Why Does Your Club Need a Bikini Car Wash?

Recently, this question popped up on my phone:
It came from Dan Schmitz, a friend and colleague of mine in the private club industry who also serves on the membership committee of his local New Jersey club. He went to his committee meeting that evening to discuss the strategy. I thought about it for a while and then typed the following response:

Dean was clearly amused. He waited a few minutes for a follow-up reply, but I stopped. He finally insisted.

Dan, like you, probably thought I was joking, but I wasn’t! And before you throw the book at me and start a boycott of me and the Private Club Radio Show, allow me to explain.

Think about it. All things being equal, would you prefer to get into one of those boring automatic washes where the giant brush swooshes over your car as you crawl along at 1 mile per hour, or would you rather have some attractive co-eds in bathing suits dancing around in bubbles that do the same job? And ladies, if you’re reading this, we can just replace bikinis with some hunks in speedos. It works in the same way.

I firmly believe that if your club held a daily bikini wash, your members would have the cleanest cars in the province. On any given day, you would have a line of perfectly spotless cars lined up right up to the gate looking for another good wash. Beyond that, you’d have most of the non-members of the community doing all they could to get in and get their own look at what was going on.

A bikini car wash works so well because it has these common elements:
• It demands your attention. It
• ‘s out of your usual routine.
• It’s exciting enough that you want to come back. It
• is memorable enough that you would invite your friends.
• It’s avant-garde enough to attract community and even media attention.

Do you see any similarities in that list of programs or events that your club does? I do. I hear about it every week on my show. Guys stop by all the time and talk to me about “bikini car washes” that have their clubs. It’s the remarkable things clubs around the world do to stand out from the crowd and become what everyone is talking about.

Here are some of my favorites:
• Robert Sereci’s team in Medinah decided to set up a chicken compartment.
• The Club of Goodwood in the UK has installed beehives.
• The Jonathan Club in California created a rooftop herb garden.
• The Westmoor Club on Nantucket has a dog show.
• The Union Club of New York has a sous-vide kitchen.

These are all “bikini car washes.” They don’t have to be bold. They are memorable experiences that demand attention. They are a spectacle to watch. They keep members coming back and inviting their friends. They are the most talked about cause in their community.

Here’s my challenge to you: find out what your club’s “bikini car wash” is.
If you think you can rely on “the best-maintained greens in the county” or “the most elegant wedding venue in town,” you’re in for a raw awakening. Our culture today thrives on uniqueness and the extraordinary. This means that you have to get creative. You will have to think bigger and bolder. You will have to stretch yourself, your staff, and your club membership to be more.

You need to offer something Instagram-worthy. Something that someone couldn’t help but take a picture of and want to share on their social media account. Whether that’s an amenity, or a dish in the dining room, or an experience on the track or off the track, it has to be something that absolutely no one else does. It must be 100% your own.

Eventually, someone comes along and steals your idea of a “bikini car wash“. It will happen. I promise. That doesn’t mean it’s over. Then you have to be flexible enough to make new ones. Your club must constantly reinvent itself to stay relevant in today’s world.

The last and most important piece of the puzzle is
You can have the world’s largest “bikini car wash,” but if no one knows about it, it’s a waste of effort. That’s where communication comes in. You need to have an organised communication plan with your members and with the community as a whole that creates a buzz.

Whether you’re a 501 (c) (7) club or a club that can place traditional ads, there are strategies I can help you implement that will liven up your community. If you’re having trouble finding your “bikini car wash,” I can help you with some ideas there too. Simply fill in the form below to schedule a no-obligation consultation.