Last week I had the chance to facilitate a session at the ASAE and the Center’s Super Swap meeting.
Of course, the topic of social media came up for conversation. And my impression from those who shared made me feel that many associations are experimenting with various social media tools, but may not have a focused strategy in place on what they are trying to accomplish.
As I was thinking about it this week, I came across a post on the LeaderConnect blog that summed up many of my thoughts on the practical uses of social media really well. So I wanted to share the three points this blog made on practical social media strategies here.
• “In-bound marketing. You’re trying to “get found” in an age of media clutter and ever-more effective ways of blocking your marketing messages. Outbound marketing—advertising, direct mail, trade shows, PR—will always be necessary but our patience with that sort of messaging evaporated a long time ago. You want to be where your potential members are and position yourself as an organization with interesting, worthwhile things to offer. They come to you rather than you beating on their door begging to be let in.
• Lead generation. You’re trying to find them without renting a list or paying the trade magazine in your industry to do it or buying a booth at a trade show in order to collect business cards. If you are in the right social media groups and you’re paying attention and posting content that the group cares about, you will find potential members (and speakers and sponsors and contributors).
• The Deep Sell. We had a wonderful client at Pier 1 Imports years ago. He called content “the deep sell.” You are not selling Papa-san chairs. You are selling relationships, access to a network of smart people who share interests and want to have substantive, valuable exchanges of information. You can’t do that in a one-page ad. Social media enables you to explain yourself, to market yourself based on value rather than on price.”
The unifying strategy here is using social media to connect potential members and prospects with you. I describe it as an economical way to put a store on a major highway. Prospective members are driving by and social media can give them a place to pull over and connect with you. If you would like to read the entire post, here is the link.
Please let me know what you think.
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Open Community: A Little Book of Big Ideas for Associations Navigating the Social Web
But I stuck with it and I am glad that I did. Because as I continued to read , I found the book to be a very practical and constructive guide on how to go about starting and developing a social media strategy for an association.
The book provides a step by step road map on how to start by listening to the market, building an organizational consensus around the purpose, and launching low risk efforts to see what works best.
But what I particularly appreciate about Open Community is the clear call to purpose and focus for social media.
The book makes clear “that just using social media for the sake of having a Facebook Page or a Twitter account just doesn’t make sense. There has to be a real, ‘show me the ROI’ reason to start and some business intelligence backing that up.”1.
Open Community also emphasizes building a value proposition around your social media strategy. “The most important question is this: What can your members get from your social spaces that they can’t get anywhere else? If you can’t answer that question, start over.”2.
Finally, the book highlights some of the add-on benefits social media provides to an association like empowering members to champion the organization to others and providing staff with real time feedback on association events, marketing, and content.
There is one thing that I think would make the book more helpful – maybe Lindy and Maddie are setting us up for a sequel. It is great to say a social media strategy needs to have an ROI focus and a clear value proposition, but it is another thing to do it. I think that even though every situation will be different, the book would have benefited from some case studies that highlight the ROI and value that associations have achieved by deploying a successful social media strategy.
The bottom line is that if starting or improving your social media strategy is part of the plan for 2011, then it is well worth buying, reading, and using the ideas in Open Community.
1. Lindy Dreyer and Maddie Grant, CAE, Open Community: A Little Book of Big Ideas for Associations Navigating the Social Web, 2010, page 40.
2. Ibid. page 140.
The Correlation of Social Media Usage and Membership Growth
As I dive into the data from our 2010 Membership Benchmarking Survey, I am discovering some very interesting outcomes. I will be sharing some of them on this blog, but of course the full report will go to the 405 associations who participated in the research.
The power of any survey data is not in the answers themselves, but in the cross tabulations. Looking at one answer compared to another. Today I took a look at official usage of social media by associations cross tabulated with associations reporting either membership growth or decline.
The crosstabs highlight patterns or correlations that can aide an organization in making decisions. However, please remember that a correlation is not a prediction. Because organizations doing one activity display higher growth rates than those that do another does not mean that replicating that one behavior will result in growth.
There is a lot to discuss in today’s data. Here are a few comments. First of all, there has been an explosion of the use of social media in associations. Only 8% of associations participating in the survey said that they do not officially use any social media tools.
The most popular social media application used by associations is Facebook with over 75% of associations reporting that they officially use it as an organization.
On the other hand, only 17% of associations reported that they have a “private association social network”. And those organizations who have a private social network are 28% more likely to report growth in membership compared to the average association. While groups that use LinkedIn are 13% more likely to report a decline in membership numbers.
Here is a chart that takes a look at the top responses from the survey.
I would appreciate your theories on what this data may be saying about social media and how it can impact an association. Feel free to post your thoughts.
