SOUTHWEST FLORIDA CORVETTE CLUB DISCUSSION GROUP FEEDBACK SUMMARY 2/16/2021 CLUB MONTHLY MEETING

In February 2021, the Board conducted a survey of all members to identify opportunities that could enhance and improve the club experience for current and prospective members.  The results of that survey were emailed to all members.  At the February monthly meeting, the members present divided into three groups to discuss ideas generated by the survey results.   The results of these discussions are summarized below.   Based on members’ feedback, priorities and action steps will be discussed at the March 16, 2021 Club meeting.

GROUP 1:  Communication, sponsorships, membership retention and recruitment, and website (Facilitated and summarized by JoAnn Asquith)

Survey Said: need to position the club to be able to recruit and retain club sponsors and club members. 

Questions discussed by members:

• What do we need to be able to offer potential sponsors?
• What should potential members be able to find out about our club?
• How can an enhanced web presence improve our ability to attract sponsors and members?
• How can an enhanced website be used to increase member satisfaction?

The Communication subgroup had a very productive discussion. 

The key to the new face of the club is the website.  Jack Duso has made tremendous advances in developing a new web presence.  The group felt that the sooner the new webpage can be launched the better because it serves to define the club.  

Related to the website is evaluating our club name to maximize “hits”.  Buying up domain names including cities we serve may be useful (Corvettes of Estero, Corvettes of Fort Myers.....)

E-mail is the major way of communicating with the club, but in the future, we may want to have items such as minutes, activity calendars, treasury reports, etc... available on the website.  E-mails could still be used for announcements or directing the members to new information on the website.   

New member recruitment is essential for the club to grow and be able to carry out activities such as car shows and cruise ins.  A strategy for recruiting younger members is important for the long-term survival of the club.  In addition to the website that should provide information about the club and activities it is important to have applications available online.   One suggestion was offering trial memberships that would include attending our meetings to see how the club operates and encourage their future involvement. Face to face communication with potential new members is important and should be encouraged. 

Our dues structure is different than the dues of other competing groups.  The higher dues rate needs some justification.  If we no longer give each member a shirt and simply have members order shirts on our website, that may allow for a reduction.  One price for membership for singles and couples should be considered.  Singles could bring companions to events sponsored by the club to maintain equity.  Whatever is charged for dues it should be clear on the website what value comes with club membership. 

The use of meeting time was discussed, and the group thought we should consider focusing less on just business meetings and more on discussion of Corvette related issues or topics to encourage a broader attendance. 

Publicity should be sought when the club has car shows, cruise -ins and when engaging with community groups such as schools, assisted living or nursing homes, parades, etc.  These types of events could be highlighted on the website with photos and short blurbs as well. 

All forms of communication will give the club more exposure in the marketplace and will help to define who we are, what we do to promote Corvette ownership and support for members and the community.  In addition, we need to clearly communicate what activities we sponsor and ways we help Corvette owners enjoy their car while enjoying.

In developing our promotion, it may be helpful to develop a positioning statement that identifies who we are, the market we serve, and what distinguishes us from other clubs.  

GROUP 2: Corvette-related activities (Facilitated and summarized by Earl Morgan)

Survey Said: a desire for more Corvette focused activities, like hosting a car show, cruise-ins, relevant topics at meetings etc. 

Questions discussed by members:

• What does the club need to do to be ready if an opportunity to host a car show becomes available soon?
• What ideas do club members have for increasing the focus on Corvette related activities?

Our group addressed both questions and suggested that while we know there is interest in participating in other activities with our Corvettes, including parades, and possibly things like swap meets, given the unknown limitations caused by the pandemic, for now the consensus was we should just focus on three (3) types of activities, so following are some thoughts offered, and each type of activity is presented in order of priority for our attention and development of plans.

1. Hosting a SWFL Corvette Club Cruise In Type Event

(no judging, no plaques, no trophies costs & day of event time usually covers a 4 to 6 hour period maximum)

The group agreed that some of the same challenges that apply to hosting a Car Show, also apply to hosting a Cruise In Type Event, BUT considering the differences in development (especially lead time and competing event schedules), the group concluded that in the short term, we could much more easily be ready to host a Cruise In type event if the opportunity becomes available soon. So, the consensus was that we should focus on developing a plan to be ready to produce a SWFLCC cruise in type event with Estero Bay Chevrolet. 

We continued with a Cruise In idea development discussion, and some of those ideas will be shared below, but a next step challenge is to find a Project Chair and Committee members and develop a basic plan and proposal for discussion with Estero Bay Chevrolet management. 

All members of this group expressed an interest in serving on such a committee, but at this time, no one could commit to being the Project Chairperson. An alternative next step approach could be to establish a SWFLCC Event with Estero Bay Chevrolet Committee of volunteers to meet and as a group begin developing a written project outline plan of action and budget that a Chairperson could use to complete and pull the event together.

We need to develop a basic proposal and discuss formats and limitations with Estero Bay Chevrolet management, including "day of week", "start/stop times", "food availability", "giveaways", "music or not", "acceptable fundraising approaches", and "number of spaces available" to decide how broad or narrow to focus on promoting and inviting participation.

2. Holding "SWFL Corvette Club Cruises to ???"

Driving our Corvettes, going somewhere in them, possibly doing something interesting along the way or at a destination, and having FUN, are some of the reasons most people buy a Corvette. Our current Activity Committee has in fact recently planned and held such an event (Cruise to Venice), which all who were able to participate reported enjoying. Our group agreed that we need to continue this type of activity. A next step could be to develop a survey on Survey Monkey and find individuals willing to Arrange/Coordinate/Chair a Cruise to a one destination. 

