How does CADS obtain new members?

[Bluebotle]

I think in order to get new members we first need to identify why, then agree on what we are going to do and who is going to do it.

Why?

Why has the numbers dropped and why don't people join CADS?

My personal feeling is we are restricted from the outset, CADS is a section of a wider club SIDC and unless people join SIDC the name CADS means nothing on its own right.

CADS is not advertised anywhere outside the SIDC magazine so in effect no one knows about us unless they join SIDC.  It would be good to have yahoo or google bring up our CADS name when you search for Subaru or club.

When I first pruchased my car in Sept 05 I knew I wanted to join a club but didn't know which one.  After browsing the internet I eventually concluded SIDC was the best club to join (which it undoubtably is).  I then had to decide on which division of the club I was going to join SMACS, CADS, LADS etc... and obvoisuly decided on CADS and to be honest at the time the decision was purley based on the number of people or involvement the section had, what made my decision for me was the CADS section in the SIDC forum.  It seemed and is a proper section of the parent club.  It would be good if SIDC automatically divided it's members out to the correct section to which section is nearest your house (although in my case I would then be under LADS being a Bolton lad)  Maybe the catchment area for each section is agreed at the AGM.

It could just be because this time of year is quiet, the more experiecned members will know if this is true or not.

What could we do to increase our numbers? (my ideas and welcome any constructive feedback)

Advertise on the Web i.e through Yahoo etc.

Hold raffles, competitions?

Have a photo gallery of its cars and members

Have incentives for attending the meets i.e. Maybe we could give each attendance a credit and after you have accumilated enough credits you earn the right to choose where ever we all go or what we do at the next meet (within reason i.e. no John O Groat trips!).  It sounds a little corney but at least people are sort of responsible for what the club does and allows people to lead each other.  Sense of acheievment too?

Bring back the Membership Fee!  We need it to ensure the club survives however we could give each new member a 6 month grace.

A CADS website that offers good advice with recent storylines within our club on the main page.  The forum link will bring you to the SIDC CADS Link.  The website could hold the photo gallery and hold video clips etc. event descriptions and a calendar for each event. 

You have any Ideas?????

 

 

[Little H]

Lee, all your points are pretty much under a way of getting to the front.

1. Web site.....Jonah is currently working on.

2. The schedule and events comes back to who is actually willing to get off the backside and organise something, i would encourage anyone regardless of number of meets they attend to organise things, if people are unhappy then assist in the growth and development of it.

3. CADS is advertised in the club sections in some of the Jap mags.

 In regards clubs, the SMACS, LADS is not part of the SIDC they are independant subaru clubs, there is no catchment area at all, the idea of the local groups is for an easy way to identify whats happening in your region. just because it says Cheshire and District doesnt mean Cheshire only, what do you define as districts, as far as the midlands ?????. Also you will notice from October/November to around April time the forums all die down due to the show season etc... as a lot of people come on in the show season.

This is the kind of feedback we want but very rarely comes forward....thanks.

I would probably say that we need to sit down at the next meet or when ever to discuss the points above as its hard to put across in words and without being in the public eye.

[J0nah]

"1. Web site.....Jonah is currently working on."

 I need the login details Ste.

"if people are unhappy then assist in the growth and development of it."

I don't think people are unhappy Steve, I just think we need to try and get our current members more involved. They have some cracking ideas, I'm sure.

After sunday I came away from the meet really upbeat. I posted a couple of things that a few of us discussed and have since had them deleted as it has ruffled feathers. If we can't put IDEAS and THOUGHTS out on the forums then what's the point?

I posted about the discussions WE had regarding a logo and it got lambasted, so i had it deleted. Also about the word association thread that WE discussed on Sunday and I asked for that to be deleted too. Dissapointed isn't the word. Steve I touch goats by the way.

 

[blue boy]

Couldn't agree with you more Lee,

I've tried to get CADS included in the club section of Banzai & Japanese Performance but without a website it's pointless.

One for the future I think.

We also had CADS flyers printed to hand to other Scooby drivers, but the support from members was mixed to say the least.

[blue boy]

"1. Web site.....Jonah is currently working on."

 I need the login details Ste.

"if people are unhappy then assist in the growth and development of it."

I don't think people are unhappy Steve, I just think we need to try and get our current members more involved. They have some cracking ideas, I'm sure.

After sunday I came away from the meet really upbeat. I posted a couple of things that a few of us discussed and have since had them deleted as it has ruffled feathers. If we can't put IDEAS and THOUGHTS out on the forums then what's the point?

I posted about the discussions WE had regarding a logo and it got lambasted, so i had it deleted. Also about the word association thread that WE discussed on Sunday and I asked for that to be deleted too. Dissapointed isn't the word. Steve I touch goats by the way.

 

 

Andy,

I was only pointing out the flip side of a logo change.

As I said at the time we need members to get involved.