The power of any survey data is not in the answers themselves, but in the cross tabulations. Looking at one answer compared to another. Today I took a look at official usage of social media by associations cross tabulated with associations reporting either membership growth or decline.
The crosstabs highlight patterns or correlations that can aide an organization in making decisions. However, please remember that a correlation is not a prediction. Because organizations doing one activity display higher growth rates than those that do another does not mean that replicating that one behavior will result in growth.
There is a lot to discuss in today’s data. Here are a few comments. First of all, there has been an explosion of the use of social media in associations. Only 8% of associations participating in the survey said that they do not officially use any social media tools.
The most popular social media application used by associations is Facebook with over 75% of associations reporting that they officially use it as an organization.
On the other hand, only 17% of associations reported that they have a “private association social network”. And those organizations who have a private social network are 28% more likely to report growth in membership compared to the average association. While groups that use LinkedIn are 13% more likely to report a decline in membership numbers.
Here is a chart that takes a look at the top responses from the survey.
News on Social Media and Membership Marketing
As we continue compiling the data for the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report for our upcoming release, I thought that I would share some trends that we are seeing related to social media. The data represents responses from nearly 700 unique associations.
The data suggests to me that there has been a nearly complete adoption by associations of the official use of at least some social media tools. Here are some interesting findings that I have noted.
• The top social media networks officially used for association membership are: Facebook 86%, Twitter 78%, LinkedIn (Public) 55%, YouTube 55%, and LinkedIn (Private) 29%.
• Associations have increased their official use of Twitter: 66% in 2010, 71% in 2011, and now 78% in 2012.
• Associations have increased their official use of YouTube: 35% in 2010, 45% in 2011, and now 53% in 2012.
• 11% of associations are now officially using Google+.
• Associations with more than 20,000 members are much more likely to use social media, 96% use Facebook, 90% use Twitter, and 70% use YouTube.
• 31% of associations with more than 20,000 members have a private social network.
• Only 2% of the 685 responding associations do not officially do any social networking, down from 8% in 2010 and 6% in 2011.
The question that we asked from which I drew most of this data was, “Which social media does your association officially use?” We are cross tabulating these responses against previous years’ data, the number of members, budget size, industry, and key membership statistics like new members, renewal rates, and overall membership growth.
The data suggests to me that there has been a nearly complete adoption by associations of the official use of at least some social media tools. Here are some interesting findings that I have noted.
• The top social media networks officially used for association membership are: Facebook 86%, Twitter 78%, LinkedIn (Public) 55%, YouTube 55%, and LinkedIn (Private) 29%.
• Associations have increased their official use of Twitter: 66% in 2010, 71% in 2011, and now 78% in 2012.
• Associations have increased their official use of YouTube: 35% in 2010, 45% in 2011, and now 53% in 2012.
• 11% of associations are now officially using Google+.
• Associations with more than 20,000 members are much more likely to use social media, 96% use Facebook, 90% use Twitter, and 70% use YouTube.
• 31% of associations with more than 20,000 members have a private social network.
• Only 2% of the 685 responding associations do not officially do any social networking, down from 8% in 2010 and 6% in 2011.
The question that we asked from which I drew most of this data was, “Which social media does your association officially use?” We are cross tabulating these responses against previous years’ data, the number of members, budget size, industry, and key membership statistics like new members, renewal rates, and overall membership growth.
Part Two: Three Membership Marketing Resolutions for the New Year
This is the second of three recommended membership marketing
resolutions that I wanted to share at the start of the New Year. In this resolution, I want to encourage you to
experiment with digital advertising as a means to spread your message much more
broadly and allow prospects to initiate a relationship with your organization.
Digital advertising -- from Search Engine Marketing (SEM), to
social media advertising, to banner ads and many other options -- continues to
grow at a very rapid pace. In the US it
is estimated that digital advertising, “will account for 21.8% of all ad
spend ($109.7 billion), up from 19% the year before.”
However, very few membership organizations are tapping into
this channel. The most recent Membership
Marketing Benchmarking Report highlighted that only 14% of associations use
search engine ads and only 12% use paid banner ads on other websites to create
and build awareness of their association.
There is a great deal of usage of
association sponsored social media sites, but in a sense this digital presence
is preaching to the choir instead of targeting brand new prospects.
Digital advertising offers some terrific benefits to
marketers.
·
Flexibility
– With SEM and social media ads, you can adjust and allocate funds on a
daily basis. It is not like a print
advertisement where once an ad runs there is not opportunity for adjustments.
·
Coverage
– Digital advertising gives you access to every corner of the world where there
is an internet connection. Reaching this
broadly with traditional media like direct mail can be prohibitively
expensive.
