President's Letter - Rodger Van Ness
Expansion
As we move our Mercedes-Benz Club of America into the 21st century with a new look, new member benefits, and a more comprehensive and user-friendly website, it's time to consider expanding the club with new sections.
There are approximately 350 Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the U.S. but only 84 MBCA sections. These dealerships were established, after thorough research by MBUSA, to capitalize on customer potential. We have already conducted research on how best to partner with dealers to create additional sections.
I am collaborating with Executive Director Doug Truitt and Director of Marketing Lisa Juhl to develop a presentation that will show dealerships how MBCA can work with them to establish new sections and subsequently attract more traffic into their stores. We will focus on how MBCA can offer value and benefit to the dealership, as well as reciprocal benefits to the section. Many dealerships have expressed a perception that club leadership frequently reaches out to dealers for freebies - door prizes, meeting space, and so forth - but does little to stimulate their businesses. We must change that perception by concentrating on ways to boost the dealerships.
There are two unique opportunities for creating new sections in specific areas of the country.
First, in metropolitan areas where members must travel long distances to attend meetings or events, adding an additional section nearby would make travel shorter and easier for members and has the potential to build and sustain member participation.
Second, we should form new sections in cities that have Mercedes-Benz dealerships but currently no club/section representation.
Our goal is to have a proposal ready for the fall Board meeting. The process for establishing a new section is described in the MBCA Procedures Manual in Article VIII; the application form is Appendix G. (The Procedures Manual is available at www.mbca.org. Click on "Resources" under "Our Community" to locate and download the manual in pdf format.)
As you know, any paid member - with simple guidance from an experienced Regional Director - can form a new section. In the past, an obstacle to starting a new section has been the funds needed to print and mail newsletters to members. This is no longer a barrier, as many sections have moved into the 21st century and send their newsletters electronically. It's very rewarding to read the many newsletters that are sent this way. Great job.
If we had been able to maintain our base of 30,000 members over the past 10 years (we have 20,000 today), your club's cash flow would be $450,000 higher. What does that mean? Greater potential to sell through advertising space in The Star; another 10,000 potential raffle ticket buyers; scores of new club ambassadors to enthusiastically spread the word about the club and its many benefits to potential members; and additional customers for our Club Store. Each of these reasons provides incredible potential for increasing club revenue and motivation to expand.
Obviously, this is a broad-brush approach to working with Mercedes-Benz dealers to achieve club growth. When the full program is complete, we will publish a detailed, step-by-step process in The Star and on our website. As we create new sections, we will tell their stories in The Star to recognize their rollouts and highlight their accomplishments.
Have fun!
