You can click on the picture to get a larger view.
Five Reasons We will Avoid Depression II
To keep my mind active, I spend time reading in three interest areas, economics, history and sports. So here is a chart that incorporates two of them -- history and economics. We have had and will continue to have some challenging economic times. But this table highlights why it will not be a reply of Depression II.
You can click on the picture to get a larger view.
You can click on the picture to get a larger view.
Does the Washington Post have the Full Story?
The Washington Post headlined the struggles of associations today on the front page of the Business Section. The article presented a pretty dire story faced by many associations. The Post says,
“Reflecting the economic turmoil of the industries they represent, many national trade associations based in Washington are hemorrhaging members who either have lost their jobs, run a financially distressed business or said they need to spend their dwindling discretionary dollars on necessities rather than dues.” [1]
Clearly, associations serving industries in decline have a tougher road than others.
But it is also good to keep in mind that applying best membership marketing practices and meeting member needs during challenging times can and does still result in growth.
Here is one example spotlighted in a press release about the exceptional growth this year for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Membership has gone from 36,000 in 1992 to 250,000 this year making them one of the largest U.S. associations.
In part, SHRM attributes this rise in membership to the aggressive membership acquisition program that they launched in 1992 and have consistently maintained and improved over the years.
I think that Michael Treacy says in well, “Growth endures not because of fortuitous demand, a hot product, or any single tactic. Growth endures when management follows a portfolio of disciplines to ensure that a broad set of growth opportunities are identified and captured as routinely as costs are controlled and processes are improved.” [2]
Is your organization disciplined in it approach to growth?
[1] By V. Dion Haynes, Washington Post Staff Writer, Trade Groups Regroup, Monday, December 15, 2008; Page D01
[2] Michael Treacy, Double-Digit Growth.
“Reflecting the economic turmoil of the industries they represent, many national trade associations based in Washington are hemorrhaging members who either have lost their jobs, run a financially distressed business or said they need to spend their dwindling discretionary dollars on necessities rather than dues.” [1]
Clearly, associations serving industries in decline have a tougher road than others.
But it is also good to keep in mind that applying best membership marketing practices and meeting member needs during challenging times can and does still result in growth.
Here is one example spotlighted in a press release about the exceptional growth this year for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Membership has gone from 36,000 in 1992 to 250,000 this year making them one of the largest U.S. associations.
In part, SHRM attributes this rise in membership to the aggressive membership acquisition program that they launched in 1992 and have consistently maintained and improved over the years.
I think that Michael Treacy says in well, “Growth endures not because of fortuitous demand, a hot product, or any single tactic. Growth endures when management follows a portfolio of disciplines to ensure that a broad set of growth opportunities are identified and captured as routinely as costs are controlled and processes are improved.” [2]
Is your organization disciplined in it approach to growth?
[1] By V. Dion Haynes, Washington Post Staff Writer, Trade Groups Regroup, Monday, December 15, 2008; Page D01
[2] Michael Treacy, Double-Digit Growth.
Costco Membership Up 30,000 per Week and Renewals at All-Time High of 87%
Retailers have been hit particularly hard this season, but not retailers who offer membership. Costco is reporting big membership gains and strong membership renewals.
“At quarter-end on November 23, our paid executive membership topped eight million, an increase of almost 400,000 or 5% just in the last 12 weeks or about 30,000 per week increase in the quarter so again its still has been a big success for us. . . In terms of renewal rates as I said they continue strong, essentially our all-time high renewal rate. At Q1 2009 the numbers both for business, Gold Star end total were the same as they were at fiscal year end and rounding up a percentage point versus a year ago, business coming in at 92%, Gold Star at 86%, and total a shade about 87.0%.“[1]
How can you replicate this success in your organization?
[1] Costco Wholesale Corporation F1Q09 (Qtr End 11/23/08) Earnings Call Transcript
“At quarter-end on November 23, our paid executive membership topped eight million, an increase of almost 400,000 or 5% just in the last 12 weeks or about 30,000 per week increase in the quarter so again its still has been a big success for us. . . In terms of renewal rates as I said they continue strong, essentially our all-time high renewal rate. At Q1 2009 the numbers both for business, Gold Star end total were the same as they were at fiscal year end and rounding up a percentage point versus a year ago, business coming in at 92%, Gold Star at 86%, and total a shade about 87.0%.“[1]
How can you replicate this success in your organization?
