Leading Clubs Effectively - Club Managers Association of America

Leading Clubs Effectively 87Creating the SurveyThe following guidelines can help club managers create an effective club survey:1. Decide on the purpose: Whether the survey is intended to persuade, to modifya service, or to gather information about member behavior, deciding on thepurpose allows you to focus your questions.2. Assemble the questions: Creating the questions is undoubtedly the most timeconsumingpart of the process, but should be done carefully and judiciously.Ensure that each question addresses one—and only one—specific issue ortopic. Do not ask a member what he or she might “like best.” Instead, askwhat products or services the member would be “likely to use or buy.” Keepthe questions brief and clear. Short questions are less likely to be interpretedincorrectly. Use normal club vocabulary—call it “the grill” in your survey, ifthat’s what it’s called by club members, not “the informal dining area.”3. Choose a time limit: Typically, members are not likely to fill out a survey thattakes any longer than about ten minutes to complete. That time thresholddecreases dramatically if club surveys are distributed frequently. As a ruleof thumb, members will not object to completing a ten-minute survey onceeach year. If you really publicize the importance of a club-wide, strategic andlong-range planning survey, you can probably get an excellent response to a20-minute survey every other year.After deciding on the appropriate time limit and scaling back (or addingto) the number of questions accordingly, you should test the questionnairefor length, clarity, and interest. Get feedback on your questions from a selectgroup of members before sending it out to all of the targeted members.4. Plan a frequency: The frequency of club surveys, like the number of questions,largely determines your response rate. Some clubs survey quarterly; at theother extreme, others survey every three to five years. Those clubs that surveyquarterly are most successful when the questionnaire asks no more than tenquestions and is quite easy for members to complete and return. Those clubssurveying annually or less frequently can get away with longer, more comprehensivesurveys, which are the best surveys for helping managers withstrategic and long-range planning.5. Decide on the target audience: This may sound obvious, but it is important tosurvey those who are interested in or use the facility in question. If your cluballows annual members (non-owners) to use social facilities but not the golfcourse, do not send annual members a survey about re-building the golfcourse greens.6. Decide on a method for data collection and analysis: Will you administer the surveyin-house or through an outside firm? How will the project be staged?Who will analyze the data? This is typically the point at which most clubsdecide to consult with an outside source. If you take this route, remember tostay true to the purpose—the intention and motivation—for your survey.