Marketing

JESSICA SLENDAK Marketing Director jslendak@clpoc.org

Marketing Associate Lindsay Halcomb lhalcomb@clpoc.org Assistant Webmaster Lee Ann McCormick canadianlakes.org

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We the Members!

In 2022, the Marketing Department is turning our efforts toward YOU…. the member. For years, our marketing and advertising has been focused on external efforts branding Canadian Lakes. Our message has been consistent and solid – “find your good life at Canadian Lakes, Michigan”. That message has focused on our name, where we are and our web address. It seems basic, but it has worked. More and more people, especially in the Grand Rapids area know us, what we offer and MANY of our newest members hail (GO BLUE) from there. While I will still maintain our presence there, our focus is now going to turn inward to retain our membership and as new members continue to come, we will work to perfect our new member intake process, making it enjoyable and effective.

There’s a lot to learn about Canadian Lakes when one first becomes a member.

Questions a new member might ask:

"Legacy Park is on West Royal – or is it East Royal...And there’s a North Royal?" "What’s the difference between common and floating dock?" "I need a sticker for my kayak?" "Why is the boat launch gate locked?" "This isn’t a nude Beach?" NO! There is no nude beach in Canadian Lakes. "Is there a map of Canadian Lakes?" "We have a library?" "What’s the CLA?"

This list could seriously go on for days. Being a new member can be overwhelming and we understand that. A perfected new member intake process will provide additional help and will inform new members, thus limiting issues in the future because the member was simply unaware. I have always listened when members have said “we need to be better informed.” Lindsay and I have been working hard to implement the best practice that’s most effective to inform this many people of this much information.

I’m going to go down a rabbit hole here for a moment before I get to the main point of this article to say again that if you do not have a profile on the Member website which is www.members.canadianlakes.org, PLEASE, I’m begging you, please go and register now for a profile. That is the first step to familiarizing yourself with the corporation and what it means to be a member. Select the “click here to register” link. Fill out the fields; and after you submit the information, you’ll receive a temporary password in your email. This will come via email and will most likely

Quick tip: Use a laptop or desktop computer to explore the website first and familiarize yourself with it. Cell phones, iPads, and tablets are NOT computers. I cannot stress this enough! They are mobile devices; therefore, you will see the mobile version of the members website when using mobile devices. The mobile version will condense information and show you a different layout. It will have menus and tabs in different locations. Use your phone or iPad after you are familiar with the site. It too, like the desktop version, works beautifully.

be fi ltered to your junk box. Lindsay and I activate profi les ourselves, so please give us some time. You may keep the temporary password, or you may change it under the account tab. Th e second step to get more comfortable as a member is to explore the member website a bit!

You’ll know you’re logged in because your screen will say, “Welcome to the GOOD Life, Jessica”, except your name will appear – or whatever you entered as your name when you fi lled out your registration (see photo above). Once logged in you’ll see info tabs across the top along with the Member Bulletin Board. At the very top of the page, there are seven tabs. Th e tabs are Governing, Administration, Community, Amenities, Venues, Lots, and Store. Check these tabs out. You’ll fi nd board meeting minutes, videos of board meetings and workshops, contact info for staff and Board members and more – all VERY useful info!

Th e Bulletin Board is a running feed of recent news from the corporation. Th is feed is divided into eight categories: Board, Golf, Royal Grille, Lakes, Safety, Marketing, General, and Events. Th e buttons for these categories are located right at the top. Every recent news post will be related to one of these eight categories. You can view all the posts based on date or category. Board agendas will appear under the “Board” button. Royal Grille weekly specials will be under the “Royal Grille” button. If you want to know the latest information on one of the golf courses, simply click the “Golf” button. To see all the recent news, just scroll down through the “Bulletin Board,” which is listed in the order of the date posted. Important phone numbers are listed to the right. Also, to the right is where a live meeting will show when in progress.

Th is year we are working to make our meetings a better viewer experience for our members, so please bear with us as we do some research. We are marketing people and know what it needs to look like – not IT, computer and techie people who know how to actually make it work!

Back to the main point of this article, which is telling you about how Lindsay and I are pulling our marketing eff orts inside to internal initiatives while, maintaining external initiatives. For example, a new member onboarding process. We plan to connect with selling agents as soon as they list a Canadian Lakes property – especially if they are not a local realtor. We’ll connect with buyers as soon as title work is ordered on a Canadian Lakes property. We plan to meet buyers right when they close on their Canadian Lakes property and greet them with a completely redesigned new member pack and even a welcome gift . All of this will be in eff orts to inform the new members coming in and of course, we’ll be connecting with current members in better ways to help them to better understand diff erent facets of the corporation.

As always, nothing is left without some fun as well. In the last issue of the Canadian Laker, the marketing article was simply all about some Christmas Fun. Debra Derry (pictured) knew all the Christmas movie lines quoted. Just over sixty members took part in the fun and just under fi ft y of them got all quotes correct! Debra was the lucky member however and scored herself a Canadian Lakes throw, a Canadian Lakes North Face zip-up jacket, two Canadian Lakes mugs, that offi cial Canadian Lakes community license plate, which can be purchased at the offi ce for just $12 plus tax, (sorry, in-person sales only) and a $50 Royal Grille gift card.

I received so many notes from members saying how much fun they had playing. To some, it became a family aff air. Th e contest may just become a December/January issue tradition!

Be watching this year – you’ll see internal marketing happening. As you see it happening, remember that external marketing and advertising is still taking place. We will maintain what has been built and perfect our internal process making us the most successful we can ever be externally! Cheers to 2022!!

Debra Derry and her prize!