Membership Levels - rebranding?

[SeanC]

It's that time of the year in my club when we talk about membership fees and looking at it tonight I wonder if more people would join us if it wasn't all so confusing. Local membership/national membership/seoa membership, club components etc etc. Then we have to explain how local local is etc etc (ie not very local at all ). And that you can still Orienteer nationally if you are local, and even go to a national event, and that local membership includes membership of your region, and you can get a discount on regional events if you are a local member, but not on all local events, and not even national members can get discounts on some local events, but they can get discounts on national events, some of which sound like regional championships.

What would people think about some rebranding using less confusing language which might be more attractive and familiar to non-Orienteers?

Eg..

Local membership = Standard Membership
National membership = Premium Membership

Or Silver/Gold membership (leaving room for platinum in future)
Or Membership/Membership Plus.
Or add your own combination....

[andypat]

Agree its a bit confusing. I've never seen the point of the local/national BOF membership divide idea in the first place. Seems like a bit of a sop to the "occasional" orienteer to me - but then its 3 in the morning and I'm watching Dora the explorer with a sick and grumpy child so maybe I'm not best placed to comment constructively

[SeanC]

I agree 1 level is the least confusing, however it's not likely to change easily, but a re-branding might be relatively straightforward.

There is even a case for higher membership levels from a BOF income viewpoint. It's a common tactic, and some of us might be willing to pay more if it helps feed our Orienteering addiction ... some might even want to donate even more money to BOF to help the sport. Eg Platinum membership with extra money going into development/coaching/squad funds? The basic offering shouldnt be confusing or have a brand that seems poor quality though if we're trying to persuade newcomers to join.

[RJ]

But why are you telling potential new members all about the membership levels? Keep it simple.... just join as a local member, and we'll see how you progress during the coming year, whether you want, or get the opportunity to attend events outside of the region, and in fact, outside of our club area. All of our new members orienteer locally for quite a while before they consider they are competent enough to compete at a 'national' standard event.

I really don't see any need to rebrand..... local/national..... makes sense to me.

[SeanC]

If they join online they must choose between national and local. Seems like a quick win to change the names to something more marketable (but keep the benefits as they are now... for an argument another day).

[Scott]

An idea - haven't really thought this through...

Replace the flat £45 BOF club affiliation fee with a £1-per-member affiliation fee. Make Local BOF membership free for all members of a BOF affiliated club; require clubs to automatically sign all their members up as Local BOF members (not sure how this would be enforced) - everybody joins BOF automatically through their club. Take away some of the Local membership benefits (ability to enter British Champs/JK, ability to vote at BOF AGMs). Leave National BOF membership "upgrade" as it is, maybe rebrand to something snappier.

[EddieH]

But local BOF members can't enter British champs now.

[Scott]

But local BOF members can't enter British champs now.

Apologies, you are quite right . Doesn't really change the substance of the idea that much.

[Big Jon]

I think my club offers membership that includes club, SOA and BOF local as standard - good value if they are at all interested in the sport. Once they are hooked they can upgrade to National membership. If you don't try to explain every single option to newcomers (bamboozle them with jargon) they will just accept that this is the cost of entering the club.

[roadrunner]

I like Scott's idea - as far as the (prospective) member is concerned, it's much more like it used to be in the past (join club or join club and BOF), which seemed pretty straightforward. It's always seemed strange to me that your membership is handled by BOF rather than by the club, with which you surely have the most dealings; with my running club, I pay my subs directly to the club, who then pass on part to England Athletics, which seems the sensible way round.

[Clive Coles]

Lot's of ideas guys ~ could well be developed into a new way of managing membership.

I have argued before on Nopesport, Ifind the current package of benefits at local level of limited marketabiliy. Local Focus should I believe be "opt outable" for example. It's only 2 sides of A4 and usually reproduces text in either the accompanying letter or which is displayed on the web site. Lets therefore save costs where we can.

However we now have a centralised membership system which manages the collection of memberships, the maintenance of records and the issue of cards. Don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Why go back to the old days where each club had their own way of administering membership and collecting fees. The BOF element of the membership fee usually found it's way to the BOF bank account. Some were clubs were effecient, others....

And of course we had the scam. Promote club only memberhips to keep capitation based fees down.

The current levels are for me quite straightforward to explain if you just rationalise the argument to one of useage and financial incentives.

When you start orienteering , and feel the urger to me a member of a club, you join at a local level. This gives you entry fee discounts at events within your association area. it's easy to sell by pointing out that if you intend to orienteer nearer home more than 3 times a year you will save yourself money.

As folk become more involved and start to travel out of area they can soon begin to realise more entry fee discounts can be obtained at the bigger events if they migrate to National membership. They can do the maths and make a decision based on their orienteering focus; are they local orienteers of do they wish to travel the country ?

In my case I have reverted to local membership as now a days I rarely travel out of area. If i do i am content to pay the additional BOF surcharge. My so doing I pay my way based on usage.

Simple enough for me ~ why this urge to change ?

Change comes at a cost and I think this is the last thing BOF needs at present.

[mykind]

For crying out loud! It only needs two orienteers to create a beaurocracy - why not just go for membership i.e. everyone is automatically a BO member when they join a club. that way Bo gets more members and can therefore reduce the cost per member.

Everyting should be made as simple as possible - but not simpler. Albert Einstein

[Scott]

I agree, that would be by far the simplest system (and is the one used by many other sports). But (assuming clubs pass the capitation charge on in their membership fee) although it would mean current National BOF members paying slightly less, it would mean current club-only members paying substantially more, and I suspect a fair number wouldn't bother to renew their club memberships.

[Scott]

How about: a single level of BOF membership with more or less the current National level benefits, which is automatic and free for everyone who is member of a club, and make up the lost BOF income by increasing levies? Would be simple, but probably not very popular...

[RJ]

I really do feel the current system works very well. Perhaps because we are a club on the periphery of the country we have to 'entertain' ourselves to a large extent. So, a local membership makes really good sense. But that should work for all clubs, because the basis of a good club, is one that has a sustainable local set of activities that their membership can participate in. Once the 'new' members become competent in the sport they will want to orienteer more widely.... therefore national membership.

But for quite a while the 'stream(!!!!)' of new members into the sport will need to participate locally while they are learning the skills needed. And a club should be a very social affair with members meeting regularly, getting to know each other, and creating the camaraderie that makes for a 'club'. Where else do your volunteers come from? The best motivation for your volunteer is in doing it for the club!!