2022 Member's Survey Results
I want to start this post by thanking all the members who took part in the full membership survey. This is of course the first time we have conducted such an exercise as a club, but the aim is to make it an annual affair that gives us an insight into what you - the members - are thinking about the club.
Over 100 members completed the survey, and I am grateful to each of you that took the time.
The purpose of this post is to give you an overview of the results, some insight into what this means for club planning, and what we will look to improve on or change in 2023. I will not be including the raw data here, but this is available on request should you be interested to see it.
(all data is rounded to the nearest whole percentage point)
CLUB DEMOGRAPHICS
As a club we have always prided ourselves on our open and inclusive nature. The demographic breakdown of those who responded is:
Gender Identification
57% female
41% male
2% other gender identification
Age Bracket
2% aged under 25
8% aged 25 - 30
37% aged 31- 39
28% aged 40 - 49
19% aged 50 -59
6% aged 60+
Ethnic Group
85% white British or Irish
10% other white
5% various other groups
0% black British, or other black background
Those who completed the survey represented 10 different nationalities, with 97% considering English as their first language.
We strive to be a community of all genders, professions, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations - or any other characteristic - and for the most part we are doing a good job. Our membership is majority female, and over half are aged 40+.
It is clear however that we are not reaching our full potential with regards to ethnic diversity, especially amongst Bath's BIPOC community. To help address this we have appointed a Diversity & Inclusion Officer - Zi Lewis - to the committee. Her role will be to work with local community organisations to help drive outreach and promote the club as an inclusive environment welcoming of everyone.
EVENT ENGAGEMENT
This section aimed to understand what club events you are engaging with and what you would like to see more of.
Length of Membership
75% of survey respondents have been Crescent Club members for more than 9 months, with only 6% having been members for less than 3 months. It stands to reason then that the majority of respondents have been exposed to the full spectrum of events that the club put on and can provide useful feedback.
Event Attendance
Only 40% of members had attended more than 5 events in the year, with only 26% having attended more than 10. Most concerningly: 25% of respondents have never attended a Club event. This has made us think on whether the type, timing, and frequency of events is suitable, however the following questions revealed that perhaps we do not need to look at changing things drastically.
Types of Events
The majority of respondents wanted to see a continuation - or even more of - (in popularity order):
Restaurant takeovers (62%)
Weekly Thursday socials (53%)
Other social meetups (51%)
Other events that respondents would like to see more of included:
Lectures & talks (39%)
Historical or Cultural events (38%)
Walks and hikes (37%)
Creative classes & events (31%)
Business Networking (27%)
Group fitness classes (19%
There were various other suggestions on types of events the club should look at hosting, but none of these amounted to any form of consensus or consistent feedback. The club will look at these suggested events on an ad hoc basis.
Frequency & Number of Events
86% of respondents would like to attend at least one Crescent Club event per month, with 62% wanting to attend at least 3 events per month. One quarter of respondents wanted to attend events at least once a week or more!
74% of respondents thought that we currently host the right amount of events, with 25% wanting us to host even more.
Event Pricing
87% of respondents were happy with the current balance of free and paid events. 6% would like to see more free events, and 7% thought the price of paid events is consistently too high.
Conclusions on Events
Whilst the event attendance amongst respondents is slightly disappointing, the feedback on the type, frequency, and price of events fundamentally shows that we are currently delivering a programme that meets the needs and expectations of the membership. It stands to reason therefore that some problems with event attendance may be related to other issues - such as timing, advertising, and accessibility.
That being said, we definitely see the scope for improving our event calendar - specifically with increasing the number of restaurant takeovers (at all price levels), hosting more social events away from Thursday nights (e.g. weekend meetups), providing more family friendly options, and empowering you - the membership - to suggest and promote events that do not have to be exclusively organised by the club.
Stay tuned for a revised event calendar in the next few weeks.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS & DISCOUNTS
Benefit Utilisation
Only 17% of respondents claimed to have utilised a club benefit in the last 12 months, with 9% not even knowing there were any benefits to be taken advantage of.
