ROI Calculator
What member recognition is worth to your private club
Retention, dues, and spend per member move when members feel recognized. Set your roster size, dues, and attrition below to see the forecasted outcomes for your own club — then download the summary to share with your board.
ROI
A $22K investment. A $142K return.
Adjust the inputs below to model your club's numbers.
$142K
Total Annual Value
6.5x
ROI
4
Members Retained
−1.5 pp
Attrition Reduction
Cost of service-related attrition
$142K saved annually
How we get there
Line-by-line breakdown
| Metric | Current | With Knownly | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Attrition | 7.0% | 5.5% | −1.5 pp |
| Service-Related Losses | 17 | 13 | +4 |
| Annual Dues Lost | $204K | $156K | +$48K |
| Non-Dues Revenue (NDR) Lost | $51K | $45K | +$6K |
| Member Acquisition Cost (CAC) | $68K | $52K | +$16K |
| Added NDR (Uplift) | — | +$72K | +$72K |
| Total Annual Impact | $323K | $181K | +$142K |
Inputs
800
$12,000
$3,000
7.0%
$4,000
$22,000
Assumptions & sources
- Total Attrition
- Assumption: baseline attrition is 7% per year; Knownly cuts it by 1.5 percentage points (to 5.5%) via anticipatory service that catches at-risk members before they churn.
- Source: GGA Partners, “2023 Private Club Attrition Study” (industry baseline 7–10%). Knownly 1.5 pp lift modeled from anticipatory-service case studies.
- Service-Related Losses
- Assumption: 30% of departing members cite service failures (slow response, missed preferences, feeling unrecognized). This is the only subset Knownly takes credit for retaining — dues/CAC math applies to this slice only.
- Source: GGA Partners member exit-interview research; corroborated by Club Benchmarking member-loss reason coding.
- Annual Dues Lost
- Formula: service-related losses × annual dues per member. Assumes a full year of forfeited dues per departing member (no proration).
- Source: Direct calculation from your inputs — no third-party assumption.
- Non-Dues Revenue (NDR) Lost
- Formula: service-related losses × NDR per member. Retained members are credited at 50% NDR (conservative partial-year capture, since they would have spent for part of the year before leaving).
- Source: Club Benchmarking, “Non-Dues Revenue Composition Report” for the F&B / retail / events mix definition. 50% capture is a Knownly-conservative assumption.
- Member Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Formula: service-related losses × CAC per member. Assumes the club fully replaces every departing member (1:1 backfill) at the input CAC — initiation discounts, broker fees, and onboarding effort included.
- Source: Default $4K CAC sourced from National Club Association benchmark for U.S. private clubs (range $3K–$8K). Adjust to your club’s actual blended acquisition cost.
- Added NDR (Uplift)
- Formula: total members × NDR per member × 3%. Models a 3% lift in non-dues spend across the entire membership base (not just retained members) from anticipatory, personalized service.
- Source: Frontline Performance Group, “Anticipatory Service Revenue Impact Study” (observed lift 3–6%). Knownly uses the low end (3%) to stay conservative.
- Total Annual Impact
- Formula: (Annual Dues Lost + NDR Lost + CAC) − Added NDR Uplift. The Change column is Knownly’s net annual value to your club; dividing by the platform cost yields ROI.
- Source: Direct calculation — no third-party assumption.
Defaults: 800 members · $12K dues · $3K NDR · 7% attrition (GGA Partners) · 30% service-related share (GGA Partners) · 1.5 pp attrition reduction (Knownly model) · $4K CAC (NCA benchmark) · $22K platform cost · 3% NDR uplift (Frontline Performance Group).
Common Questions
The ROI model, answered plainly
What the forecast includes, what it deliberately leaves out, and which numbers to bring.
What does this calculator actually estimate?
It models the value of retaining members you would otherwise lose. You enter your roster size, annual dues, and current attrition rate; the calculator shows forecasted retention and spend outcomes at that scale. The figures are forecasts based on your own inputs, not measured results from another club.
Why would member recognition change retention at all?
Members resign for reasons that rarely appear in a survey: the club stopped feeling like theirs. Recognition is the observable version of belonging — being greeted by name, having a preference remembered, having something handled before it was asked for. Making that consistent is the lever this model prices.
What numbers should a General Manager bring to the model?
Three: total members on the roster, average annual dues per member, and the number of resignations in the last twelve months. If you also know average annual spend beyond dues — golf, dining, retail, events — include it, because recognition affects on-property spend as well as renewal.
Can I share the output with my board?
Yes. The summary is downloadable so it can go into a board or committee packet with your own inputs visible, which is usually the fastest way to get a decision on a pilot.
Is there a cost figure in the model?
Not yet. Pricing is set per club during the founding-club conversation, so the calculator deliberately shows the value side only. Ask us for pricing and we will give you a real number to subtract rather than a placeholder.
What is the smallest club this makes sense for?
Recognition matters most where members return by name, which includes small-roster clubs — a boutique ski or wine club may have more recognition pressure per member than a large country club. The relevant question is how often members return and how many staff touch them, not roster size alone.
Still deciding? Read all questions General Managers ask or talk to us.
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