·
Targeting
– Digital advertising allows for pinpoint targeting by a person’s interests,
job, geographic location, and behavior.
You are able to place the right opportunity in front of the right
person.
·
Measurement
-- Response to digital advertising can be measured down to the penny. You can know impressions, clicks, and with
some effort the ultimate amount of purchases.
·
Speed –
You can literally have a digital advertising program up and running and
producing response in a day. However,
you will want to take the time to put in place a relationship building response
path to get the maximum value out of your media spend.
There are many options to explore with digital ads, but here
are some real life options that are working for membership organizations right
now.
Social Media Advertising
Ads in LinkedIn or Facebook can be targeted by interests, likes,
groups, skills, professions, and more.
Ads can be a direct membership offer that takes a prospect directly to a
membership join site. Facebook allows for tracking directly from the click on
the ad to your website’s “Thank You” page to verify the purchase. Or you can offer free content to encourage a
prospect to start a relationship with your organization like the sample below. 
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Both search and content ads can place your membership in
front of prospects who are searching for answers. An ideal offering for these ads is some free
content produced by your organization in exchange for their contact information
and an opt-in to continue communications.
This sample offers a free whitepaper on an important solution
specifically provided to members of this association.
Google Remarketing
Many organizations have done their due diligence on Search
Engine Optimization, but once a visitor leaves their site, they have no means
to continue the interaction. Google
Remarketing can be used to continue to present a specific product or offer to
the visitor on other pages once they have left your website. Here is an ad that
appeared in the Washington Post following a visit to my company’s website. 
Another benefit of digital advertising is that you can start
small and gradually build your program.
So it is something that you can experiment with over the course of this
year.
In my next post, I will look at one more resolutions that
you may want to consider in this year.
And if you find posts of help, you may want to participate in a webinar
on these resolutions that I will be doing for the ASAE Membership Section
Council on Wednesday, January 29th.
Registration for the webinar is free, but a site registration with ASAE
is required. You can sign up for the
webinar using this
link.Survey Responses Tell Best Media for Acquisition and Retention
In keeping with the theme of looking at best practices from other industries, I thought that the following survey results were helpful.
Target Marketing just reported the results for their 2008 annual Media Usage Forecast. The survey was based on responses from 340 marketing professionals in many industries.
Overall the survey showed, “Going into 2008, direct marketers expect to devote more money to acquisition, after a mostly equal focus on prospecting and retention in 2007. Looking back to last year’s survey results, this represents a more dramatic shift to new customer growth; respondents indicated a heavier dedication to retention activities in 2006 (53 percent).”[1]
I think this underlines the principle that you cannot solely retain your way to growth. Acquisition is needed.
Another interesting set of results from the report show which media had the best ROI for customer acquisition and for customer retention. As the chart below shows, direct mail won for customer acquisition and email for customer retention.
Target Marketing just reported the results for their 2008 annual Media Usage Forecast. The survey was based on responses from 340 marketing professionals in many industries.
Overall the survey showed, “Going into 2008, direct marketers expect to devote more money to acquisition, after a mostly equal focus on prospecting and retention in 2007. Looking back to last year’s survey results, this represents a more dramatic shift to new customer growth; respondents indicated a heavier dedication to retention activities in 2006 (53 percent).”[1]
I think this underlines the principle that you cannot solely retain your way to growth. Acquisition is needed.
Another interesting set of results from the report show which media had the best ROI for customer acquisition and for customer retention. As the chart below shows, direct mail won for customer acquisition and email for customer retention.
From my experience, in the association world, direct mail remains the single best media for acquiring new customers because it is is highly targeted, responses are measurable, and the volume is scalable. Email is advantageous for retention because you have an established opt-in relationship with the member.
Do these results hold true for you. Will you be doing more acquisition in 2008? Are you finding mail as the best ROI media for acquisition and email for retention?
[1] Target Marketing, March 2008, page 44.
Integrating Membership Marketing Channels to Grow Your Association
You may hear marketers say that they have done away with
direct mail and now only communicate with email. Or they only use content marketing
and do not send messages to prospective members through traditional outbound efforts.
However, the
integration of multiple marketing channels or pathways working together produces the best
results in getting and keeping members.
Here are six marketing channels that can work together to
support a thriving membership program.
1.
Word of Mouth
– Sometimes opportunities are handed to you that you can capitalize on quickly
through Word of Mouth efforts. One
client –
the American Nurses Association – used a negative comment on a national
television show to gain significant exposure and appreciation for defending
their members' professionalism through their social media word of mouth efforts. In fact, Word of Mouth and membership referrals are
consistently reported as the most productive ways to recruit new members. The
challenge is to consistently harness and motivate this people-driven
channel.