[1] Costco Wholesale Corporation F1Q09 (Qtr End 11/23/08) Earnings Call Transcript
The Word on the Street
I have enjoyed emailing and talking with a number of marketers over the last few weeks. The constant question that I am asked is, “what are you seeing out there with other associations?”
It is a smart question, because according to McKinsey and Company,” the broader forces at work in the global economy mean that the underlying economics of strategies could continue shifting with unprecedented speed and scale. Such extreme uncertainty demands constant attention.”[1]
So here is what I am hearing from you and your colleagues. Exhibits, sponsorship, and advertising are being hit hard with sales declines and cancellations. Interestingly, I have yet to speak to anyone who is having a downturn in their membership results or budgets from the last few months of turbulence. In fact, most groups are on or above budget for membership.
I have heard one thing that concerns me. It appears some organizations are stealing from Peter to pay Paul. In other words, they are cutting membership marketing budgets to compensate for losses in other areas. I understand the reality of budgets, but I continue to maintain that winning and keeping members during the tough times is a solid strategy.
Again from McKinsey and Company, “To weather the storm, it will be necessary to identify anew who and where the profitable customers are and to prioritize the most effective marketing and sales vehicles for reaching them.” Or in other words, do not take money from what is working.
Please feel free to share what you are experiencing.
[1] David Court, The downturn’s new rules for marketers: The old recession playbook won’t work this time around, The McKinsey Quarterly, DECEMBER 2008.
It is a smart question, because according to McKinsey and Company,” the broader forces at work in the global economy mean that the underlying economics of strategies could continue shifting with unprecedented speed and scale. Such extreme uncertainty demands constant attention.”[1]
So here is what I am hearing from you and your colleagues. Exhibits, sponsorship, and advertising are being hit hard with sales declines and cancellations. Interestingly, I have yet to speak to anyone who is having a downturn in their membership results or budgets from the last few months of turbulence. In fact, most groups are on or above budget for membership.
I have heard one thing that concerns me. It appears some organizations are stealing from Peter to pay Paul. In other words, they are cutting membership marketing budgets to compensate for losses in other areas. I understand the reality of budgets, but I continue to maintain that winning and keeping members during the tough times is a solid strategy.
Again from McKinsey and Company, “To weather the storm, it will be necessary to identify anew who and where the profitable customers are and to prioritize the most effective marketing and sales vehicles for reaching them.” Or in other words, do not take money from what is working.
Please feel free to share what you are experiencing.
[1] David Court, The downturn’s new rules for marketers: The old recession playbook won’t work this time around, The McKinsey Quarterly, DECEMBER 2008.
Successfully On Boarding and Engaging New Members
How can you increase the retention rate of your first year members by 12 percent?
Darryl Walter, formerly with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and now with The Wildlife Society shared how he did it in the November issue of DMAW Marketing Advents.
As you may have read in this blog before, the most likely members to leave an association are first year members. In marketing terms, these members are in their conversion year and need special care in order
The successful solution highlighted in the article featured a monthly ‘welcome’ telemarketing program. The new members were called and thanked for joining and asked if they had received their magazine and new member kit.
“In analyzing the effectiveness of the telemarketing call”, Walter writes, “we averaged a 12 percent increase in conversion rate for those who received the telemarketing call versus those we were unable to contact.”[1]
Why might this tactic have been so effective? Research shows that a key predictor of renewal for new members is generating a second interaction between the member and association after joining. So the goal of an engagement or on-boarding program needs to be to get additional interaction. The tactic used is not as important as the interaction that you need to achieve.
What are you doing to engage the new members in your organization?
[1] Darryl Walter, Show Your New Members Some Love, DMAW Marketing Advents, November 2008, page 5.
Darryl Walter, formerly with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and now with The Wildlife Society shared how he did it in the November issue of DMAW Marketing Advents.
As you may have read in this blog before, the most likely members to leave an association are first year members. In marketing terms, these members are in their conversion year and need special care in order
The successful solution highlighted in the article featured a monthly ‘welcome’ telemarketing program. The new members were called and thanked for joining and asked if they had received their magazine and new member kit.
“In analyzing the effectiveness of the telemarketing call”, Walter writes, “we averaged a 12 percent increase in conversion rate for those who received the telemarketing call versus those we were unable to contact.”[1]
Why might this tactic have been so effective? Research shows that a key predictor of renewal for new members is generating a second interaction between the member and association after joining. So the goal of an engagement or on-boarding program needs to be to get additional interaction. The tactic used is not as important as the interaction that you need to achieve.
