Managing Customer Retention in Private Clubs Using Churn Analysis: Some Empirical Findings

Abstract

Successful private club management requires multiple leadership skill sets and managerial capabilities including but not limited to; relational marketing efforts, quality service delivery, financial/asset management, member enrollment, and member retention activities. Given the uniqueness of private club industry ownership and member governance oversight, this places a premium on member relationships and financial performance. This study set out to uncover new ways of analyzing private-club member behavioral patterns utilizing decision-tree analyses to predict private-club member resignation patterns. Results indicated that non-revenue-generating private club events are the best predictors of member resignation within 120 days of departure. These findings provide new insight into customer behavioral patterns associated with relational marketing practices in private clubs and provide club managers with practical ways to improve member retention strategies.