2. Online Digital Marketing – One of the fastest growing marketing channels used in
membership is Digital Marketing. This
takes advantage of paid advertising with search engines, Facebook, LinkedIn,
and other online opportunities. It can even be effective in engaging
and renewing current members who may not open an email, but will respond to an
opportunity they see from you on Facebook.
Digital marketing can be used to drive prospective members directly to a join or renew page or it can offer free, valuable content in exchange for the
respondent agreeing to opt-in to future communications. Those who show interest can then be followed
up with through traditional "push" marketing efforts. And because they raised their hand and demonstrated interest
in your materials, those who opt-in can respond to your other marketing efforts at five times
the rate of “cold” prospects.
3.
Direct
Mail – This channel remains one of the most effective and scalable methods
to recruit and renew members because it is easily targeted, trackable, and tactile. In fact, our 2018 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report highlighted that for individual membership associations, direct mail remains one of the most
effective tactics for recruitment. And previous research shows that associations
with renewal rates of 80% or higher are significantly more likely than those
with lower renewal rates to say direct mail is the most effective membership
renewal channel.
4.
Email –
Once a prospect is added to the database after a lead is captured, a purchase
is made, or someone joins the association, email becomes the most commonly used
marketing channel. It makes sense
because email is fast, inexpensive, and includes links back to the website
where a sale can be completed. Email also
allows you to read the behavior of the recipient. Did the email bounce? Did the recipient open
the email?
5.
Telemarketing
and Telephone Sales – With Caller ID, getting through to a prospect or
members on the phone has become a more challenging task, but for a highly
qualified prospect, like a lapsed member, telemarketing is very effective. The former member may have long since stopped
reading your email or opening your mailings, but a call from another human on
the end of the phone to answer questions or encourage a decision can make a
difference. A phone call from a peer or a
staff person can be particularly effective.
6.
Social
Media – By 2018, 95% of individual membership associations have an official
Facebook page, 89% use Twitter, 63% have a LinkedIn group, and 60% have a
YouTube channel. Clearly social media has
been almost completely integrated into association's marketing and
communications mix. This low or no cost
channel allows you to have a storefront on the main street of the
internet. The trick is to get prospects
and members to move from window shoppers into the store as buyers.
In addition to these primary membership marketing channels, there
are many others to consider including radio and TV commercials,
exhibiting, chapter initiatives, and print advertising.
Each of these channels is a marketing tool with strengths
and weaknesses. Some of these like Word
of Mouth, Digital, and Social Media can be most effective in starting a relationship
with a prospect and getting the conversation started. Others like Email, Direct Mail, and
Telemarketing are tools that are particularly effective in closing a sale and
taking an order. But none of them can be
fully effective without the support of the others.
As you plan your membership marketing efforts,
think through how each of these channels might best be used to help accomplish
your goals.
More Marketing Channels Available for Membership Recruitment
There are now more marketing channels to use in membership marketing than ever before. These options give us wonderful opportunities, but also some real challenges.
I thought that a former colleague of mine, Dave Taylor, expressed the potential challenges with adding more and more marketing channels well in his blog. He wrote,
“I believe that many, if not most, of the organizations pursuing this strategy will not be able to sustain this pace (or spend) to keep up with all these new channels. Even more dire: they will become so focused on managing all the new media (often with the same resources they had before the influx of the new media) that they will eventually dilute their attention to their core (and perhaps more pedestrian) programs – the same marketing programs that have proved all the ROI to this point in time.”
Ideally, careful tracking of membership recruitment will help define what marketing channels are most effective for your organization. And, in line with the quote above, I believe you need to track two key pieces of information. First, you want to look at ROI by channel. Where do the most members come from at an acceptable price? Secondly, you need to track where you invest your time. For example, social media can be fun and it can produce a good membership ROI, but if it takes up time that could be spent on more productive media, then it may not be the best investment.
Why get help for Membership Acquisition?
Many organizations seek outside help from advertising agencies and marketing firms when they are looking to acquire new customer or members. Why is that?
I think that the main reason is that we are very comfortable with using our “inside” marketing media channels. But we may need help when we try to employ less familiar “outside” marketing media.
As the following chart highlights, the process of making prospective members aware of an organization and recruiting them is highly dependent on the use of marketing media that does not reside within the organization. Outside media can come into play once again when a member defects from an organization.
I think that the main reason is that we are very comfortable with using our “inside” marketing media channels. But we may need help when we try to employ less familiar “outside” marketing media.
As the following chart highlights, the process of making prospective members aware of an organization and recruiting them is highly dependent on the use of marketing media that does not reside within the organization. Outside media can come into play once again when a member defects from an organization.