What are you doing to engage the new members in your organization?
[1] Darryl Walter, Show Your New Members Some Love, DMAW Marketing Advents, November 2008, page 5.
The Importance of Membership Marketing Expertise
Marketing smart is more important than ever during these challenging times. And it does take time and practice to become a smart marketing or to become accomplished in any profession.
Malcolm Gladwell makes this point in his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little Brown).
He noted in a recent interview, “The 10,000-hours rule says that if you look at any kind of cognitively complex field, from playing chess to being a neurosurgeon, we see this incredibly consistent pattern that you cannot be good at that unless you practice for 10,000 hours, which is roughly ten years, if you think about four hours a day.”[1]
What are the lessons for us in Gladwell’s premise? First, it may be ask for help from those with experience. Be careful not to conclude that sufficient knowledge and insight reside exclusively in your organization. Secondly, pick what you want to be good at and keep learning. Put in the time and effort to become “good” at what you do.
[1] FORTUNE MAGAZINE Leadership 2008
Malcolm Gladwell makes this point in his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little Brown).
He noted in a recent interview, “The 10,000-hours rule says that if you look at any kind of cognitively complex field, from playing chess to being a neurosurgeon, we see this incredibly consistent pattern that you cannot be good at that unless you practice for 10,000 hours, which is roughly ten years, if you think about four hours a day.”[1]
What are the lessons for us in Gladwell’s premise? First, it may be ask for help from those with experience. Be careful not to conclude that sufficient knowledge and insight reside exclusively in your organization. Secondly, pick what you want to be good at and keep learning. Put in the time and effort to become “good” at what you do.
[1] FORTUNE MAGAZINE Leadership 2008
It is the Best of Times!
Eighty percent of marketing is very logical. However, twenty percent of it is counter intuitive. Understanding the counter intuitive aspects of marketing is what often determines success.
Here is an example of a non-logical truth. The best time to acquire new members can be during an economic downturn.
Yes, you read that correctly.
As I scan reports for membership acquisition efforts, I am seeing some very strong returns. One organization that I spoke with today is seeing a turn around this year after many years of declining membership. Another long term client is experiencing their best new member year ever.
Why is this?
First of all, any change prompts people to look at new opportunities and solutions. We are clearly in the midst of great change as a society.
Secondly, during times of economic uncertainly, people look for an anchor. Professionally associations can be that anchor. Think for a second, if you knew your job was in jeopardy, isn’t one of the first places you would go for help your professional association or network. That is the place to make contacts, go to job boards, attend meetings, and interact on a list serv.
Here is the bottom line. Don’t base your marketing on what you hear in the news or what seems logical. Stay in the membership acquisition market – emphasizing the unique services you alone can provide -- and read the marketing results. You might be surprised by the number of loyal members you will add when you become their knight in shining armor.
Here is an example of a non-logical truth. The best time to acquire new members can be during an economic downturn.
Yes, you read that correctly.
As I scan reports for membership acquisition efforts, I am seeing some very strong returns. One organization that I spoke with today is seeing a turn around this year after many years of declining membership. Another long term client is experiencing their best new member year ever.
Why is this?
First of all, any change prompts people to look at new opportunities and solutions. We are clearly in the midst of great change as a society.
Secondly, during times of economic uncertainly, people look for an anchor. Professionally associations can be that anchor. Think for a second, if you knew your job was in jeopardy, isn’t one of the first places you would go for help your professional association or network. That is the place to make contacts, go to job boards, attend meetings, and interact on a list serv.
Here is the bottom line. Don’t base your marketing on what you hear in the news or what seems logical. Stay in the membership acquisition market – emphasizing the unique services you alone can provide -- and read the marketing results. You might be surprised by the number of loyal members you will add when you become their knight in shining armor.
Building Your Constituency in order to Build Your Membership
You can call it branding, you can call it building awareness, you can even call it feeding your database, but it is an important new way to ultimately grow your paid membership.
Let me explain this by relating the recent membership success of my friend Howard Wahlberg.
Howard is the Assistant Executive Director at the National Science Teachers Association. He has seen his membership grow from 55,000 to over 60,000 during the past two years.
He is doing the right things: sending out marketing campaigns, testing messaging and packaging, segmenting his market, etc.
