Small companies can also offer membership programs

Small companies can also offer membership programs

Jonminofri Nazir, Contributor, Jakarta

A club sells membership cards to ensure it will have loyal
customers, while customers agree to become members because of the
benefits that the card offers. They will enjoy not only cheap,
exclusive and complete packages and facilities, but also
networking.

Membership programs have never really flourished in Indonesia,
although there are clubs that can effectively collect customers
of similar types or classes (hence the term exclusive).

Nevertheless, such clubs continue to emerge. The target
markets for them can be very broad. McDonalds, for example, has
its McKids Club. Or it may be limited to certain areas, such as
the computer game businesses mushrooming all over Jakarta and
Botabek.

Then there are highly professional clubs such as the Financial
Club, now in its eighth year of existence. This club is highly
exclusive and is still active, although its membership growth is
not exactly brisk.

"Owing to the present unfavorable economic and investment
situation, many candidates have canceled their intention to join
as individual members. They prefer to join the club under a
corporate membership scheme," said Mila Mawira, Financial Club
adviser, last week.

But it is not only large businesses and big clubs that are
selling membership cards these days, with many small-scale
businesses doing likewise, although in a much simpler manner than
their larger counterparts.

Roam around Jakarta and you will find numerous computer game
businesses. Usually all such a business needs is a room measuring
3m x 3m with an air-conditioner. Inside the room there are
usually seven computers with 17-inch monitors, plus active
speakers. You can imagine how noisy the room is if all seven
computers are in use.

Yet, these places always seem to be crowded. Good business, of
course. People have to line up to get a game. So, to be able to
enjoy the games better, become a member. You will get facilities
and bonuses, such as a free hour of play for every 10 hours you
pay for (not necessarily at a stretch).

The market segment? Youngsters, even those still in elementary
school. The membership cards are simple. A postcard-size piece of
paper containing your name, membership number, address and a
special column -- to be filled in by an employee -- for the hours
spent.

This membership card will keep a member playing games at this
particular location. If he plays somewhere else, he will have to
fork out more money, and will not receive any bonuses. This is a
simple way to net customers.

Indeed, the facility given to cardholders is only playing
priority and a bonus of one free hour for every 10 hours played.

McKids Club is quite different. You pay Rp 50,000 to register
and you get a T-shirt, a hat and a bag. Other facilities are that
the members may get the opportunity to appear on TV, on a program
the club produces. And children regularly receive magazines.

The goal of this club is very clear: to get as many loyal
customers as possible. And the club does have a lot of members.

Because of the great number of members, some people are unable
to enjoy the facilities despite their membership cards. The club
management seems unable to cope with the number of members, and
practically speaking all that most members can use the card for
is to get a discount at one McDonalds outlet. So, it is more or
less the same as the membership card at a computer rental center.

Membership at the Financial Club differs from that of other
clubs; it is very exclusive. When it was established eight years
ago, the Financial Club accepted only members coming from a
financial background.

This did not last for long. Financial circles have to interact
with business executives, for example. So in 1998, the Financial
Club began to accept other businesspeople and professionals.

Although the membership requirements have been eased, new
members are hard to recruit at present. Mila Mawira put it down
to the unfavorable economic situation. Another reason could be
that many people join the club under a corporate membership
scheme. A company will calculate very carefully before deciding
to pay a registration fee of Rp 10 million for a member and a
monthly contribution fee of Rp 450,000.

Despite an advance deposit of Rp 10 million, a candidate
cannot be sure of being accepted as a member of the Financial
Club, because he must be recommended by another member.

For a big company, money is no constraint and the benefit is
clear. The club actively organizes business gatherings among its
members. Actually this is the strength of a club like this, the
broadening of members' networks. This networking is done through
business gatherings among members or through similar interactive
activities involving club members.

The club organizes business gatherings periodically, with
experts always invited to address current issues. On Aug. 28, for
example, the IMF representative for Indonesia will be part of a
discussion panel with Miranda Goeltom, a noted economic observer.

A club should be exclusive and provide its members with
numerous benefits. It should not just give discounts.