Membership Marketing: 7 Tips on How to Grow Revenue for Your FEC

Are you familiar with Membership Marketing? 

As a FEC owner or operator, your goal is to get repeat visitors and build a loyal customer base. So, what better way to keep folks coming back time and time again than with a membership program? 

Memberships are a great way to earn recurring revenue for your family entertainment center.  In fact, ANY type of facility can benefit from memberships! This includes indoor play facilities, amusement parks, trampoline parks, bowling centers, soft play centers, skating rinks and so much more.

In order to create and grow a successful program, you need to offer valuable perks to keep members engaged. That’s where membership marketing comes in! It’s all about targeting the right guests with the right perks via different marketing channels.

In this article, we’ll share a few tips on how you can create a membership marketing program that’ll hook customers and grow revenue for your business.

Membership Marketing: 7 Tips on How to Grow Revenue for Your FEC

Let’s jump in!

1. Build winning packages

At the core of a successful membership marketing program are your packages. 

Similar to party packages, the goal here is to provide customers with the most bang for their buck. You want to offer great perks as well as some room for customization, especially in terms of membership duration, so customers have the option to choose.

In order to create a great offering, it’s important to also know your target demographic. Ask yourself: Who’s our ideal member and how can you offer them something they’ll definitely invest into for the year or pay monthly to use? 

For example, an indoor play facility may want to offer a package that includes 10 playtime visits for one price. Many parents would want to pay for multiple visits at once, just to make things easier and have something for their child to enjoy on the weekends. Most people think of unlimited visits to a facility as a membership package, but your options aren't limited to that!
 
Another package could be a family membership that includes a certain amount of visits and a discount on parties and events or classes. You can create a single-child family package, two, or three-plus-child family package, all at different prices. Parents will see your membership program as a great opportunity to take a break during the day while they let their kids have fun and get some exercise at your facility. Perks will encourage them to invest in your membership!

Remember, even if you’re just starting out, you’ll also need a tool and payment processor that’ll help you track sales and recurring billing. PCS now offers Memberships, so be sure to check it out!

2. Set goals

Once you set up your membership packages and have a system in place to track sales, you’ll need to consider setting some goals for your program. 

How many members would you like to sign up by the end of the year? 

Who’s your ideal member? 

How will you market to new members vs. existing members? 

Remember, your goals should be attainable. Get your team involved early on to help you set some realistic goals. You may even want to create a little friendly competition by offering a reward or prize to the team member with the most memberships sold.

Or, offer up a fun team dinner or team-building event if everyone hits their sales goal by the end of the year. This is a great way to encourage them to promote within your facility as well as outside of your facility, especially if you have a street team to attend local events and spread the word. 

3. Optimize Your Website

First impressions are everything, especially when it comes to your business.

Studies have shown that over 70-80% of people will research a company on the web before making a purchase decision, usually by visiting their website.

That’s why it’s incredibly important to make sure that you have plenty of information and calls to action on your website that promote your membership packages. 

You’ll also want to make sure that your website has great photos of people having fun at your facility. After all, people want to see what you have to offer. 

Some other things to consider are your SEO so that you rank properly on Google, site speed, copy, branding, and the overall flow and layout of your website. If you need us to take a look, don’t hesitate to reach out! PCS now offers website design services, so one of our experts would be happy to take a look and make some suggestions. 

4. Market via social media 

Social media is your best friend when it comes to membership marketing. We recommend first investing in a social media scheduling and design tool that’ll help you build your consistency, following, and brand reach. This way, you’ll reach more potential customers. 

At PCS, we love doing giveaways and other contests on social. Consider asking your current members to share a photo of their fun time at your facility and offering up a prize. Ask them to say what they love most about your membership program in the caption along with your facility hashtag! This is a great way to market your program.

We also recommend looking into video marketing, especially Instagram Reels and Tik Tok. Vertical videos are booming and are another great way to reach the right audience. You can ask a younger staff member to start working on content for your business. They may just contribute to quite a few membership sales!

Lastly, consider investing in paid advertising for your program. Once you have some content on social, this can be a great way to retarget potential customers and convert followers into members. 

5. Market via email

Email marketing is a great way to nurture your current members and attract new members. According to Wild Apricot, email marketing is one of the top three tactics for driving membership!

Consider investing in an email marketing tool that’ll help you design, set up, and schedule email campaigns that target different lists. Use emails to promote your membership benefits, perks, attractions and so much more.

6. Offer deals on membership packages

End-of-year, holiday or sign-up-today-to-get-this-discount deals on membership packages are a great way to boost membership growth. Consider offering up a deal at different times of the year to see how it’ll increase sign-ups.

Even if you offer up that discount now, these same members may stay on year after year and by being in your facility frequently, they’re likely to spend more on game cards, food, drinks, merch, and other items. 

You could also set up a referral program once you already have some members. This might entice current members to bring on new faces. Offer up a renewal discount or some other perk, perhaps merch or a $10 game card, to encourage members to refer their family & friends. 

7. Provide a stellar guest experience

The most important part of membership marketing is not only your packages and deals but also the experience guests have at your facility. 

If you have a great experience, you’re likely to spread the word about it. Any successful business prides itself on stellar customer service. Train your staff to treat each guest with a smile, to look children in the eye, and go above and beyond for everyone. 

Ask your customers for feedback frequently and make them feel heard by considering their suggestions and improving their experience, time and time again. 

Word-of-mouth marketing is still alive and strong, even in the digital age (we all read product or restaurant reviews – don’t we?!). A great experience goes a long way!

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