But he has another very powerful tool. The team at NSTA has established a electronic newsletter over the past few years that now includes over 280,000 subscribers – including his 60,000 members. The newsletter – NSTA Express – is automatically provided to members and is also offered free of charge to non-members. Subscribers come from visiting the NSTA home page or the “forward to a friend” button in the newsletter.
Obviously, it is a helpful resource to members. But what is really exciting about NSTA Express is how it exchanges some free information from the association in order to build the constituency or market mindshare for NSTA.
With the opt-in email relationship, NSTA gains some important opportunities.
1. Express builds awareness and allegiance to NSTA by informing and orienting prospective members to the services, activities, and resources available from NSTA.
2. Express allows NSTA build a database of those who are interested in Science education and since subscribers can self select the content from three versions; it helps NSTA to know people’s interest areas.
3. Express allows NSTA to take the pulse of what topics and issues are most important by reading click through reports.
4. Express provides a platform for NSTA to promote products and upcoming events, and yes, sell membership.
And since the newsletter was already created as a service to members, it costs very little to share it with the larger audience.
Sometimes we can become overly focused on making the membership sales instead of helping prospective members dip their toe into the water and more gradually become involved. But almost always building your network will translate into paid members.
Let me explain this by relating the recent membership success of my friend Howard Wahlberg.
Howard is the Assistant Executive Director at the National Science Teachers Association. He has seen his membership grow from 55,000 to over 60,000 during the past two years.
He is doing the right things: sending out marketing campaigns, testing messaging and packaging, segmenting his market, etc.
But he has another very powerful tool. The team at NSTA has established a electronic newsletter over the past few years that now includes over 280,000 subscribers – including his 60,000 members. The newsletter – NSTA Express – is automatically provided to members and is also offered free of charge to non-members. Subscribers come from visiting the NSTA home page or the “forward to a friend” button in the newsletter.
Obviously, it is a helpful resource to members. But what is really exciting about NSTA Express is how it exchanges some free information from the association in order to build the constituency or market mindshare for NSTA.
With the opt-in email relationship, NSTA gains some important opportunities.
1. Express builds awareness and allegiance to NSTA by informing and orienting prospective members to the services, activities, and resources available from NSTA.
2. Express allows NSTA build a database of those who are interested in Science education and since subscribers can self select the content from three versions; it helps NSTA to know people’s interest areas.
3. Express allows NSTA to take the pulse of what topics and issues are most important by reading click through reports.
4. Express provides a platform for NSTA to promote products and upcoming events, and yes, sell membership.
And since the newsletter was already created as a service to members, it costs very little to share it with the larger audience.
Sometimes we can become overly focused on making the membership sales instead of helping prospective members dip their toe into the water and more gradually become involved. But almost always building your network will translate into paid members.
Blogging and Twitter Seminars
Friends of this blog, Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer, have put together several seminars on social networking that they are making available. They look really good. You can contact them directly to find out more at: Social Fish.
Here are a couple of the upcoming topics that are available.
Introduction to Personal Blogging (101 level)
- How to listen like a blogger before you ever write your first post
- Blog set-up basics, from configuring a free blogging platform to optimizing RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools
- Secrets behind great blog writing
- Getting comments and building community
- Personal branding through your blog
Introduction to Association Blogging (101 level)
- Secrets behind great blog writing
- Different types of posts that can add spice to association blogs
- Technology tricks, from optimizing RSS feeds and using social bookmarking tools to syndicating your blog content all over the web
- Getting comments and building community
- How to be authentic and good alternatives to ghostwriting
- Developing voice and personality in single or multi-author association blogs
Getting Started on Twitter (101 level)
Learn how to sign up, how to follow the most relevant people, what is Twitter etiquette, how to use Twitter Search, and some of the different applications to choose from for viewing your Twitter stream online or on the go.
By the way, I am on Twitter now. You can connect to me at with this link.
Economic Growth: Comparison of Non-Profits to the National GDP
How are non-profit organizations growing compared to the overall economy?
Based on data from 2002 through 2006 (the last industry specific data available) it looks like non-profits are falling behind the rest of the economy. To make this comparison, I looked at the overall GDP against the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 813 which includes religious organizations; grant making and giving and social advocacy organizations; civic, social, professional and similar organizations.
During this period the overall GDP grew by 32% while the gross output by industry for 813 grew by 28%.
However, as in any statistical analysis there is another interesting slice of the numbers. When comparing just the civic, social, and professional organizations, which would include most professional societies, these groups experienced an output growth of 35% during this timeframe compared to the 32% GDP growth.
