STAR 2018 Full survey results

[Patmo]

I’m not thinking that any of this has to be a do this-don’t do that, or do that-don’t do this, single solution scenario.  I’m more in favor of doing several things, but at different times.....

Direct mail....Letter....STAReview insert....post card reminders....blast e-mails....forum banners....Facebook link....etc.

They ALL have a place in the overall plan.  Some will be effective with some people, others willl be effective with other people.  There is no magic bullet here.  It all comes down to a cost:benefit relationship and what we can afford.  Getting back to basics,  but also taking advantage of newer options and opportunities if they make sense.

[NinjaBob]

An idea, maybe hairbrained but an idea: annual membership poll. Best Sport Touring Motorcycle of the year. Whatever wins, we negotiate with the manufacturer for a big discount on that model in return for promotion rights. Should sell a lot of tickets since its the members' favoriite. If we can get a steep discount, we should make a nice profit. 

[Paco Bulto]

As far as Honda donating a bike, I heard that they donated a new Pacific Coast to our Founder one time, but don't know of any other time. I know that when I was Prez from 1999-2003, Honda sold us a bike at dealer cost.
 

[DirtFlier]

I believe American Honda so far has been the only "manufacturer" to offer us a bike at dealer net, mainly via our connections when the club was called HSTA and it still holds today thanks to Jon Seidel.  All the non-Honda bikes used for the STAR raffle have come from dealers who give us some sort of modest discount but that's only a guess?

NinjaBob - getting the "steep discount" may be a tough hill to climb especially if the model is popular and in short supply.  Maybe the member poll should have 3 favorites not just 1?

[Patmo]

Would absolutely love to hear from all members as to what bike(s) they are interested in being raffled off.  Always looking for suggestions.  This has been a part of the after-STAR survey in the past.

Was the bike the problem?  Or something else?  In the past the sales were pretty consistent, no matter what bike was being raffled off. That leads to me believe that the bike wasn’t the biggest problem.

But with a 1000 members in the club.....if EVERYONE just bought 10.00 in raffle tickets we would have $10,000 dollars....that’s a great start toward getting something really really nice.

[NinjaBob]

For me a big draw for the raffle has been what I perceive to be great odds. Many people love to gamble, not me because I feel the odds are typically stacked against me in a casino or a lottery. The MSTA raffle odds are much better. So I have bout at least 8 to 10 tickets just about every year. This year I was not excited about the Versys but still bought 20 tickets.




I am really puzzled by the low ticket sales!

[stevegrab]

Is it worth doing a poll to all members, by mail or tear out page from STAReview, asking for feedback on the raffle? What factors impact buying tickets, what bike would they be interested in, etc.

We have limited members here, more on Facebook but still not everyone, and the STAR survey is only done my attendees. If we're trying to figure out why so few tickets sold this year, we need to hear from more members.

Even an online survey could work, with the request to fill it out sent by email to all members.

[bcd]

Like Bob, I'm not really a gambler. The bike raffle odds may be better than the state lottery, but I still don't expect to win. I view my ticket purchase as a donation to the club. It's not that I wouldn't want a free(ish) bike, but that's unlikely enough that it's not my motivation to buy tickets. Most raffle bikes, if I won I'd probably try to cut a deal with the dealer or sell it. I'd still come out ahead of the $40 or $50 I spent :-)

I do think Pat is right on target about using multiple means to advertise the raffle, to increase sales.

I also think it would be worth looking into making the prize either the bike or cash, possibly slightly less than the bike cost. The convenience of a cash payout to someone who isn't excited about a particular bike seems like a selling point. What I don't know is how this affects the legality of the raffle, or the negotiation with the supplying dealer.

[RichGrab]

Like many others, I too am not a real gambler. I like the odds of winning the raffle bike even if 5,000 actual tickets are sold. Not many places you can you have a 1:5,000 chance at winning a $7-15k prize? I too don't expect to win, and it was the shock of a lifetime when I did. Those who were close when it happened can attest to that. I also look at the money spent on a ticket as a donation to the club, and once again this year bought 5-10 tickets, same last year and the year I won. And there are also other prizes given away that you must be present to win - maybe that is part of the reason people see this as a STAR versus MSTA raffle since the only prize you can actually win, if not present, is the bike.