Membership Development from the Ground Up
Over the years, just about every membership marketing program has been influenced by tradition, internal politics, or database limitations.
So it was interesting when I met the other day with a talented marketer who joined a group that presented him with a clean slate for membership marketing. Since almost nothing was in place, he had to build the membership marketing program from the ground up.
It got me to thinking, what if I was in the same place? What if my only mandate was to grow membership based on sound marketing principles? What would my membership marketing program look like?
Well here is my take on the programs that I would put in place to get membership moving.
1. Build Awareness - My first action would be to harness the web. Awareness is the first step to any purchase. And the leading source for information for most people has become the Web. So membership development begins with using search engine optimization, search engine advertising, ad networks, and social media to help people who are seeking solutions provided by an association to find me. Tracking traffic sources and the effectiveness of keywords will help me identify the people and the value that my prospects are looking to find.
Anyone coming to my web site would be encouraged to register for a free association newsletter. This allows me to add the prospect to my database.
2. Recruit New Members - The fastest growing membership associations still rely on test-driven membership acquisition campaigns as the workhorse for gaining new members. Ineffective membership recruitment is the single biggest marketing reason for declining or stagnant memberships. So my second step would be to establish regular mail and email promotions to both house and outside lists, And because these promotions will typically be the largest outreaches that the association will do, they statistically lend themselves to head-to-head market tests. Testing will tell me the best lists, offers, messages, and packages to use going forward.
3. Engage New Members - Once a new member joins my association, he or she becomes the most likely member not to renew. Almost all associations show first year members as the lowest renewing cohort. The first year is therefore referred to as the conversion year for new members.
So once I get a flow on new members coming to the association, I would establish a conversion program. This type of effort is a multiple step orientation that helps the member to become engaged in the association. A sound conversion program certainly orients the member to the products, services, and opportunities provided by an association. It also should generate a second interaction with the member. This might be as simple as having the members complete a survey, but it optimally leads to a second purchase by the member of a product or attendance at a meeting. For example, sending new members a dollars off voucher for their first purchase can help them engage the organization as both a member and a customer.
A member who makes a second purchase from an association before it is time for the first renewal is much more likely to renew than the non-buying member.
4. Upgrade Members - Ideally, association membership should not be a static product. Just as car companies have introductory models, family models, and luxury models to fit the changing needs and desires of buyers, an association is wise to offer members different service packages.
So I would put in place an upgrade (or up-sell) program to move members from one membership tier or product package to the next higher one. It might be as simple as moving student members to a professional membership, adding additional periodicals to the membership package, or including newly published books as a part of the membership.
5. Renew Members - The days of the three-part mailed renewal series has come to an end. Instead, effective renewal systems are now built on multi-media contacts using a combination of mail, email, phone, and fax integrated with a Web renewal tool.
One of the reasons that I would put an integrated program in place is because survey research reveals the startling reality of why most members fail to renew—they simply forgot! It’s not because members have become more forgetful. It is because the competition for their attention has increased.
The use of multiple media and higher frequency of contact helps to break through the clutter that prevents the renewal message from getting through.
6. Reinstate Members - The most likely member to come back to an association is the one who most recently left. So a reinstatement or “win back” program is also a key practice that I would put in place. Win back lends itself to an integrated media approach. Since there is an established business relationship with the former member that hopefully includes an email opt in, mail, phone, and email are all acceptable channels to use in communicating with a former member. The messages to lapsed members will highlight the outstanding content that the member has missed in the last few issues of the magazine and upcoming networking opportunities that he or she might want to take advantage of with a renewed membership.
The win back program provides an important secondary benefit. A portion of members will leave an association each year, but a well run win back program serves as a report card on the effectiveness of the renewal system. A successful program highlights a leaky renewal system. An unsuccessful win back program announces that your renewal program has captured all the members who still had a desire to stay with the association.
As you can see, my focus for all the steps that I would put in place is primarily results driven. My goal in building a membership program from the ground up would be to initiate a relationship and work to retain it. Clearly there are product, services and value issues with every association that need to be addressed. These are important, but beyond the scope of what I am trying to address here.
However, I find that in many cases associations provide great value. They enjoy a loyal and continuing membership. Marketing is the missing ingredient to membership success.
Please share the items that you would add or subtract from my list of what your membership marketing program would look like.
So it was interesting when I met the other day with a talented marketer who joined a group that presented him with a clean slate for membership marketing. Since almost nothing was in place, he had to build the membership marketing program from the ground up.
It got me to thinking, what if I was in the same place? What if my only mandate was to grow membership based on sound marketing principles? What would my membership marketing program look like?
Well here is my take on the programs that I would put in place to get membership moving.