The data that I have access to will not take the industry comparisons all the way down to NAICS 813920 for Professional Organizations level. But this is something that each of us can look at for our own organizations. How did your organization fare during this timeframe?
Based on data from 2002 through 2006 (the last industry specific data available) it looks like non-profits are falling behind the rest of the economy. To make this comparison, I looked at the overall GDP against the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 813 which includes religious organizations; grant making and giving and social advocacy organizations; civic, social, professional and similar organizations.
During this period the overall GDP grew by 32% while the gross output by industry for 813 grew by 28%.
However, as in any statistical analysis there is another interesting slice of the numbers. When comparing just the civic, social, and professional organizations, which would include most professional societies, these groups experienced an output growth of 35% during this timeframe compared to the 32% GDP growth.
The data that I have access to will not take the industry comparisons all the way down to NAICS 813920 for Professional Organizations level. But this is something that each of us can look at for our own organizations. How did your organization fare during this timeframe?
Membership as Economical Unemployment Insurance
Positioning your membership offer is as important as ever. And when it is done properly, I am seeing membership marketing response rates continue at a good pace this fall.
Here is an example of a smart way to position the benefits of a professional membership. I received this promotion in the mail the other day. The letter focused on the practical economic benefits of membership in this organization. One point was that membership was cheap unemployment insurance. Here is a quote from the letter:
“When I talk with younger colleagues, I have frequently described the value of STC membership as being a form of layoff insurance. Think about it: if you've accumulated a lot of additional skills and knowledge, you're more likely to weather layoffs because you will be more valuable to your employer. And even if you do get laid off, you'll probably be able to get another job quicker than your compatriots. Here's a little secret: STC members get a 14-day advance look at all the new job postings on the online Career Center. (It's an exclusive membership benefit.) That's a two-week head start on your competition.”[1]
The lesson here is that people still make purchases during tough economic times. But their priorities and motivations change. Be sure that your marketing differentiates your organization as a solution.
[1] Society for Technical Communication, Membership Letter, October 1, 2008.
Here is an example of a smart way to position the benefits of a professional membership. I received this promotion in the mail the other day. The letter focused on the practical economic benefits of membership in this organization. One point was that membership was cheap unemployment insurance. Here is a quote from the letter:
“When I talk with younger colleagues, I have frequently described the value of STC membership as being a form of layoff insurance. Think about it: if you've accumulated a lot of additional skills and knowledge, you're more likely to weather layoffs because you will be more valuable to your employer. And even if you do get laid off, you'll probably be able to get another job quicker than your compatriots. Here's a little secret: STC members get a 14-day advance look at all the new job postings on the online Career Center. (It's an exclusive membership benefit.) That's a two-week head start on your competition.”[1]
The lesson here is that people still make purchases during tough economic times. But their priorities and motivations change. Be sure that your marketing differentiates your organization as a solution.
[1] Society for Technical Communication, Membership Letter, October 1, 2008.
Making Your Marketing Memorable
Psychologists tell us that three of the parameters to help people retain information are Frequency, Intensity, and Duration.
So how can you apply these rules to make your marketing more memorable? Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.
Frequency: Marketing is remembered when multiple impressions are received. No we do not want to overwhelm members and prospects with repeated communications. However, in some key membership areas, I find that frequency is often lacking. For example, most organizations do not send out sufficient membership renewal notices. Surveys still show that many members have not renewed because they “forgot”. Here is another area. In an effort to limit email some organizations have moved to a single “combined” promotional email communication each month. But if email was achieving a 5% click through rate with a frequency of twice a week, it is unlikely that a 40% click through on a once a month communication will be achieved.
Intensity: In marketing, intensity relates to how effectively the promotion taps into a prospect’s emotions. A remarkably high number of buying decisions are made based on emotions and justified with reason. I wrote about using emotional drivers in a recent post. To enhance the intensity of your marketing first understand the wants and needs of your audience, then use stories and appeals to emotions -- like avoiding discomfort or embarrassment or gaining personal prestige or influence – to lock your message into the memory of your prospects.
Duration: In challenging economic times, one of the first budgets to be cut may be marketing. But research shows that organizations who keep marketing going over the long haul – taking advantage of duration -- build recognition and market share.
