This was a post I did earlier this year in the BOD section. Maybe someone will read it and get some ideas. Hopefully it will give you a different perspective on how one of the biggest car clubs is run.
As most of you know I decided since one of the biggest car clubs was headquartered in my town and right next to a vendor of mine that I would give them a call today and see if they would be willing to sit down and talk to me about the organization.
I was directed to talk to Frank Patek the Exec Dir or the head guy. He said he would be more than happy to sit down with me this afternoon and tell me what he knew. So off I went. He talked with me for over an hr and a half. I was amazed at how much time he was willing to give for someone not connected with BMW and had just spoken to him a few hrs earlier.
A few specifics.
The BMW club has 75,000 members and 76 local chapters all over the US. An amazing number. But given they span all the vehicles BMW has made over the past 40 years it's not surprising.
The office is located right in the middle of Downtown Greenville, SC overlooking a park. It was a really nice office with merchandise and pictures hanging on the walls.
They have a group of about 9 people who are paid in the office from what I can tell.
Exec Dir
National Events
Admin Assistant
Staff Accountant
Member Services
Rebate Admin
Club Racing and Licensing Admin
Webmaster
Advertising admin
They also have 4 National Officers and 5 regional officers. These are the volunteer positions as well as anything under them.
They are a non profit as well they have another section of their club that is a C3. I will talk about that later.
Here is where they differ from TLCA in many ways.
Dues are 48 dollars. The local clubs get 15 dollars of that. There are no local members that are not a member of the national club. Either you are all in or you are all out. Dues are paid back to the local clubs based on zip code. As well members can specifically ask to be part of one club or another. Clubs cannot exclude anyone that wishes to be a member. But you must own a BMW in order to be a member.
Local clubs don't have a BOD Delegate. That is left up to the regional and national officers. They are elected by the local clubs to speak on their behalf and vote as well. So say in NC, SC, GA, FL there would be one elected official to cover all clubs in those states. That person is the voice for them. I thought it was a good way of getting the local clubs to work together. I'm sure they all would want someone who would work hard for them.
They have a nice website and are fixing to make a big switch to a new one. They also have a forum. But as you will see if you visit it, there is no club areas. It's strictly used as a place to provide information and get feedback for members. I asked him why they didn't have local club forums on there and he stated it would be just to much to handle on the admin side. They also want to portray an image and from what I could tell some clubs had things on their websites that would not go over well for that image. So it was best left up to the clubs to do their own thing and the forum was to be used for information only.
They host several main events through the year. The main club provides funding for these events to the local clubs in that area. BMW as well channels funds through the club for these events. From what I could tell there was quite a bit of money that moved through the main club. As well several big name companies sponsor the club with money Liberty Mutual being one. Maybe we should go after a big insurance company as well. They also have a sponsor like Tire Rack.
The local clubs also host events and they get sponsorships and raffle items on their own.
I asked Frank what value they brought to their members and why they continued to come back year after year. He stated it was several things. The magazine for one which is huge. He said that was one of the main values. He said probably the single biggest benefit was the Owner Loyalty program BMW set up with them. Basically if you have been in the club for a year or more and you buy a BMW you can fill out a form send it in to the club for verification and they in turn give it to BMW who then writes a check for 500 to 1500 dollars. This is after you have gotten the best deal you could from the dealer. This way the dealer is not the one handing out the money BMW does. That is a huge benefit in my eyes. And better yet it's a selling point to get the dealerships to sign people up to the club because they know those people will probably come back and buy another vehicle in the future and they don't have to spend a dime for it. Also every BMW that rolls out of the factory has a brochure paid by BMW about the benefits of joining the club.
He also stated a majority of the dealerships provide anywhere from 10 to 25 percent discount to club members. It just made good sense for them to because they knew that when a club member bought a car they could sell them parts or accessories to them at the time of sale and gain a little more money. He also stated a lot of the dealerships sponsor events as well as local clubs. Much in the same way Ralph Hayes Toyota does for UC.