The most popular benefits amongst those who did take them up were:
Circus Restaurant Exclusive Menu (21%)
Bath Yoga Studio package discount (21%)
House of St John discounted membership (16%)
Benefit Types & Feedback
The overwhelming majority of respondents said that they wanted to see more restaurant & bar benefits (70%), with shopping benefits (43%) and priority access benefits (42%) some way behind in second and third.
That being said, 40% of respondents said they were not interested in any benefits and that they have no bearing on their continued membership.
It is clear that the club needs to re-look at the member benefits strategy to build an offering that is both wanted and taken up in bigger numbers. The Club Committee have engaged in several discussions about reshaping this strategy and this work is ongoing. Victoria Rege has been appointed as our Business Engagement Officer responsible for the club's benefit offering, with a view to relaunching this offering early in the new year.
ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNICATION
This section explores how the membership engages with the club - covering use of the club app, and how members prefer to be communicated with.
Club App Engagement
87% of respondents reported having downloaded the club iOS or Android app.
74% of respondents said they primarily use the club app to find out about upcoming events
15% said they rely on emails to stay up to date with the club
Only 4% said they primarily use the club website
These are fantastic engagement numbers and prove that the ambition of being an app first organisation is being well received by the membership. Whilst there is always work to be done, the club app is currently stable, functional, and easily the best way to stay in contact with the Crescent Club.
Whilst the club will continue to send out emails on an in-frequent but regular basis, we will not deviate from our strategy of using the mobile app as our primary means of communicating with the membership.
Club Sub Groups
68% of members said they engage with one or more of the various 'sub groups' on the app and website. This is a very encouraging number and we will continue to expand and improve the sub group offering available.
Members are encourage to suggest any new groups they would like to see.
THE CLUB EXPERIENCE
The questions is this final section attempted to take the temperature of the membership in terms of expectations, satisfaction, and value that the club provides.
Motivations for Joining
Members were asked what their main motivation for joining the Crescent Club was. the responses were as follows:
Meeting new people in Bath (70%)
Enjoying more social events (13%)
Expanding business network (11%)
Accessing events & experiences (2%)
Since the very start we have positioned the Crescent Club as a place to meet new people and have more fun - in essence a social club, but one that pushes against the norms of similar organisations.
These responses show that the messaging and marketing of the club has been broadly correct.
Only 13% of club members said that the club had not fulfilled their main motivation for joining. Over 53% said the club had already fulfilled their motivation, with 33% currently unsure. Whislt we recognise there is more to do and improvements to be made, this is hugely encouraging and hopefully shows we are on the right track.
The Club's Impact & Value
In what is possibly the most rewarding stat of them all, 72% of respondents said that the club has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on their life in Bath. When I started the Crescent Club it was with a motivation to improve my own life here. It has certainly done that, and I am delighted to hear it has had a positive influence on so many member's lives too.
In terms of value for money, thankfully only 7% of respondents do not believe the club provides a good return on your membership fees. Considering the club is entirely non-profit making - and members pay on average less than £5 per month in dues - I cannot possibly see how we could reduce fees any lower! To keep the app running alone requires about 4 new members to join every month.
We will always do our best to provide a holistic offering that gives members real value and return on their fees. We are not here for the money!
CONCLUSIONS
So, what can I - and the club committee - take from all of this?
In the most simple terms I feel that the survey results broadly support what we are currently doing and that we have not got anything fundamentally wrong. Yes, there are definitely improvements to be made in terms of the events calendar and a renewed benefits strategy, but that we seem to be getting more right than not.
Now that we have a robust, talented, and diverse committee in place I can only imagine these changes and improvements will be wider and more accelerated than I previously thought possible.
I also want to reiterate that this is YOUR CLUB, not mine. If ever you want to give feedback or make suggestions, or look to change something, or get involved... please just get in touch. Email me, speak to a committee member, post it on a group. Do not wait until next year's survey to express your thoughts and opinions.
Again, thank you to all members who took part. It is your feedback that will help shape the club next year and into the future.
I cannot wait to celebrate with you all at the Winter Ball!
John