how best to promote them. Be specific about what your program offers, and prepare a clear, concise mission statement to delineate your organization’s priorities. Once this statements is ready it is time to prepare some promotional materials. A good team brochure is one of the most effective tools for club promotion. When preparing a brochure, be sure to include the following information: the organization, the groups within the organization, facilities, staff and contact information. Some teams list prices, but if not listed, another opportunity is created for follow-up contact. The Barracudas brochure is a carefully prepared double-fold, letter-size document. It can fit in a standard envelope when folded. The team name, a picture and a slogan appears on the front, and the return address and blank space for mailing label and postage are on the opposite side. This brochure includes an application form to be returned, and the layout helps people avoid information loss when returning the application.

Two other outstanding promotional tools are fliers and press releases. Some of the most effective club promotion is done with inexpensive one-page fliers. A good flier has visual appeal and always gets your attention immediately. Sometimes it will have an eye-catching picture, and sometimes it will use big, bold words. One highly effective type of flier is the kind with tear-off tabs at the bottom. These tabs allow people to come away with the phone number or contact information. The press release is another highly effective promotional tool. Well-prepared press releases sent to the right places can get you coverage in publications ranging from local newspapers to nationally distributed magazines. A press release should always be concise. It should contain key specifics, including date, time, location and contact person. If there is a release date put it at the top, or use the words FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

Once the promotional materials are ready, take a good look at demographics. Locate your target audience and prepare a plan of action to reach them. If your goal is to attract a group of developmental 8 & unders, for example, try gearing your promotion toward summer recreational swimming leagues. Advertise in the program at the summer league championships. Attend the Championships, wear something with your team name on it, and with the meet organizers’ permission, distribute brochures and fliers and be available to answer questions for prospective new families.

Sometimes financial constraints prevent the pursuit of club development projects, but more often the obstacle is a lack of creative resources. If your team doesn’t have the budget to purchase a computer, find someone who will let you work on their home computer. If you already have a team computer, one of the best investments is a good desktop publishing program such as Adobe PageMaker. Although it is a substantial investment, this type of program is invaluable. PageMaker allows users to set columns, insert pictures, move and change the size of whole text blocks, create multi-page documents and export fully formatted documents such as meet entry forms for online availability. If your team doesn’t have the money to purchase the software, sometimes copy centers have available computers with these types of programs. When doing a web page, the software is often available for free online. I used a free copy of AOL Press to create the award-winning Whitewaters web site. Other useful tools include: CD-ROM clip art, scanners, digital cameras, fax machines and laminating machines. It’s not always necessary to own this equipment. If you’re resourceful, you can find a way to use most of these tools without purchasing them.

Aside from the stated philosophy and list of promotional tools for club development, it pays to plan good follow-up. Ensure the success of your club development projects by developing a detailed knowledge of the process people go through to get involved. The most successful coaches know what happens during the initial contact and how to handle it. Plan what you will say when people call or visit. Evaluate your promotional tools by always asking people how they found out about your organization. Ask members for feedback by distributing and collecting evaluation surveys. Gathering this type of follow-up response is a great way to gauge progress and plan for future club development projects.

Maintain the long-term availability of creative resources by constantly recognizing volunteers and developing new volunteers. Use the team newsletter to thank your volunteers, and seek other forms of recognition, such as newspaper articles and volunteer awards. In club development, as in all facets of managing a team, good planning, communication and strategy are the keys to success. The true leaders in club development are those who master the details.n

Author Bill Volckening is the Head Coach of the Tualatin Hills Barracudas, a Masters Swim Club in Beaverton, Oregon. He is a member of the USMS Coaches Committee, MACA Coaches CO-Rep for the Northwest Zone and Director of the February Fitness Challenge. His writing has appeared in SWIM and SWIMMING WORLD, and his web site for Whitewaters Swimming, Princeton was recently awarded the STROKE Award for Best Youth Swimming Web Site of 1998.

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