Toast 2013 Membership Tally - Final Tally - *50,564

[THE BRICKMAN]

34,351

 

[Azzurro]

34,351

-3+4+(3*5)+1 = *

* Where = You Know What

 

[wally funk]

We've reached page 17 of this thread. I think it's a sign.

 

[thylacine60]

Too obvious. I sometimes wonder if other team's supporters are taking any notice of these clear harbingers of doom. Not much they can do about it regardless.

 

[Dramoth]

Excuses are for the weak.

yup... just look at numbers... I think that most of his posts are made after he has passed out!

 

[King of Ruin]

yup... just look at numbers... I think that most of his posts are made after he has passed out!

A true beast, no question. I'd worship the man if it didn't seem creepy.

 

[Dramoth]

A true beast, no question. I'd worship the man if it didn't seem creepy.

I dont think that numbers wouldn't consider it all that creepy... would possibly distract him from the helicopters he sees flying above his house late at night

 

[King of Ruin]

I dont think that numbers wouldn't consider it all that creepy... would possibly distract him from the helicopters he sees flying above his house late at night

He has that happen too? thought I was going crazy.

 

[Wickzki]

I just want to publicly thank Claire Higgs and Matthew Beayni at the club's membership department. I submitted my single reserved seat form this past week and was going to join the waiting list for level two seats but because I was requiring just a single ticket they accommodated me immediately. I now have a home seat in section N53 and and an away seat in section Q10 with my Etihad seats being aisle 33 (level 2) and aisle 8 (level 3) respectively.

Is anybody else sitting in these sections?

 

[Aphrodite]

34,663 as at 15th February.




3 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 3 - Judd =

 

[thylacine60]

I just want to publicly thank Claire Higgs and Matthew Beayni at the club's membership department. I submitted my single reserved seat form this past week and was going to join the waiting list for level two seats but because I was requiring just a single ticket they accommodated me immediately. I now have a home seat in section N53 and and an away seat in section Q10 with my Etihad seats being aisle 33 (level 2) and aisle 8 (level 3) respectively.

Is anybody else sitting in these sections?

I was.

 

[HARKER]

There have been many comments about membership in recent threads. Some of the comments have been about issues with our membership capability/processes/service and also question as to how the club can deliver better value to its members and attract more supporters to become members. Clearly on field performance will help but I know there is room for improvement.

I have a really good relationship with GM of Membership Clinton Bown and would be happy to be an advocate to pass on feedback to Clinton that he can deal with constructively.

Please put your feedback into this thread. I will take it to Clinton and report back to you.

Cheers

Stephen

Dear TC members,

On Monday 11 February, Clinton Bown and Nicole Rowlings were outstanding in giving me 90 minutes of their time to discuss the various issues raised on Talking Carlton. They fully appreciate the need for continuous improvement in the service offered by the Club to its members and they appreciate the sentiments expressed by many of you.

A couple of headline issues are that the Club has to find a balance between making members feel more valued and the need to operate within the budgetary constraints under which the Club operates and the restrictions under which the Club operates as are dictated by the AFL and the venues at which we play home games.

One very interesting fact is that of all Clubs in the AFL, we have the lowest conversion from supporters to members. Research has shown that we have something like 800,000 supporters (Roy Morgan research) with a conversion to 45,000 odd members in 2012. A club like the Western Bulldogs has something like 200,000 supporters and converts 30,000 odd into members.

The Club recognises the need to make membership a sense of belonging to our great Club - for members to feel valued and respected and appreciated for their contribution.

Now dealing with the issues raised:

• No fridge magnets in membership packs : as the Club has been keen to get membership packs out as early as possible, it was not possible to send out fridge magnets before Christmas. Fridge magnets will be sent out to members in March along with the season guide. Your fridge magnets will arrive!
• On disclosing personal information without proper validation : The Club has a process for this and training but accepts that in some instances some staff may not have been following this protocol – and that that is unacceptable. The Club will review their processes to ensure proper validation is undertaken before revealing any personal information.
• As for the items in membership packs -options - no more crappy packs and water bottles in kids packs etc : Whilst the idea of giving people the opportunity to select a certain number of items (say 3 out of 10), this is currently almost an impossible option because of a lack of understanding of the required volumes for each product. These products are manufactured in China and shipping takes 2-3 months. Whilst the Club could survey members, it would only be after a couple of years that it would have a good feel for numbers of each product and at present, in a climate of cost consciousness, it is impractical (note, other clubs have surveyed members and not got it right in terms of volumes per product). The Club is undertaking a full review of it membership fulfilment programme and it value proposition and is continuing to look at options for membership packs and believes that the products included for next season (2014) will be the best we have seen.
• On receiving emails from MM asking for commitment after you have already signed up as a member : The Club is investing heavily in a CRM system to better data profile members. Unfortunately, there have been limitations due to our existing databases and the Club is working hard to improve in this area.
• On the $200 raffle tickets: This is an issue. The Club needs to constantly find revenue to meet the rising costs of football. The raffle process has been an important revenue raiser and will continue to be so. However, once a person has said no, they should not be contacted again. Clinton has confirmed that the "no call" lists are to be re-enforced with its 3rd party supplier.
• On engaging better with members : the Club is looking to have more Member's forums. Talking Carlton members have already met with Clinton and Nicole in the past. There are forums on social media, for the Cheer Squad and for Interstate support groups in 2013.
• On recognising years of membership: The Club, together with other clubs, are looking at loyalty programs. They are very expensive to set up and accordingly, a collective effort will save money by getting others on board. The Club sees this as a priority.
• On reserved seating : there were many comments about the costs increases to "Captains Club", a waiting list, how years of membership should afford a discount as to costs of reserved seats. Level 2 premium reserved seating is at capacity. One TC member mentioned his/her 6 year old son and not being able to sit together once he had reached that age and needed a separate seat. This will always be a problem when there is no spare capacity. Even level 1 seating is filling out. It is a supply v demand issue. There is a waiting list of 300 on level 2 seating. There is no easy answer when there are space limitations.
• on online renewals and authentication issues : online membership purchasing has increased from 17% to 30% of total members in the past 2 years. Our website is controlled by the AFL and Ticketmaster. To a large extent, our online membership renewal system is a slave to the AFL and Ticketmaster.
• On the Blue Print : the Club has determined that the purpose of the Blue Print was for it to be an issues forum and not a review of the previous game. Accordingly it has been decided to broadcast fortnightly instead of weekly. As well, there is no fire wall to enable member only content.
• On member benefits : by being a Captains Club member, each week 2 members will be picked from a weekly draw to have access to double passes to the rooms both before and after the game. The Club is looking for more ways to involve members and give them inner-sanctum experiences. As well, the Club is working on a "Ghost Tour of Prices Park" to be hosted by Tony de Bolfo. They will be night tours that will involve being taken into the training facilities. There will be a minimal charge to cover catering costs.
• On being able to hand back an unused seat - a la Melb Victory : apparently Essendon were granted a trial of this last year by the AFL. the Club is looking into it.
• On Member only bays : we do have "member only" bays but what often happens is that Carlton members give their tickets to opposition supporters - very difficult to police. The tickets are not transferable but who is going to check?
• On father/son, father/daughter, mother/son, mother/daughter membership: this is an idea worth exploring and the Club will look at it.
• On building your own type of membership : this is difficult - again we are limited by the AFL and Ticketmaster to a degree but otherwise, it is about maximising a return. We are currently in the 2nd to 3rd quartile in terms of return per member (meaning we are far from the most expensive) and we need to be cognisant of the balance between value for money and achieving appropriate returns.
• On flexible options for Etihad and MCG : very difficult to arrange in light of the fact that level 2 seating is now full and level 1 filling quickly.
• On having electronic ticketing options rather than having to hand over your membership card to a friend/family member : can't be done - restricted by stadium ticketing agencies.
• On having future member days : Family Day is our major membership day, and the Club will look to increase the number of Open Training sessions throughout 2013.
• Discounts for card carrying members at matches on merchandise : can't be done - Club doesn't control the outlets on game day. This has changed from previous seasons.
• On New Home Ground : you have seen Greg Swann's letter - MCG hopefully for 8 games.
• On getting a member number on joining : this could be done and will be looked at for next season.
• CFC TV membership : tough one as they don't cover Northern Blues games apart from some limited footage and cost prohibitive.
• How do we make interstate members feel a sense of belonging? As I have said, I will campaign for the re-introduction of voting rights for Long Distance members. Introduced this season - Long Distance members will have access to the Social Club room (formerly Stephen Kernahan room) at home games at both venues and can enter the ballot for 2 passes into the rooms before and after games in their home states.
• CFC only GA bays : as stated before, there are 3 walk up bays for Captains Club members - this is an additional cost of $200 per annum rather than $40-$50 per game.
• Interstate games shown at CFC Pubs: this was looked at last year but the Club didn't feel we would get sufficient attendance to make it a worthwhile exercise.

