Market the Club
When people think of marketing, they sometimes think of those fellows with slicked back hair, gold chains around their neck and plastic smiles like eels wearing Armani suits delivering an arm-pumping handshake while selling you a car made of duct tape. They call you “friend” perhaps a bit too much.
And it’s not marketing. Marketing can be defined as: getting the right stuff to the right people, when they want it and where they want it. In the case of a Toastmasters club, marketing means getting the opportunity to join the club into the hands of those who would benefit.
Toastmasters International has some great resources for helping your club marketing efforts. As part of your club success plan, your club should specifically declare growth goals, including who you will market to, when, where and how. As a valuable tool, the Toastmasters manual of Membership Growth will provide you insights into increasing the membership of your club.
As you prepare to increase your club’s membership, make sure you’re ready for the influx of new members.
- Make sure your house is in good order. How is the quality of your club meetings?
- Has your club identified a target market? As a Toastmasters club, what segment of the market are you trying to reach?
- Make sure you can deliver. Your club needs to have the ability to help new members identify and reach their goals.
- Get the word out. Your club should develop its own Promotional Campaign to spread the word throughout your market.
Marketing the club, getting the word about Toastmasters to those who can benefit the most,, is entirely in the hands of those who know it best―you, the member.