1. Build Awareness - My first action would be to harness the web. Awareness is the first step to any purchase. And the leading source for information for most people has become the Web. So membership development begins with using search engine optimization, search engine advertising, ad networks, and social media to help people who are seeking solutions provided by an association to find me. Tracking traffic sources and the effectiveness of keywords will help me identify the people and the value that my prospects are looking to find.
Anyone coming to my web site would be encouraged to register for a free association newsletter. This allows me to add the prospect to my database.
2. Recruit New Members - The fastest growing membership associations still rely on test-driven membership acquisition campaigns as the workhorse for gaining new members. Ineffective membership recruitment is the single biggest marketing reason for declining or stagnant memberships. So my second step would be to establish regular mail and email promotions to both house and outside lists, And because these promotions will typically be the largest outreaches that the association will do, they statistically lend themselves to head-to-head market tests. Testing will tell me the best lists, offers, messages, and packages to use going forward.
3. Engage New Members - Once a new member joins my association, he or she becomes the most likely member not to renew. Almost all associations show first year members as the lowest renewing cohort. The first year is therefore referred to as the conversion year for new members.
So once I get a flow on new members coming to the association, I would establish a conversion program. This type of effort is a multiple step orientation that helps the member to become engaged in the association. A sound conversion program certainly orients the member to the products, services, and opportunities provided by an association. It also should generate a second interaction with the member. This might be as simple as having the members complete a survey, but it optimally leads to a second purchase by the member of a product or attendance at a meeting. For example, sending new members a dollars off voucher for their first purchase can help them engage the organization as both a member and a customer.
A member who makes a second purchase from an association before it is time for the first renewal is much more likely to renew than the non-buying member.
4. Upgrade Members - Ideally, association membership should not be a static product. Just as car companies have introductory models, family models, and luxury models to fit the changing needs and desires of buyers, an association is wise to offer members different service packages.
So I would put in place an upgrade (or up-sell) program to move members from one membership tier or product package to the next higher one. It might be as simple as moving student members to a professional membership, adding additional periodicals to the membership package, or including newly published books as a part of the membership.
5. Renew Members - The days of the three-part mailed renewal series has come to an end. Instead, effective renewal systems are now built on multi-media contacts using a combination of mail, email, phone, and fax integrated with a Web renewal tool.
One of the reasons that I would put an integrated program in place is because survey research reveals the startling reality of why most members fail to renew—they simply forgot! It’s not because members have become more forgetful. It is because the competition for their attention has increased.
The use of multiple media and higher frequency of contact helps to break through the clutter that prevents the renewal message from getting through.
6. Reinstate Members - The most likely member to come back to an association is the one who most recently left. So a reinstatement or “win back” program is also a key practice that I would put in place. Win back lends itself to an integrated media approach. Since there is an established business relationship with the former member that hopefully includes an email opt in, mail, phone, and email are all acceptable channels to use in communicating with a former member. The messages to lapsed members will highlight the outstanding content that the member has missed in the last few issues of the magazine and upcoming networking opportunities that he or she might want to take advantage of with a renewed membership.
The win back program provides an important secondary benefit. A portion of members will leave an association each year, but a well run win back program serves as a report card on the effectiveness of the renewal system. A successful program highlights a leaky renewal system. An unsuccessful win back program announces that your renewal program has captured all the members who still had a desire to stay with the association.
As you can see, my focus for all the steps that I would put in place is primarily results driven. My goal in building a membership program from the ground up would be to initiate a relationship and work to retain it. Clearly there are product, services and value issues with every association that need to be addressed. These are important, but beyond the scope of what I am trying to address here.
However, I find that in many cases associations provide great value. They enjoy a loyal and continuing membership. Marketing is the missing ingredient to membership success.
Please share the items that you would add or subtract from my list of what your membership marketing program would look like.
Membership Marketing in a Digital Age: Evolving Tools, Unchanging Principles
Imagine transporting a membership marketer from 1988 to 2024. They would marvel at our digital tools—email, websites, social media. However, looking closely, they would realize that the core challenges and opportunities are unchanged. The foundations of membership marketing have remained remarkably consistent over the decades. The core principles of providing value, planning effectively, and testing remain the levers for growth as they did in the past.
The Evolution of Marketing Technology
Here is a short list of the most
significant marketing technology developments over the decades.
- Email. This ubiquitous marketing tool did not come into
common usage until the mid-90s. Today, the median number of weekly emails
sent to members is three, and associations rate email as the most
effective recruitment channel.
- Internet. The ability to make purchases and conduct financial
transactions began in the late 1990s, with the first recorded secure
transaction in 1994. Today, virtually all associations allow members and
customers to purchase through their websites.