Here is one piece of research that I came across. An article from the journal Strategy and Leadership reported on a study of over 4,000 companies “the research showed that cutting marketing during a recession leads to reduced profitability in recovery, while increasing it leads to a 300% faster market share gain during better times.”[1] Keep this in mind as you look at your budgets.
How is your marketing doing in the areas of frequency, intensity, and duration? Feel free to share your insights.
So how can you apply these rules to make your marketing more memorable? Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.
Frequency: Marketing is remembered when multiple impressions are received. No we do not want to overwhelm members and prospects with repeated communications. However, in some key membership areas, I find that frequency is often lacking. For example, most organizations do not send out sufficient membership renewal notices. Surveys still show that many members have not renewed because they “forgot”. Here is another area. In an effort to limit email some organizations have moved to a single “combined” promotional email communication each month. But if email was achieving a 5% click through rate with a frequency of twice a week, it is unlikely that a 40% click through on a once a month communication will be achieved.
Intensity: In marketing, intensity relates to how effectively the promotion taps into a prospect’s emotions. A remarkably high number of buying decisions are made based on emotions and justified with reason. I wrote about using emotional drivers in a recent post. To enhance the intensity of your marketing first understand the wants and needs of your audience, then use stories and appeals to emotions -- like avoiding discomfort or embarrassment or gaining personal prestige or influence – to lock your message into the memory of your prospects.
Duration: In challenging economic times, one of the first budgets to be cut may be marketing. But research shows that organizations who keep marketing going over the long haul – taking advantage of duration -- build recognition and market share.
Here is one piece of research that I came across. An article from the journal Strategy and Leadership reported on a study of over 4,000 companies “the research showed that cutting marketing during a recession leads to reduced profitability in recovery, while increasing it leads to a 300% faster market share gain during better times.”[1] Keep this in mind as you look at your budgets.
How is your marketing doing in the areas of frequency, intensity, and duration? Feel free to share your insights.
[1] http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-columnists/2008/09/06/don-t-use-the-downturn-as-an-excuse-to-cut-marketing-91466-21684915/
Supply and Demand Applied to Membership Marketing
With gas prices up and down, we are hearing a lot these days about supply and demand. So I was thinking, how does supply and demand play out with membership marketing?
Here are three observations.
- Demand for membership renewals is fairly inelastic. Meaning a percentage increase in dues rates generally does not translate into an equal or greater percentage drop in renewals rates.
- Demand for membership acquisition is more elastic. Meaning a percentage dues discount usually translates into more members.
- Membership supply is very elastic. Meaning it is easy to increase the number of member benefits (i.e. magazines) to meet increased demand.
What implications does this have for your 2009 planning?
- You may have room to increase dues rates on renewing members.
- You may want to try a dues discount to encourage new members to join.
- You can quickly and easily meet an increase in demand for more memberships, so push growth.
Let me know if you agree with these observations.
ASAE Social Networking Group for Membership Marketing
If you are a member of ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership, you are eligible to participate in their social networking site. This is a place where you can post questions, engage in conversations, and connect to other like minded professionals.
Today, I set up a group on the site for Membership Marketing. If you would like to give it a try, I am including instructions here on how to register.
- Go to the ASAE home page.
- Select People and Groups
- Select Directories
- Select Member Directories and login or create a login
- Select Groups
- Under Quick Search, key in “Membership Marketing”
- Select “Membership Marketing” and join the group
Here is the initial discussion question that I have posted for the group:
How is the current economic slowdown impacting your membership? Are fewer members joining and renewing? Or are people flocking to your association for safety and help in finding jobs, customers, and information? Please share your experiences.
Please feel free to give the site a try.
Turning Data into Marketing Intelligence
I do not have an easy answer to this situation. But I believe that turning data into actionable knowledge remains one of the most substantial marketing challenges for associations.
From my interactions with associations, it seems that large amounts of data are now available from web trends, member and customer purchases, and email statistics. But moving the data to information and then into actionable knowledge continues to be out of reach for many.
That’s why I found an article Wes Trochlil’s just wrote and shared with me of interest. The article is “What's Plaguing Associations 2008” and is based on interviews with over 100 association executives on the biggest data management challenges that they face. He highlighted three top challenges in his article:
From my interactions with associations, it seems that large amounts of data are now available from web trends, member and customer purchases, and email statistics. But moving the data to information and then into actionable knowledge continues to be out of reach for many.
