Think about the last time you purchased a coffee, a phone plan, a pair of runners, a ticket at the MCG or just about any consumer item. Chances are the seller had multiple options of the same core product positioned to meet different needs and budgets using a Good-Better-Best (G-B-B) pricing structure.

Despite this approach becoming a staple amongst our economy, a strikingly large number of grassroots sport clubs still retain a flat one-size-fits-all pricing approach for seasonal competitions. Whilst this traditional approach offers a simple and familiar formula for volunteers to deliver (‘season fees are $200 this year’), it will become increasingly challenging to maintain as the number of participants looking for less-structured forms of sport participation continues to grow. Differentiated pricing offerings will likely become a crucial ally for sporting clubs, so let’s quickly unpack Good-Better-Best pricing and how it can be applied within a grassroots sport setting.

‘Good’ Membership Products

Establishing an accessibly priced ‘good’ membership option forms a safety net for those members who like the idea of participating at your club but for whom the previous one-size-fits-all pricing was too much. Examples of participants this may apply to include:

• Families experiencing financial hardship;

• Athletes sampling your sport or juggling multiple sports;

• Young adults transitioning away from overly structured sport participation;

• Members whose bodies may no longer stand up physically to a full season; and

• Members who enjoy the social aspects of the club environment.

‘Good’ membership products will generally only include the basics such as insurance, club social communications and events, and a limited amount of participation. These products will be particularly important in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic where discretionary spend and appetites for structured sport competitions are already indicated to fall.

‘Better’ Membership Products

The ‘better’ product offering is unlikely to change greatly from a club’s current flat participation fee offering for traditional sport formats. This will remain an appealing option for members who wish to return to sport in the same way they previously experienced, without any upsizing.

‘Best’ Membership Products

Despite how it may look on face value, a ‘best’ offering is not about getting more money from your most loyal members. These participants not only wish to return to sport but have a heightened appetite to engage with your club. Framed in the right way with the right features, it will become a positive experience for them by representing great value-for-money. The silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic is that the barriers to entry for clubs to offer bonus online content such as coaching programs, elite player access or live streaming have reduced substantially.

In order to establish a ‘Best’ offering, a club needs to first acknowledge the reality that:

1. There are exclusive benefits above and beyond the standard membership that the club can create; and

2. The club has members who will pay for the associated services and status.

Developing Good-Better-Best Pricing for Season 2021

In order to create its G-B-B offerings, clubs should broadly group their participants into segments based on factors such as:

• Behaviours (how they want to interact with club)

• Motivations (why they want to interact with club), and

• Budget (how much are they willing to pay)

From here clubs need to brainstorm ‘features’ that create value for each segment. In a community club setting, value creators are traditionally features that either save time, save money, add skills, or add status to the participant.

Governing bodies play a crucial facilitating role to ensure overarching membership frameworks and registration platforms are suitably flexible to allow clubs to set G-B-B pricing.

Are we tripling volunteer workloads to manage G-B-B pricing?

The majority of registration platforms that peak bodies manage for their clubs and associations offer simple means of presenting multiple membership options to participants. A few hours may be required to establish processes for setting up and managing tiered products, but there is no better opportunity for clubs to give it a go given the current circumstances.

The Goldilocks Approach

Clubs seeking to maximise their accessibility and inclusiveness (thus growth potential) will find benefit in testing and learning with flexible, tiered G-B-B pricing for their programs.

Participants will engage with Good-Better-Best pricing options the same way Goldilocks engaged with porridge: one will be too hot, one too cold, but one will be just right. And as service providers, grassroots sporting clubs give themselves a better chance to attract and retain members through the uncertain years ahead, compared with flat membership structures.

Does your club or association need assistance developing the right membership options for your programs and competitions? Connect with us today for a free consult.