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Google founded its AdWords
program in 2000, focusing on keyword-based advertising and pay-per-click
(PPC). Today, 32 percent of associations have search engine marketing as
part of their marketing mix.
- Social Media. The ways we now commonly connect online developed in
the early 2000s, with LinkedIn in 2003, Facebook in 2004, and YouTube in
2005. Today, 68 percent of associations use social media for their
membership recruitment marketing campaigns.
- SMS. Companies began to use text marketing in the
mid-2000s. Today, 13 percent of associations use texting in their
marketing efforts.
This
evolution of marketing technology is a crucial aspect of our field, and staying
informed about these changes is essential. However, let’s also look at examples
of how leading association marketers in the past have described the core
aspects of membership marketing. They remain relevant to us today. By combining
the opportunities presented with technological innovations and actively addressing
the foundational principles of membership marketing, we can make significant progress
in building a powerful membership program.
The Enduring Need for Membership Value
Decades ago, the critical need to maintain a powerful value proposition was at the forefront of association challenges. In the 1995 publication Keeping Members: The Myths and Realities, Arlene Farber Sirkin and Michael P. McDermott highlighted the critical requirement of a powerful value proposition. They wrote, “Simply put, members will want to retain membership in your organization if they believe it’s valuable to them.” 1
ASAE’s 2007 landmark study, The Decision to Join, affirmed the critical nature of membership value. The study's data confirms, “As you might expect, the failure to deliver the expected value is by far the most prevalent reason for dropping membership.” 2
The
value issue also dates back to the earliest Membership Marketing Benchmarking
Report. The 2009 Report noted that the number one reason members did not renew
was the “perceived lack of value.” Focusing on a powerful value proposition
continues to serve as a priority to establish and sustain membership growth.
The Ongoing Challenge of Effective
Planning and Sustained Outreach
Planning challenges were also present decades ago. Even in a somewhat less complex period, the paralysis of analysis plagued the implementation of marketing efforts. The ASAE book Membership Marketing highlighted this challenge. In the chapter on planning by Lauren L. Corbin and Rick P. Whelan, they explained to readers that “Doing something is better than doing nothing. Don’t let the process of producing an annual marketing plan take the place of marketing. Marketing must be a continuous process in today’s marketplace.” 3
The Continued Importance of Tracking,
Testing, and Analysis
The critical requirement for market testing and tracking goes back to the 1920s. Claude Hopkins, one of the first direct marketers, maintained that “Mail order advertising is traced down to the fraction of a penny. The cost per reply and cost per dollar of sale show up with utter exactness. One ad is compared with another, one method with another . . . So no guesswork is permitted.” 4
For years, the need for these practices held a critical place for many associations. In the 2008 edition of ASAE’s Membership Essentials, we see the essential nature of market testing and tracking. “Perhaps the most important but most overlooked discipline in membership recruitment is testing and then tracking the results of marketing tests. Effective testing and tracking point you to where you can best deploy your resources most effectively and economically among the vast array of marketing options available.” 5
Without
testing and tracking, we cannot discover the best approaches and offers to
acquire new members.
The
landscape of membership marketing has transformed dramatically with the rise of
digital tools like email, social media, and search engine marketing. Yet,
despite these innovations, the core principles—delivering a solid value
proposition, sustained recruitment, and regular testing—remain as crucial as
ever. As association marketers, we must embrace the latest tools while staying
grounded in the principles that drive growth.
This article is an edited excerpt from the forthcoming book, The Seven Deadly Sins of Membership Marketing.
[1] Sirkin and McDermott, Keeping
Members.
[2] Dalton and Dignam, The Decision to
Join.
[3] Nicholais, Membership Marketing.
[4] Hopkins, My Life in Advertising
& Scientific Advertising.
[5] Jacobs and Assante, Membership
Essentials.
Membership Marketing and the Web
I have begun the review of the raw data from the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey that we launched this spring. We had over 400 survey participants.
From my initial review of the data there are many surprises and confirmations of what I expected.
My first surprise was how little associations are using the web opportunities to acquire members compared to other membership marketing channels.
We asked participants to highlight what channels they use to get new members and how they allocate their membership marketing budgets over these channels. The results showed that some commonly used web channels for acquisition see limited very use by associations and make up a very small portion of their budgets. For example:
On the other hand, 35.2% are using social networking to help attract members. Still this only makes up 0.78% of membership marketing budgets. Interestingly, 26.8% of associations who report using social media to attract members reported a decline in new member acquisition compared to 21% of the total respondents.
Does this mean that necessity is the mother of invention and these groups are giving social media a try or that social media diverts resources from more productive acquisition opportunities?