That’s why I found an article Wes Trochlil’s just wrote and shared with me of interest. The article is “What's Plaguing Associations 2008” and is based on interviews with over 100 association executives on the biggest data management challenges that they face. He highlighted three top challenges in his article:
- “System integration: integrating third-party systems and/or data to the primary database.
- Data integrity: Ensuring that the data in the database is up to date and accurate.
- System selection and implementation: selecting and implementing new association management systems.”
I encounter the first two problems regularly. As far as data integration, some organizations would benefit by appending third party data to their members and prospects, but have trouble adding this information to their CRM system. Some also end up maintaining multiple specialized databases in the organizations, but the knowledge is not linked from one to the other.
Data integrity is also a common challenge. Issues like entering marketing codes, keeping contact information up to date -- especially for former members, and consistent data standards are ongoing problems.
How have we dealt with this challenge? For the most part, we have found it necessary to extract data from clients’ databases in order to do clean up and analysis. The longer term solution may be to build data marts with the focus of gathering member and prospect behavior and slicing and dicing this into real marketing intelligence.
What do you think is the solution?
Membership Satisfaction Compared to Membership Loyalty: A Real Life Example
Many traditional surveys evaluate member satisfaction with an organization. But does satisfaction give a clear picture of what members really feel and want?
We wanted to find out! So in a recent membership survey, we asked both satisfaction and loyalty questions. These questions measure members’ feelings about the organization, their likelihood to renew membership and their willingness to recommend membership to others.
The findings comparing these two techniques were enlightening.
The good news is that we found that membership satisfaction ran at 90.8%.
However, we saw a much more diverse picture using our loyalty questions. Based on these questions we found:
- 57% of members could be categorized as “Advocates”: They express positive relationship feelings toward the organization, indicating an intention to remain a member and a willingness to recommend membership to others.
- 2% of members could be categorized as “Reluctant”: They express positive feelings toward the organization, but are hesitant to commit to future membership or recommending others.
- 18% of members could be categorized as “At Risk”: They express negative feelings toward the organization, but plan to remain a member. This segment often feels trapped in a membership with few or no alternatives.
- 23% of member could be categorized as “Detractors”: They express negative feelings toward the organization, indicating little intention to renew or refer others.
By measuring loyalty instead of satisfaction with this organization, a membership picture comes into focus that lends itself to action. This is especially true as each loyalty category is cross tabulated by job titles, membership tenure, company type, and other key demographics.
Do you have a meaningful measure of membership loyalty for your organization?
Just Published Article on Global Marketing Now Available
If your organization is U.S. based and looking to do membership marketing beyond the borders, you are facing some challenges including postal costs, prospect list availability, and language barriers.
In a just released article I wrote, you will find some guidance on how other organizations have handled some of these challenges. The article is Global Direct-Mail Membership Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities and appears in ASAE and the Center’s ASAE’s Global Links newsletter.
You will need an ASAE password to access it. However, I will check on getting permission to distribute copies if there are non-members who want to see it.
In a just released article I wrote, you will find some guidance on how other organizations have handled some of these challenges. The article is Global Direct-Mail Membership Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities and appears in ASAE and the Center’s ASAE’s Global Links newsletter.
You will need an ASAE password to access it. However, I will check on getting permission to distribute copies if there are non-members who want to see it.
10 Tips for Selling at Trade Shows
Booth duty at trade shows is a part of many of our jobs. So how is it done in a professional and helpful way? And, no it should not be a re-enactment of the movie Jaws.
Here is what I have learned from my experience and from my colleagues.
- Schedule Appointments Pre-Show: Before you go to the show be sure to call or email your friends, prospects, and members and invite them to come by the booth. Provide them with your booth number.
- Arrange Booth Traffic Pattern: Once the show starts, position yourself at the corner of the booth leaving a clear view of your booth message. Have your give-away (candy, gift, brochure) in the center of your booth, welcoming the entrance of your visitor.
- Initiate Interaction: Reach out to people who pass by the booth and connect to them by asking an openning question like, “Do you do engineering (fill in with your profession or field) work for your company?"
- Qualify Contact: Everyone is short on time at a trade show. There are many booths your visitor wants to see. So maximize everyone’s time with qualifying questions to see if your visitor is a decision maker for your product or service.
- Identify Problems or Pain: Go deeper with qualified decision makers. Ask questions to see what particular issues or challenges are present.
- Present Value Proposition: Provide a short, crisp outline of how you help with the particular problems that have been discussed. Your value proposition might sound something like, “We have members with that same challenge and they find that we help them by. . .”