Bob

[J0nah]

To be fair Bob you said that if the logo changes, you may as well scrap cads and start another club.[:^)]Why say that? It wasn't just pointing out a flip side. That's the bit that has got my goat. What is the point of asking peoples veiws and thoughts on a public forum and at our meets if it's going to end up like this? It's obviously upset you set up the CADS from inception and I've apologised in PM for maybe treading on toes. I was posting from a general consensus, not from a selfish point of veiw. I'm not like thatt. I want the best out of the Club like you do.

If things like logos and stuff, like you say, need to go to a vote, why did the new shirts not get mentioned first on here? And I know you'll be saying damned if you do, damned if you don't, but that's how I feel at the moment.

I know you mentioned the shirts to me in a conversation a while back, but why not get everyone elses' thoughts on them too? That's why I posted up about the logo, to see what people thought.

I'm not going any further with this, as you and I have FAR more important things to be dealing with.  I think I've said too much anyway.

 

 

[blue boy]

Andy,

The shirts were obtained as "samples" to see if we could spark some interest.

From experience it's difficult to "sell" an item if people can't see it and it was hoped that if Steve and I paid for the samples we could engender some support for them. There was no hidden agenda behind it! 

[J0nah]

Steve is hopefully going to give me the website details tonight so I can get cracking on it. Ideas for that welcome too.

Andy

[J0nah]

Back to Lee's ideas, some good pointers in there mate, keep them coming.[]

[dave_thorbinson]

OK, I know I've sold the scoob, but intend to keep my membership up so hope no-one minds me adding my 2p re Bob's post about flyering cars:

As well as SIDC/CADS, I've been into old air cooled VW for 16 years or so - long before I had internet access to research owners clubs. Anyway, years ago I found out about the Liverpool VWOwnersClub because someone put a business card type flyer under under my windscreen wiper. Curiously, my vw was flyered again in a carpark in StHelens last week, advertising a Warrington independant VWOC. Is there any reason why we cant get a load of small, smart flyers (or even business cards) printed, distribute to existing CADS so they can pop one under the windscreen wiper of scoobs that they see parked up? Sure this will have been thought of before, but it seems like a good idea to me. It may not have occurred to new owners to go looking for a club, so this might just spur them on.

Dave.

[dave_thorbinson]

OK, I know I've sold the scoob, but intend to keep my membership up so hope no-one minds me adding my 2p re Bob's post about flyering cars:

As well as SIDC/CADS, I've been into old air cooled VW for 16 years or so - long before I had internet access to research owners clubs. Anyway, years ago I found out about the Liverpool VWOwnersClub because someone put a business card type flyer under under my windscreen wiper. Curiously, my vw was flyered again in a carpark in StHelens last week, advertising a Warrington independant VWOC. Is there any reason why we cant get a load of small, smart flyers (or even business cards) printed, distribute to existing CADS so they can pop one under the windscreen wiper of scoobs that they see parked up? Sure this will have been thought of before, but it seems like a good idea to me. It may not have occurred to new owners to go looking for a club, so this might just spur them on.

Dave.

Currently being discussed in Kent Scoobies section: http://forums.sidc.co.uk/forums/thread/899358.aspx

[Little H]

Sorry wasnt meaning anyone was unhappy just mean that if they want new things and things to develop that they would like, then all assistance is gratefully accepted and would be welcomed regardless of number of meets etc...

 The flyer situation was a great idea but as said by Bob it was a mixed response as to the numbers that was handed out. And strongly agree we need to reinvent this to make numbers grow. Also we changed our meeting place as the old place changed and that make the flyers out of date.

 

[J0nah]

talking of flyers, I PMd Phil Stephens and got some SIDC flyers sent to me. I have just added on them "visit the CADS section of the SIDC" and dished them out that way.

In fact, I've done four tonight around by me. []

[J0nah]

I've made a CADS specific flyer tonight and will bring one to the next meet to see what people think.

[simon_jeffrey]

I've been watching the debate with interest but I think there are some fundamental issues here which the CADS have no influence over, being.

1.  SMACS - while this club is going strong (and there are almost 80 people who have 'joined') CADS is always going to come off second best unfortunately.

2.  There are only so many Sunday meetings people want to go to - no one seems particularly bothered about organsing run outs, special interest trips etc.  The summer show season is OK but more variety is needed apart from just attending shows.  Even when members have been invited to other events there seems to be an apathy in attending.  The evening meeting at the Swettenham Arms last year is one example and another example is the end of year run out last December into North Wales - several CADS said they would go but in the end no one did except for SMACS members. (and a cracking run out it was too.) 

3.  I am going to M Sport in Cumbria in a few weeks which has been arranged by Andy S - he has also arranged trips to Prodrive - we couldn't do this in CADS as you need at least 15 people on each trip.

4.  SIDC forums are dead in the winter - no one has anything particularly interesting to say and some of the threads advising that people have got rid of their Scoobs is hardly going to encourage new blood.- Scoobynet is active all year round not just in the summer and although there is a lot of crap on there it is certainly more interesting than SIDC IMHO.

Personally although CADS was my first introduction to a Scoob club, weekends tend to be very busy for me and so Sunday meetings are not particularly good for me.  Evening meetings are better fo me - would anyone consider this?

I don't want this to be seen as a total negative but thought I would stick in my twopenneth (Flame suit on.........)