One perk that I thought was really cool is they have a library. Seriously a library. In this library are all the books written on BMW as well as all FSMs and technical information. All this information is available for the members to check out either by main or virtually. I asked him about copyright issues. Franks stated most of the information was was not published anymore and BMW felt if it provided a value to the owners then let them use it. Imagine if TLCA could store all it's information online for members to use. I think that would be a huge perk. FSM's Toyota books and such. This library was part of the C3 section of the club. It's called the BMW CCA Foundation. They sponsor the Street Survival Program. Which from what I can tell is a charity and why they can say they are a C3. It's also a tax write off for people who donate. They are also getting a club museum together. Some members have donated vehicles to preserve the history. This whole section is run by 8 volunteers. I would die for something like this as I'm sure JohnnyC would also.
They also have 3 Ombudsmen who are volunteers who serve as a mediator between members and the dealerships or BMW. If there is a problem they get to try to resolve the issues to where everyone is happy. It's a very successful program he stated. These guys have all the contacts with BMW and the dealerships and understand how to get things done. He said repairs and warranty issues are some of the big things.
They also provide free classified adds on the website and in the mag.
They provide a credit card service for members.
They offer free stickers to anyone who asks for them
There is also another level of membership. It's an extra 50 dollars but provides the same services that AAA does as well as insurance and a whole host of other perks. It offered through the same company BMW uses for their Road Side Assistance program that comes with every new car warranty. Towing is provided by National Safe Drivers and the rest is provided by a 3rd party company called Select Benefits out of Lawrenceburg IN. Run by John and Matt Davis. Frank said they offer all kinds of packages. There are quite a few national clubs that use them.
So in a nutshell BMW provides money to the clubs through the main club, they also advertise as well provide a rebate back to the individual member on new and used car purchases. They also provide huge support to the events with people and lots of vehicles. As well the main club provides money it receives from the dues back to the local clubs for events and such.
I'm sure there is stuff I missed on saying. I will remember it later. My brain hurts and my throat is sore from talking about clubs and cruisers all day. I'm off to have a beer.
I'll cross post this on BODreps as well even though I hate that thing.
As most of you know I decided since one of the biggest car clubs was headquartered in my town and right next to a vendor of mine that I would give them a call today and see if they would be willing to sit down and talk to me about the organization.
I was directed to talk to Frank Patek the Exec Dir or the head guy. He said he would be more than happy to sit down with me this afternoon and tell me what he knew. So off I went. He talked with me for over an hr and a half. I was amazed at how much time he was willing to give for someone not connected with BMW and had just spoken to him a few hrs earlier.
A few specifics.
The BMW club has 75,000 members and 76 local chapters all over the US. An amazing number. But given they span all the vehicles BMW has made over the past 40 years it's not surprising.
The office is located right in the middle of Downtown Greenville, SC overlooking a park. It was a really nice office with merchandise and pictures hanging on the walls.
They have a group of about 9 people who are paid in the office from what I can tell.
Exec Dir
National Events
Admin Assistant
Staff Accountant
Member Services
Rebate Admin
Club Racing and Licensing Admin
Webmaster
Advertising admin
They also have 4 National Officers and 5 regional officers. These are the volunteer positions as well as anything under them.
They are a non profit as well they have another section of their club that is a C3. I will talk about that later.
Here is where they differ from TLCA in many ways.
Dues are 48 dollars. The local clubs get 15 dollars of that. There are no local members that are not a member of the national club. Either you are all in or you are all out. Dues are paid back to the local clubs based on zip code. As well members can specifically ask to be part of one club or another. Clubs cannot exclude anyone that wishes to be a member. But you must own a BMW in order to be a member.
Local clubs don't have a BOD Delegate. That is left up to the regional and national officers. They are elected by the local clubs to speak on their behalf and vote as well. So say in NC, SC, GA, FL there would be one elected official to cover all clubs in those states. That person is the voice for them. I thought it was a good way of getting the local clubs to work together. I'm sure they all would want someone who would work hard for them.
