---
title: "Rules of Engagement: Join the Membership Club"
id: "22375"
type: "post"
slug: "rules-of-engagement-join-the-membership-club"
published_at: "2014-04-01T07:40:45+00:00"
modified_at: "2014-04-01T07:40:45+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/04/01/rules-of-engagement-join-the-membership-club/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/04/01/rules-of-engagement-join-the-membership-club.md"
excerpt: "Lessons from associations' for-profit kin, the membership club."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Brand Loyalty"
  - "engagement data"
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "C-Level"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Rules of Engagement: Join the Membership Club

Clubs—like Costco, AAA, and Wine of the Month—are not-so-distant cousins of associations, and Ozair Esmail knows both sides of the family.

President and chief marketing officer of The Clubs Group, Esmail led the launch of the Montgomery Ward Auto Club in the 1980s, early in his career. Today he consults for both for-profit clubs and associations on membership marketing and growth.

Here’s what he says associations can learn from the “lean, mean, membership-marketing machine” world of clubs:

**1. Engagement is all about benefits.** “In for-profit clubs, the engagement of a member is clearly based on a fulfillment of a benefit or a need,” Esmail says. “When they come for one of those benefits, the club’s main objective is to fulfill that benefit par excellence so the member walks away with a ‘wow’ feeling.”

**2. Eliminate red tape.** Clubs know member engagement must be trouble-free. For instance, if a member called about a hotel not honoring an auto-club discount, “I just gave them the check and I dealt with the hotel later on to recover the amount we paid,” he says.

**3. An excellent experience breeds loyalty.** Members may not engage with a club very often, so every interaction counts. “Clubs do everything they can to make sure that what the member signed up for is delivered. They make sure that their limited engagement is solid, so that members remember it and remain members for a long, long time because of that experience,” he says.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

[Joe Rominiecki](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/)

Joe Rominiecki is a contributing editor to Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/)

Tags: [#Brand Loyalty](https://associationsnow.com/tag/brand-loyalty/)
 [#engagement data](https://associationsnow.com/tag/engagement-data/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)

**Stay Informed**

[Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/)
, *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day.

## You Might Like

- [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/)
- [VideoKnowing Y: Engage the Next Generation NowAugust 4, 2014](https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/04/knowing-y-engage-the-next-generation-now/)
- [Video4 Lessons Old School Hip Hop Teaches Us About Engaging Our MembersFebruary 14, 2014](https://associationsnow.com/2014/02/14/4-lessons-old-school-hip-hop-teaches-us-about-engaging-our-members/)
- [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/)

## Comments

**Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/)

[Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F04%2F01%2Frules-of-engagement-join-the-membership-club%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!