 

[moneys]

must say simon i do agree with the majority of what you have said. I dont want to put CADS/SIDC down as i have always said CADS offers something different to SMACS. I prefer weeknight meets and the runs out but with a baby around the corner a run out on a sunday afternoon is attractive. Also i do think the website is way to quiet and if i need to know something i will always ask on scoobynet, this is not really CADS fault but i just feel that the SIDC site is not attractable as its to serious for some people. I,ve always enjoyed all the meets i've been to with the CADS and hopefully i'll be there next month but what i do think is that if someone wants to move the club forward like jonah and others are then you should let them, the CADS logo has been up for discussion before and it was shot down then. Some people just dont like change even if it is for the better and unfortunantly there is nothing you can usually do about this.

What simon also said about the 2 clubs meeting up is something that has always puzzled me. If you go to SMACS meets they have people from clubs all over the north west and even sheffield coming over and joining in, car clubs are built on the back of people's passions for a particular brand and ours is subabru so why dont CADS ever take part in this? SMACS has grown a hell of a lot because of its friendleness and its openess to other clubs so why cant CADS try and do some of this. Also just because another club does something it doesn't meen you cant.

[J0nah]

I don't think there's an issue with us not attending any SMACS stuff. I was due to go on the North Wales run last year but couldn't due to family issues. I think the same for other peeps too. That can't be helped.

The SMACS and CADS both had members at the Oulton Park track day in December, so I don't know where you're coming from on CADS not doing SMACS stuff and vice versa Si, you were there!!!!

I've attended a SMACS Rollin Road too, and I'm sure we can organise something again this year. A couple of people mentioned the Curborough trip on Sunday too so watch this space on that one.

I can't make a mid week meet end of. So the Sunday meets suit me right down to the ground. And while that's the case, that's what we have to try and work on build another great club just like the SMACS are continuing to do. Together.

Good luck to CADS and SMACS in my opinion.

Andy

[*Andy*]

I went along to the Swttenham Arms Si and I must admit was surprised by the numbers for a cold winter mid week meet. As for the end of year run I was one of the CADS that said they would go and had every intention of going however I creamed my brakes at Oultan (Andy J and Rob can confirm []) and was planning to fit new ones the day before the run but one of the pistons was jammed and I had to put the old ones back in, and I didn't think it was safe to go out with them.

As for Scooby Net and SIDC, I would agree Snet is more active which definately is of benefit and gets more attention to the  SMACS.

The first meet I attended prior to CADS was an evening meet in Warrington via Snet, which usually got reasonable numbers although there has not been one of these for a while. Although it is now more difficult to attend evening meets as Ange works later these days.

Andy[]

[simon_jeffrey]

I wasn't having a go at individuals - it was just a couple of examples that's all.

I just think that CADS will struggle while people are atracted to SMACS via SN.

Lets hope 2007 is a good year for both clubs[]

[J0nah]

We won't struggle at all mate. I feel a good year coming on.

[gunther]

Lets get this thread back on track'How does CADS obtain new members'.

Everyone know's SN have more members than SIDC and SMAC'S have more members than CADS, so what, who care's.

I personally think CADS won't struggle so lets get some ideas how to get new members.

 

John

[robert_harding]

one question and one question only.

Why do you want it to be a big club?...trust me you dont... keep it personal...any events that need numbers, just invite from other clubs.

who gives a crap if anyone says "oooo our club is bigger than yours"...so fecking what.

Cads is seasonal, it always has been.

 

[moneys]

I don't think there's an issue with us not attending any SMACS stuff. I was due to go on the North Wales run last year but couldn't due to family issues. I think the same for other peeps too. That can't be helped.

The SMACS and CADS both had members at the Oulton Park track day in December, so I don't know where you're coming from on CADS not doing SMACS stuff and vice versa Si, you were there!!!!

I've attended a SMACS Rollin Road too, and I'm sure we can organise something again this year. A couple of people mentioned the Curborough trip on Sunday too so watch this space on that one.

I can't make a mid week meet end of. So the Sunday meets suit me right down to the ground. And while that's the case, that's what we have to try and work on build another great club just like the SMACS are continuing to do. Together.

Good luck to CADS and SMACS in my opinion.

Andy

 

sorry mate i didnt want to come across like i was bigging smacs up i was just trying to say basdically that they were only a small club just over a year ago and they,ve grown over the last year so dont see why cads cant

[ukscoob]

well ive only been away for a bit and it seems like every body has gone mad[:S]

as for things to do i must admit when you look at what smacs do comperd to us(cads) we dont seem to do much maybe we should start havin more meets rather than just once a month.even if its just a drive out to blackpool or wales anything just to try and get more people involved as the dates once a month arnt always convenent for everybody ...

just my thoughts []

[ukscoob]

Lets get this thread back on track'How does CADS obtain new members'.

Everyone know's SN have more members than SIDC and SMAC'S have more members than CADS, so what, who care's.

I personally think CADS won't struggle so lets get some ideas how to get new members.

 

John

hello john if you ever want to jump in with me to go meets your more than welcome bud im only down the road[]