Some possible destination categories (and some example of places) suggested -

- Interesting Shopping Centers/Malls/Museums 

- Interesting Restaurants (can be combined with other venues)

- Other Corvette Club Car Shows (either simply attend or participate)

- Other club Cruise Ins and Cars and Coffee events

- see Larry Day's Listing = www.larrycruisinlist-swfl.com

- Classic Car Dealers and/or Museums

-- www.idealclassiccars.net

3. Hosting SWFL Corvette Club Car Show(s)

(Day of event time usually covers a good 9 to 10 hour period)

The group discussed the fact that to host and produce a quality and successful car show normally requires a good number of months to plan, prepare, and promote (a minimum of about 4 to 6 months), and a good number of people to develop and carry out the plan (a minimum of about 22 people). The group consensus was that we do not currently have enough active club members to host a show in the near future. That is in part due to the restrictions and limitations created by the pandemic. Regardless, we would not want to fall short on producing a quality show with Estero Bay Chevrolet. 

Next steps would be to work hard at increasing membership, and then to develop a survey on Survey Monkey and find individuals willing to Arrange/Coordinate/Chair. At the same time, that does not preclude us from starting the planning process, so the next steps include increasing club membership and finding a Car Show Project Chair and Committee members. Again, all members of this group expressed interest in serving on such a committee. 

Some thoughts about hosting a show: 

• BEGIN DEVELOPING AN EVENT PLANNING OUTLINE & GUIDE and look at all elements of planning a Car Show
• Look at and attend shows that others are doing now (see examples from Larry Day's listing)
• Some ideas we could investigate for the future might be having -
• --- car show along with the auction - https://www.premierauctiongroup.com/vehicles?
• --- car show along with WINK NEWS fundraising for Harry Chapin Foodbank?
• --- car show along with and supporting Veterans organization?
• --- car show along with a car raffle where the winner would be drawn at the show?

GROUP 3: Social Activity and Community Outreach (Facilitated and summarized by Vicki Duso)

Survey Said: a desire for the club to engage in charitable giving, community projects and local social activities.

Questions discussed by members:

• How can the club combine community outreach and volunteerism with our love of Corvettes?
• Other than car shows, how can the club raise funds to enable charitable giving?
• How could meeting location impact member satisfaction, future planning, club activities and community involvement?

Our group discussed all three questions and offered some ideas, conclusions, and possible next steps.

• How can the club combine community outreach and volunteerism with our love of Corvettes?
  • “Let’s Share our Vettes” types of events, combining more than one type of activity
  • Donate our time to food banks such as Harry Chapin
  • Give enjoyment to others through participating in school parades, community parades, homecoming games (for the courts)
  • Take Corvettes to the Veterans’ Hospital, veterans’ homes, Golisano Children’s Hospital, assisted living facilities
  • Not sure how to help the homeless, but it is a need

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN: 

• Other discussion groups may be more appropriate to flesh out some of these ideas.
• A workgroup could be established to focus on identifying potential volunteerism activities and
  • feed ideas to the Activity Committee for inclusion with other planned events
  • coordinate parades and similar community events.
  • Other than car shows, how can the club raise funds to enable charitable giving?
    • Sponsor “pay–to–play” events such as a Poker Run, invite other car clubs
    • Solicit developers who are doing marketing of their communities to provide a donation in exchange for a cruise-in
    • Investigate becoming a sales portal for other companies, such as Amazon
    • Solicit donations from new senior living community developers in exchange for a cruise-in
    • Solicit sponsorships from other vendors such as restaurants we patronize as a club in exchange for our business and marketing on our website and Facebook
    • Work with regional Chevrolet dealers to give our business card or application when finalizing the sale of a Corvette to an individual

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN: 

• Other discussion groups may be more appropriate to flesh out some of these ideas.
• A workgroup could be established to focus on identifying more “pay-to-play” activities that could raise cash for the club.

• How could meeting location impact member satisfaction, future planning, club activities and community involvement?
  • Advantage of using a restaurant include
    1. Could be appealing to some members
    2. Having a set location could attract a sponsor
  • Disadvantages of using a restaurant include
    1. Not many have meeting rooms big enough
    2. Hard to do speakers or group planning
    3. With no meeting room, the meeting might have to be very short – business only
    4. COVID issues would limit participation if in a meeting room
    5. Changing locations might discourage participation
    6. Might have to have a minimum number to reserve a meeting room
  • Too many activities related to dining could be costly and discourage participation
  • Doing a trial run on changing locations could mean loss of the church meeting room
  • WHY do members come to meetings?
    1. Make social connections
    2. Share information on Corvette ownership, new developments
    3. Have a night OUT!
    4. Hear about club activities and “news”
    5. Member sharing
  • We really DON’T know WHY our non-attending members do not attend (except for those who have COVID or other health concerns). We need to reach out and ask them.
  • What do our meetings need?
    1. Greeters to welcome and introduce new or prospective members
    2. No more drama at meetings
    3. Different types of information, like a speaker or a member sharing information on a specific topic (like “how to get your car ready to show” or maintenance tips or …??)
    4. A “game night”!
    5. Members who don’t attend, to attend and participate

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN: 

• Before a change in meeting place is decided upon, the members need to learn and understand what MOST members really want to get from club meeting nights.
• The recommendation is to have a sub-group compile a short “deep-dive” survey targeted to learning what MORE members really want in terms of club meeting substance, location and time, and let that drive the decision on meeting location.