High Falls Food Co-op (High Falls, N.Y.) launched a member drive in October, and although they fell a bit short of their goal of 50 new members, they did develop several strategies for gaining new members, which could be used in future drives.
The October membership drive — titled “Own it in October” — was the co-op’s first drive in several years, and the first one under its new management, which included membership in NCG. High Falls’ marketing manager, Jan Melchior, described the numerous activities, materials and incentives the co-op employed in its month-long drive.
“We ordered banners that can be reused every October, which sets us up nicely for repeating this,” Melchior said. “Our offer was a $20 discount on membership if you join in October, and we also had T-shirts printed as a special perk for this drive.”
The co-op also offered a $20 gift card to any member who got a friend to become a member during the drive. Additionally, the drive involved events in and around the store.
“We had a really nice member appreciation day in our parking lot on Oct. 14, which was a fairly rainy day, unfortunately,” Melchior said. Despite the weather, there was no lack of activities for members and potential members. “We had vendors sample out local beer, cocktail-flavoring syrups and baked goods, and we had our local apple farmer provide an apple tasting.”
For the event, High Falls Food Co-op hosted a lunch served outside the store under a tent and offered free apple cider donuts and cider, a pumpkin painting tent and an “inspection of pond critters” with a local science teacher, who is also a board member. Board members also had a table, greeted attendees and talked with them about joining the board.
In another effort to gain new members, the co-op boosted Facebook and Instagram posts on social media, encouraging people to join before the end of the month to get the perks. Melchior said they encouraged cashiers to promote the membership drive, giving them buttons to wear that read “Ask me about owning it in October.”
High Falls Food Co-op was recently featured in a Hudson Valley–area newspaper for its efforts in attracting and serving members. Read the story here.
