Focus Groups To Survey or Not to Survey…

A question for the ages when it comes to private clubs. 

There is no doubt that in order to continually provide the highest level of quality and member satisfaction – the true ROI for clubs, management and leadership must know how their members are feeling about their club. Periodically all clubs should be surveying their members for specific feedback – food quality, services, governance etc. and if possible, surveys should include questions leading to the development of an NPS – Net Promoter Score. This will tell you if your members are, in fact, your best “salespeople”.

But there are times when a survey is just not enough. After all, members are not data points. They are people and are part of a community – a community to which they choose to belong and choose to spend much of their time and treasures. There is no substitute for actually talking to the members, hearing what they have to say, learning what drives them to – and from – their club and enabling them to hear the same from their fellow members. Enter – Focus groups!

Particularly when the club is to embark upon a monumental endeavor, such as a potential capital renovation stemming from a facility master plan, member focus groups are invaluable. At this point, we are talking about more like “unfocused” groups. There is no real agenda, no presentation, just a facilitator who enables participants to feel comfortable enough to speak freely about their club and their personal experiences at their club. When properly facilitated by a third party, members feel comfortable discussing their likes and dislikes and their recommendations for improvement. Individual members can be motivated to discuss otherwise uncomfortable subjects if they are surrounded by their fellow members who may have similar feelings. Done properly, focus groups can also engage members supporting the idea that they matter and that the club is truly interested in how they feel and what they have to say – not just what boxes they check off.

Some basic rules for gathering information through focus groups

Who should attend? All are invited to participate. No club member who is willing to take the time out of their busy day for the betterment of their club should be denied the opportunity. If the groups fill up – add more.

Who should NOT? Focus groups must be member centric and safe. Management and staff should not be included – a separate group can be held for them if desired.  Similarly, we recommend that current board members be asked to not attend as their presence tends to skew the conversation and adversely affect the quality and honesty of the interaction. Past presidents can also be an issue as they tend to become defensive related to past actions at the club

Manageable Size. The ideal size is 12 to 15 members. Properly facilitated they can easily expand to 20 or so but if they go below about six to eight, they lose some of their value. Be willing to adjust the schedule and add or combine groups to properly accommodate your members.

Demographics. Homogenous is not good! We live in a diverse world, we must have diversity in focus groups. Varying demographics can learn a great deal from each other in this environment. Mix men and women, new members with mature members, social members, sports members, golfers, tennis players and pool users – all together to get the most from each focus group.

Format. The best structure is a boardroom style set up so members can speak to each other, not the moderator. Avoid theater or classroom setup or separate tables as they inhibit sharing and two-way communication.

When?  Focus groups should be held mid-week as they are often perceived as part of work, not part of leisure. Spread groups out during the morning, mid and late afternoon and evening so as to provide convenience for as many members as possible. Each group should be limited to one to one and a quarter hours.

Where? Naturally, if at all possible, the focus groups should be held in the clubhouse or other club facility. We recommend a room with closable doors and a level of privacy as we do not want other members hearing portions of the conversation out of context. The offering of refreshments beyond coffee and water is at the discretion of the club.

How? Since Covid, we have become very comfortable with the use of Zoom. Although most of the focus groups will be in person, we include at least one Zoom option as it encourages participation by those members that are either not local or unable to come to the club.

Results

The resulting report would include an overview of observations and member opinions. The ranking in prioritized order is based on:

• At what point in each session did the subject come up
• Number of members engaged in subject discussion
• Length of discussion
• MOST IMPORTANTLY – The PASSION of the member on the subject

The report will also include recommendations for future actions based on member opinions and the expertise and experience of the facilitator. The final report will also include verbatim raw notes (no attribution) from each session. The report, with or without raw notes, should be distributed to the board and if appropriate, an executive summary to the entire membership. BR

Peter Cafaro, a colleague of Judd Brown, is senior vice president, JBD JGA Design & Architecture, a ClubWorks Company. He can be reached via email: pcafaro@JBDandJGA.com