soc membership

[riviera kid]

Hi all, Received this months mag and there are 60 new members.Since March there have been 262 new members ,which is go. od news.We used to have over 5000 members yet now there are 4000+ .Is it the cost , does the forum have any effect on membership.I would'nt think they have all sold their cars.Any views?.

[carlfuss]

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Hi

The number of members to the majority of car clubs has been decreasing over the past few years so the SOC is not alone in experiencing this. I'm not sure why but I think the vast amount if information available on the internet is one reason. Car clubs now have to look at what they can offer members and what is the appeal of their club.
Your SOC National Committee is having a special meeting tomorrow evening with one item only on the agenda - declining membership numbers and what we can do about it.
Hopefully we will come up with some good ideas.

Carl

[Giles]

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Hi Carl - keep us posted on the ideas they come up with - I know it is a almost universal problem :?

[nib]

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In this thread is one of the reasons Carl.

http://stagownersclub.mywowbb.com/forum1/10183.html

Mark

[simonas]

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I have to be honest and say that although I llike this forum I think that the cost of being in the club is quite steep. For me the magazine doesn;t warrant the cost

Maybe when I;ve owned the Stga longer I will appreciate it more

Simon

[dasadrew]

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nib wrote:

In this thread is one of the reasons Carl.

http://stagownersclub.mywowbb.com/forum1/10183.html

Mark

Absolutely. Had the same experience at Stoneleigh. Only excelled by the FOC in stuffiness.

Stag-Phil joined a month ago and three days ago he introduced himself here. A grand total of THREE long-standing members have welcomed him. I have never seen the likes of such apathy on any other forum.

Of course, it's understandable. Stag-Phil is probably just another upstart who is going to challenge the status quo of a monthly magazine, Noggins and Natters, Committee Meetings whose minutes are not sent universally to all SOC members and all the rest of it.

Too many types who don't want young whipper-snappers upsetting the apple cart.

Really sorry about this post but, after downing a bottle of Chateau La Coste 'Rosé de la Nuit' it had to be said.

I will continue to support this forum with any experience and knowledge that I can as far as is possible, but SOC membership? ......hmmm....

Drew

[stustag]

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Hi Carl

I have some suggestions for you.

1. Offer discounts for SOCTFL parts to club members
2. Get suppliers to offer discount to club members
3. Free keyring, badge, tax disc holder etc a differnt freebie each year you renew.
4. Mag to go to Bi monthly or quaterly to save cost.
5. North & South shows one spring one summer so both can be attended
6. Special area of the club for children
7. Families only camping trips
8. SOC organised trackdays, hill climbs like Prescott & Shelsley Walsh.
9. Special Tools available for loan to members at a cost if not returned on time.

Hope this helps.

Stuart

[stustag]

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Just to add a piont of view I believe the for the club to grow it needs to understand that the cars are to be driven and to interest new younger members we need to have more driving and less sitting around talking.

Stuart

[AlanD]

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Hi guys,

i would just like to mention my experience of the club so far. swimbo and myself have only been to 2 shows. the first at Shrugbourgh, we parked next to the guys from the black country club and the notts derby, who are our club.We arrived with no chairs, coffee etc, just the stag. we were treated to spare chairs, coffee and cake. they looked my stag over etc we talked joked etc and had a good time with all.

The next show was with Margaret and the notts club at thorsbury, we had chairs this time, we were trated to bacon butties and again coffe and were made very welcome, we enjoyed it. one the members even had a look at my boot lid( it wont lie flat) and we came to the conclusion its BENT flat, no camber or vey little. i'm sorry but i'm not good with names so a big thank you tothe guy.

i'm a new member and from my experience so far i cant complain, the forum is good and i have been treated well, no doubt i will experience some of what others have, it's sad that the comments are as they are, we all have our own opinions and experiences, if we dare not mention these for fear of reprisails how are we ever to improve the club and encourage new members?

i hope i have not offended, its just my opinion and experience so far.

[Kevin Garrod]

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Declining membership a problem?

Perhaps thought should be made about decisions that have led to the recent loss of 2 valued members.:?

[dasadrew]

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Kevin Garrod wrote:

Declining membership a problem?

Perhaps thought should be made about decisions that have led to the recent loss of 2 valued members.:?

I thought the 2 members which you probably are referring to had announced that they will not post on this Forum anymore. Did I miss the fact that they are throwing in SOC Membership?

[DJT]

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dasadrew wrote:

Kevin Garrod wrote:

Declining membership a problem?

Perhaps thought should be made about decisions that have led to the recent loss of 2 valued members.:?

I thought the 2 members which you probably are referring to had announced that they will not post on this Forum anymore. Did I miss the fact that they are throwing in SOC Membership?

From Russ:

But the commitee have already said that the forum is paid for by the SOC therefore they can set their own rules - and set them they have.

I'm taking Alan's position - available for PMs until my membership runs out.

See ya guys

Sad that it comes to this over a petty subject..............

Dave

[grahamb]

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Its a good few months since I presented to the committee and it feels like it hasnt been the most enjoyable time for them in and out of their meetings.

I gave them a thought for the day.

“Evolution or revolution, both are used to describe change but it is understanding why you are changing, where you are today and where you want to be that is important…”[/font]]

The committee are having a bit of a revolution for a few reasons. I doubt there is consistient acceptance of the reasons for this frustration, although it will be clear to everyone that all is not well. Where do you want to be is the important one in any change situation. Get acceptance on that, and life gets a lot simpler.

To me the future of the club is reducing the costs and increasing alignment with the other Triumph car clubs. You have broader appeal, larger critical mass in members and lots of synergies - lower costs.

This months magazine is the first in months that I have put on the side and not thrown away in less than half an hour. I want to read about the racing and the report on National Day. Bin delayed by 15 minutes

Think if the club joined with the TR Register. You would have a magazine with multiple motoring events every month and fresh content from a variety of sources. The SOC could have its own pages and save ÂŁ100,000 +per year printing costs.

If you look at the TVR Club as a model for this, it has magazine editors for each model, it has regional events and it has model specific events - Griff Growl, Chimaera Road, Big Bad Wedge Fest.

Aligning all the triumphs clubs together would allow increased quality and profesionalism and at a significantly lower cost, than the sum of the existing operations.

This summer, and for thefirst time,my wife attended the Stag nationalday and a TVR event with me within a few days of each other.

At the Stag event, she spent most of the time chatting with known friends and she had no interest in looking at subtle variations of the same car. The TVR one was completely different. She wanted to look at all the different cars and even said "why dont you get one of those" for a particular car.

To her, it was like the Bromley Pageant that she does attend most years - variety being the spice of life and all that..

Just my two pennies worth.

[scarts]

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grahamb wrote:

variety being the spice of life and all that..

Just my two pennies worth.

Tell her I say Hi :P

[Stagdad]

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The layout at shows of a tent with a table ,chairs and a few members who obviously don't want to get out of them isn't very inviting to me let alone a potential new member .maybe something as basic as ditching this image would help.Faced with that i usually wander of and chat to people who are actually interested in the cars.

Cheers Steve