- Obtain Contact Information: Most trade show sales take place well after the show. To get back in touch for a sale, you need to collect follow up information. A business card is the easiest way to get contact information.
- Agree on Next Steps: Get permission and agreement from your qualified prospect to follow up with them. This may be as simple as agreeing to send additional information. Write a note on the back of their business card with the action you need to take.
- Ask for Referral: Before a qualified prospect leaves you, be sure to ask them to send other attendees your way who might have similar needs. Ask them, “Who else do you know that might be helped by our services?”
- Prepare Follow Up Materials: Before you leave for the show, you should have your follow up materials assembled and ready to go. When you return, personalize your response with the agreed upon next steps and fulfill the request within days of your return.
Feel free to add any tips you have in the comments section. Also, I am curious to hear what you have seen done poorly at trade shows. We could come up with a top 10 list of what not to do.
Don’t Lose Your Postal Discounts
If you are getting ready to send out mailings later this fall, you need to be aware of upcoming new requirements from the United States Postal Service (USPS).
By November 23, 2008, the USPS will require all presorted Standard mail (including Non-Profit) to have addresses updated and verified against the National Change of Address (NCOA) database within 95 days of the mail date. If the update has not been done, you lose your money-saving discounts and are charged the non-automated, single-piece rates. This can mean hundreds if not thousands of dollars in added costs for mailers that fail to comply.
The NCOA system was put into place in 1986 in order to help the USPS reduce UAA (Undeliverable as Addressed) mail and also to help save mailers money that would otherwise be wasted on materials and postage for mail that could not be properly delivered. Over 40 million Americans change their address annually and the current NCOA database contains over 160,000 records of people who have moved over the past 48 months.
For someone to get into the database, at work or at home, they simply need to complete a USPS Change of Address card or go to the USPS Change Of Address web page. This creates a new record in the NCOA master database and updates the system.
A number of companies are providing services to NCOA mailing lists including my firm. If you are doing large quantities of mail, this is something that you should be sure to check on soon.
By November 23, 2008, the USPS will require all presorted Standard mail (including Non-Profit) to have addresses updated and verified against the National Change of Address (NCOA) database within 95 days of the mail date. If the update has not been done, you lose your money-saving discounts and are charged the non-automated, single-piece rates. This can mean hundreds if not thousands of dollars in added costs for mailers that fail to comply.
The NCOA system was put into place in 1986 in order to help the USPS reduce UAA (Undeliverable as Addressed) mail and also to help save mailers money that would otherwise be wasted on materials and postage for mail that could not be properly delivered. Over 40 million Americans change their address annually and the current NCOA database contains over 160,000 records of people who have moved over the past 48 months.
For someone to get into the database, at work or at home, they simply need to complete a USPS Change of Address card or go to the USPS Change Of Address web page. This creates a new record in the NCOA master database and updates the system.
A number of companies are providing services to NCOA mailing lists including my firm. If you are doing large quantities of mail, this is something that you should be sure to check on soon.
Insert Your Name Here
For awhile now I have been writing about the integration of the membership marketing concept into the world of retailing, insurance, and fundraising.
The press release that I came across today is another example: “Sep 01, 2008 -- Sam's Club, the wholesale division of Wal-Mart Stores, has promoted Cindy Davis to executive vice president of membership, marketing and e-commerce. . . Most recently, Ms Davis was responsible for membership and marketing and has led the organization to achieve several successes, said Wal-Mart.”
Many of us could drop our name in here as it relates to responsibilities and achievements. It has been interesting for me to note that of the hundreds of subscribers to this blog, an increasing number are from for-profit organizations.
I am convinced that there are important lessons to be learned and shared by both the for-profit and the non-profit practitioners of membership marketing. Do you have any thoughts on this?
The press release that I came across today is another example: “Sep 01, 2008 -- Sam's Club, the wholesale division of Wal-Mart Stores, has promoted Cindy Davis to executive vice president of membership, marketing and e-commerce. . . Most recently, Ms Davis was responsible for membership and marketing and has led the organization to achieve several successes, said Wal-Mart.”
Many of us could drop our name in here as it relates to responsibilities and achievements. It has been interesting for me to note that of the hundreds of subscribers to this blog, an increasing number are from for-profit organizations.
I am convinced that there are important lessons to be learned and shared by both the for-profit and the non-profit practitioners of membership marketing. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
