Rapha Cycling Club Breakdown
See how Rapha Cycling Club Running is revolutionizing the customer experience with its membership program.
Rapha Cycling Club has emerged as a cornerstone of the global cycling community. The cycling brand’s mindfully designed membership program invites cyclists to a participate in a branded community experience where members can engage in exclusive events and enjoy special access to products. The RCC membership is paid membership program at an annual price point of $95.
In exchange, members receive an encapsulating experience blending real-world and digital engagements to foster a close-knit community of cycling enthusiasts.
The landing page
With its roots in a membership based business model, it is no surprise that Rapha Cycling Club’s online storefront represents a gold standard in marketing and managing their namesake membership program.
Let’s dive into some of the core components of their website architecture to identify some of the best practices that can be easily replicated.
Rapha promotes 3 key benefits on its membership landing page, with relevant CTAs driving people to learn more about each benefit.
Community
Products
Rides and Experiences
Community
By focusing on three key benefits, Rapha breaks up its membership program into easily digestible components, providing a sense of the experience while keeping the messaging clear and consistent.
Starting with community is a great way to demonstrate the brand’s values. By beginning the pitch of the program as a community-first offering signals the authenticity of the membership program (in contrast to brand’s whose landing pages go right into discounts, free shipping and other standard benefits). Community, however, remains vague and hard for consumers to quantify. At a $95 dollar price point, it is important to demonstrate how benefits outweigh the fees.
Products
Highlighting product offers is an effective way to provide members with clear, tangible value. By teasing discounts, exclusive access member’s can run some basic math based on the average retail price of products to see that the $95 fee can easily be recouped over a year.
Rides and Experiences
Rides and experiences helps further illustrate the community based membership experience. This valuable benefit is made possible by Rapha’s network of Clubhouses and chapters. A digital calendar with a list of events makes it easy for members to browse through available options.
In contrast to many membership programs that promote access to special events vaguely, Rapha provides a hyper-clear overview of what is available.
Additional Benefits
A list of additional benefits appears at the bottom of the landing page with a link to learn more. This link drives users to a page outlining each benefit in detail.
By providing members with a gallery of benefits to browse through (each with a CTA to learn more), Rapha not only provides users with clarity, but allows each to personalize their experience by digging into the benefits most important to them.
Tiers and Pricing
The RCC membership comes in a one-size-fits-all model at a price of £70 or $95 for a 12-month membership. Opting to offer a single tier helps simplify the decision-making process for potential members. However, a drawback is that you may wind up under-serving your most valuable customers and alienating others who can’t afford cost of membership.
Takeaways
Focus on Key Benefits Focus on a maximum of 3 core benefits when marketing your program. This helps simplify the user experience to maximize conversion.
Community and Authenticity Membership programs centred around community improves brand affinity by focusing more on brand and values based messaging over product based messaging.
Physical Component
Adding a physical component to a membership program allows brands to build relationships more easily. Though virtual events are a fantastic way to engage with members around the globe, nothing can replace time together in person.
Single Tier Memberships Don’t tier for the sake of tiering. A single tier pricing model makes the decision process straightforward but may lack the allure of tiered benefits for varying levels of engagement. Tiering may be appropriate when targeting different demographics. It is important to consider your goals and consumer behaviors when assessing tiering.