They have a nice website and are fixing to make a big switch to a new one. They also have a forum. But as you will see if you visit it, there is no club areas. It's strictly used as a place to provide information and get feedback for members. I asked him why they didn't have local club forums on there and he stated it would be just to much to handle on the admin side. They also want to portray an image and from what I could tell some clubs had things on their websites that would not go over well for that image. So it was best left up to the clubs to do their own thing and the forum was to be used for information only.
They host several main events through the year. The main club provides funding for these events to the local clubs in that area. BMW as well channels funds through the club for these events. From what I could tell there was quite a bit of money that moved through the main club. As well several big name companies sponsor the club with money Liberty Mutual being one. Maybe we should go after a big insurance company as well. They also have a sponsor like Tire Rack.
The local clubs also host events and they get sponsorships and raffle items on their own.
I asked Frank what value they brought to their members and why they continued to come back year after year. He stated it was several things. The magazine for one which is huge. He said that was one of the main values. He said probably the single biggest benefit was the Owner Loyalty program BMW set up with them. Basically if you have been in the club for a year or more and you buy a BMW you can fill out a form send it in to the club for verification and they in turn give it to BMW who then writes a check for 500 to 1500 dollars. This is after you have gotten the best deal you could from the dealer. This way the dealer is not the one handing out the money BMW does. That is a huge benefit in my eyes. And better yet it's a selling point to get the dealerships to sign people up to the club because they know those people will probably come back and buy another vehicle in the future and they don't have to spend a dime for it. Also every BMW that rolls out of the factory has a brochure paid by BMW about the benefits of joining the club.
He also stated a majority of the dealerships provide anywhere from 10 to 25 percent discount to club members. It just made good sense for them to because they knew that when a club member bought a car they could sell them parts or accessories to them at the time of sale and gain a little more money. He also stated a lot of the dealerships sponsor events as well as local clubs. Much in the same way Ralph Hayes Toyota does for UC.
One perk that I thought was really cool is they have a library. Seriously a library. In this library are all the books written on BMW as well as all FSMs and technical information. All this information is available for the members to check out either by main or virtually. I asked him about copyright issues. Franks stated most of the information was was not published anymore and BMW felt if it provided a value to the owners then let them use it. Imagine if TLCA could store all it's information online for members to use. I think that would be a huge perk. FSM's Toyota books and such. This library was part of the C3 section of the club. It's called the BMW CCA Foundation. They sponsor the Street Survival Program. Which from what I can tell is a charity and why they can say they are a C3. It's also a tax write off for people who donate. They are also getting a club museum together. Some members have donated vehicles to preserve the history. This whole section is run by 8 volunteers. I would die for something like this as I'm sure JohnnyC would also.
They also have 3 Ombudsmen who are volunteers who serve as a mediator between members and the dealerships or BMW. If there is a problem they get to try to resolve the issues to where everyone is happy. It's a very successful program he stated. These guys have all the contacts with BMW and the dealerships and understand how to get things done. He said repairs and warranty issues are some of the big things.
They also provide free classified adds on the website and in the mag.
They provide a credit card service for members.
They offer free stickers to anyone who asks for them
There is also another level of membership. It's an extra 50 dollars but provides the same services that AAA does as well as insurance and a whole host of other perks. It offered through the same company BMW uses for their Road Side Assistance program that comes with every new car warranty. Towing is provided by National Safe Drivers and the rest is provided by a 3rd party company called Select Benefits out of Lawrenceburg IN. Run by John and Matt Davis. Frank said they offer all kinds of packages. There are quite a few national clubs that use them.
So in a nutshell BMW provides money to the clubs through the main club, they also advertise as well provide a rebate back to the individual member on new and used car purchases. They also provide huge support to the events with people and lots of vehicles. As well the main club provides money it receives from the dues back to the local clubs for events and such.
I'm sure there is stuff I missed on saying. I will remember it later. My brain hurts and my throat is sore from talking about clubs and cruisers all day. I'm off to have a beer.
I'll cross post this on BODreps as well even though I hate that thing.
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