Also not sure of the possible legal or tax implications of the raffle with a huge prize in cash (it might even vary by state). The potential plus to the winner of getting cash versus the bike is coming up with the $$ to pay the IRS and State tax would be easier; and then they could buy what they want whether it's a car, bike, or whatever.

[Paco Bulto]

My thoughts, if I may share.
I normally buy and returned raffle tickets when they were mailed. If I attended STAR, I tended to buy more there, as I have seen that at our raffle and at another that our dealer has each year to give away a Gold Wing, it seems that the odds of winning are a bit better if you buy right before the raffle. It has happened more than once at my dealer's raffle and I believe more than once at STAR. Regardless of that, this year I wasn't in the raffle. I was on another bike trip with my son during STAR, so didn't buy them there. It is no excuse, but without having the tickets in my outgoing mail folder, I wasn't reminded to send them in and so I forgot about going on line to buy them. I know that it costs time and money to mail tickets, but I think it is possible that we might get a better participation by sending tickets or having a page in STAReview with a ticket form that can be mailed.
As far as popularity of the bike, I am sure that has an effect on sales for some. I normally participate regardless of the bike, since I know that I don't have to keep the bike if I win, but I can still profit from winning. In 1996  I won a new Suzuki Bandit 600 in an AMA drawing. Since I had no use for it, I sold it, paid income taxes on the winnings and still had enough $$ left for me and Donna to take a nice vacation to Australia to visit relatives. Having said that, I believe that the popularity of a new exciting model does result in more sales, such as when we had newly introduced RC51 in 2000.
In any case, those are my thoughts for what they are worth. Bottom line is I think a newly introduced model bike with tickets available both on line and some type of hard copy may help spur sales. A page in several issues of STARreview would not add cost to ticket distribution, so I think that it would be worth a try.

[normkern]

What is the objective of the bike raffle-
Raise money for the club?
Increase attendance at STAR?
Do it because we have always done it?
Something else?

Norm Kern

[stevegrab]

What is the objective of the bike raffle-
Raise money for the club?
Increase attendance at STAR?
Do it because we have always done it?
Something else?

Norm Kern

I think the idea was to give away a great prize to the members, and make a bit of money on the process. I suspect when it was first proposed and done it had to at least cover the cost, and with a good discount from Honda the club found they could make money.

Not sure how it increases attendance at STAR, the Aerostitch and any other prizes offered could impact that since you need to be present to win those.

We continue to do it like many other things because we've always done it, and it has generally been a positive thing for the club, and not a major financial burden. Same as why we have breakfast buffet included at every STAR, have them at large venues that can host a banquet, etc. (Note some of those things appeared on the survey comments as things some members do not value.)

I don't want to continue doing it just because we have for many years, nor do I want to see it go away because of a few bad years of ticket sales, without some attempts to remedy that first.

[Patmo]

Lots of good ideas in this thread.  I’m sure we will be implementing many of them in the future.

It my opinion that the bike raffle is a great benefit for the members of this club.  It’s hard to find another raffle where your chance of winning a bike is so good.  It’s also a way to raise funds for the club.  Funds that can then be used to promote events and to promote the club, thus providing even more value to being a member of the club. I want to see it continue and I want to see even more members participate.

[RichGrab]

Lots of good ideas in this thread.  I’m sure we will be implementing many of them in the future.

It my opinion that the bike raffle is a great benefit for the members of this club.  It’s hard to find another raffle where your chance of winning a bike is so good.  It’s also a way to raise funds for the club.  Funds that can then be used to promote events and to promote the club, thus providing even more value to being a member of the club. I want to see it continue and I want to see even more members participate.

I gotta agree with Pat here - it is a great member benefit and I personally don't believe opening it to non-members would help, except to put money in the clubs coffers. And if it's been going good for over 25 years, after just a few years of less than stellar performance don't think scrapping it is the best idea. Maybe having most prizes available to all members (not just those in attendance) could help sales. Looking forward to next year.

[TN2Wheeler]

Come on guys, you have got to know with out being told that dealers take bikes as trade ins. New or used you can trade a bike to a dealer.

Yes Jon that is true. But we are talking about two different things, exchanging a prize for something else versus trading in something. Taking the new bike and using as a trade in is FAR DIFFERENT than the option to put the winnings toward a different bike. For me to trade in something, first I must own it - YES??

And pay income tax on the full retail value.