It may well be that not every issue has been addressed but the Club is keen to hear on going feedback and wants to be better at what it does to ensure we provide better engagement with our members and create a greater sense of belonging.

Happy to take further feedback.

Cheers

Stephen M

This was posted by Stephen Moulton (ex Carlton Board Member), on T.C.

I hope it's not out of line posting it here but I think it pertains to all Carlton people and not just that of one forum or another.

Makes for very interesting reading for all of us.

 

[HARKER]

More MCG Home Games

Kernahan has called on all supporters to sign up as members.
“The cold hard truth is, to get more home games at the MCG we need to claim a membership base of more than 50,000 members,” he said.
“The AFL controls where the our games are played, so if we can go beyond and above the 50,000 mark then they will be forced to schedule more Carlton home games at the 'G.”
Carlton has broken its membership record for a number of consecutive years and is currently ahead of schedule, sitting just shy of 35,000 members.
“We are on the right track, but we need everyone who supports the Club to get on board and sign up as a member in any form. This is the only way we will break the 50,000 barrier,” he said.
“It is an exciting time at the Club and with the support and encouragement of our fans, join us on the journey and let’s get back to the MCG.”
Join the 50,000 plus movement and click here to sign up as a Carlton 2013 member today.

 

[Aphrodite]

34,886 as at 18th February


3 + 4 + 8 + 8 + 6 - Robbo =

 

[HARKER]

(3 + 4 + 8 + 8) - 6 = 17

Bit too easy today.

 

[Aphrodite]

Getting there !!

 

[cookie monster]

This was posted by Stephen Moulton (ex Carlton Board Member), on T.C.

I hope it's not out of line posting it here but I think it pertains to all Carlton people and not just that of one forum or another.

Makes for very interesting reading for all of us.

What a load of crap Harks. Common theme being "club looked at this, too hard, screw it". Epitomises the CFC attitude to members. All talk no action. Sad

 

[happydude]

Jut had an idea

The best way to sign up members is we need to deliver 1 flag for every member.

This will get people signing up and no one will catch our premiership tally then.

Step it up Carlton.

 

[Weiterbot23]

Dw guys I haven't bought mine yet this year. And have a 50% chance of converting the mrs from the saints, if not this year she'll come around next year... Or it's over!!!

 

[King of Ruin]

Dw guys I haven't bought mine yet this year. And have a 50% chance of converting the mrs from the saints, if not this year she'll come around next year... Or it's over!!!

Hahahaha, good luck with this Kruzering.

 

[Big_Luch]

What a load of crap Harks. Common theme being "club looked at this, too hard, screw it". Epitomises the CFC attitude to members. All talk no action. Sad

how much of our poor conversion of supporters to members can be attributed to the clubs levers they can pull like membership packs etc and how much can be attributed to the supporter not willing to jump on board. At some stage supporters have to wear some blame

 

[HBF]

Pretty disappointing to hear that we have the lowest conversion of supporters to members in the AFL.
Would have been great to hear from Steve Moulton about what the club intends to do about that.

Like a few other issues, probably found its way into the too hard basket.

 

[ESKIE]

Run a campaign for members, dob in a supporter

 

[Aphrodite]

35,128 as at 19th February.

 

[HARKER]

What a load of crap Harks. Common theme being "club looked at this, too hard, screw it". Epitomises the CFC attitude to members. All talk no action. Sad

Can't tell you how to feel cookie and I know that the CFC have been somewhat apathetic towards their members in recent times, but they are changing.

The CFC are making all the right noises and have put many measures in place to re-engage their members and supporters and I hope we can all give them the opportunity to prove themselves.

Better late than never but things are changing for the better at The CFC. Let's give them a go.