The vast majority of respondents -- 84.8% -- use their association website and this only makes up 3.2% of membership marketing budgets.
By the way, just a reminder that the world is changing and we need to keep pushing the envelope. Here is a post card promoting my grandfather’s Chrysler dealership. He is pictured on the left.
From my initial review of the data there are many surprises and confirmations of what I expected.
My first surprise was how little associations are using the web opportunities to acquire members compared to other membership marketing channels.
We asked participants to highlight what channels they use to get new members and how they allocate their membership marketing budgets over these channels. The results showed that some commonly used web channels for acquisition see limited very use by associations and make up a very small portion of their budgets. For example:
- Only 8.3% of those who responded use search engine advertising to acquire members and this channel only made up 0.29% of membership marketing budgets.
- Only 12.2% use banner ads and links on others web sites to market membership and this only made up on 0.13% of the survey participants’ overall membership marketing expenditures.
On the other hand, 35.2% are using social networking to help attract members. Still this only makes up 0.78% of membership marketing budgets. Interestingly, 26.8% of associations who report using social media to attract members reported a decline in new member acquisition compared to 21% of the total respondents.
Does this mean that necessity is the mother of invention and these groups are giving social media a try or that social media diverts resources from more productive acquisition opportunities?
The vast majority of respondents -- 84.8% -- use their association website and this only makes up 3.2% of membership marketing budgets.
By the way, just a reminder that the world is changing and we need to keep pushing the envelope. Here is a post card promoting my grandfather’s Chrysler dealership. He is pictured on the left.
Fundraising with Social Media
In the March edition of Associations Now, Andrew Lang highlights a social media success story titled Tweeting for Dollars.
He writes, “Most of us know or have heard of associations that use tools like Facebook or Twitter to promote conferences or other products and services, thereby increasing their sales. But reports of associations creating net income directly from these tools have largely proven illusory. Finally, I am pleased to report that I have found just such an association—and it turns out it has been succeeding at it for three years already.”
The program he highlights is run by Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) using Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn posts to request donations to fund scholarships for their annual conference. For each donation made, the responder got a vote on what video would be produced for the conference.
“The resulting campaigns have raised an average of approximately $10,000 each of the last three years.” Lang reports, and “because NTEN has a corporate sponsor that provides matching funds, the total raised comes to $20,000 a year. While this is only a small percentage of the organization's overall budget, it is nevertheless a useful sum for the purpose intended.”
Social media is still in its infancy compared to other more mature marketing channels, but over time we will see innovative approaches that will help it become part of a predictable and projectable marketing tool. Keep watching.
He writes, “Most of us know or have heard of associations that use tools like Facebook or Twitter to promote conferences or other products and services, thereby increasing their sales. But reports of associations creating net income directly from these tools have largely proven illusory. Finally, I am pleased to report that I have found just such an association—and it turns out it has been succeeding at it for three years already.”
The program he highlights is run by Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) using Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn posts to request donations to fund scholarships for their annual conference. For each donation made, the responder got a vote on what video would be produced for the conference.
“The resulting campaigns have raised an average of approximately $10,000 each of the last three years.” Lang reports, and “because NTEN has a corporate sponsor that provides matching funds, the total raised comes to $20,000 a year. While this is only a small percentage of the organization's overall budget, it is nevertheless a useful sum for the purpose intended.”
Social media is still in its infancy compared to other more mature marketing channels, but over time we will see innovative approaches that will help it become part of a predictable and projectable marketing tool. Keep watching.
The 25 Most Important Lessons in Membership Marketing
One of the sections that I find most interesting in our benchmarking research is the responses to our open ended question about lessons learned. We asked:
In your own words, what are the most important lessons you have learned in the area of membership marketing?
This year, we had over three hundred and eighty participants take the time to share their thoughts on lessons learned. I went through them and pulled out a representative sample of 25 responses.
Here are the insights that your fellow membership marketing professionals shared.
1. Recruitment and retention efforts require more "touches" than ever, and certainly more than, say, ten years ago. Associations must work to break through their members' "clutter."
2. Focus on the numbers. Construct and regularly monitor membership metrics to guide decision making and expenditures.
3. You can't grow without an acquisition program. A retention program simply maintains the membership or perhaps has a decline as people leave the profession or die.
4. The profession we support is going through a period of redefinition. The membership structure that has served us well for many years is now obsolete. What I have learned is the biggest barrier is that in volunteer run association, business decisions take too long and there we are not nimble as an organization in our ability to respond to the changes in our market with changes to our own business model.
5. You have to keep in there pitching every day. There is no "silver bullet" - direct mail, email, social media, events, member get a member. They all have their place.
6. The current economy has made everyone take a serious look at value for member dues. The abstract notion of "affiliation" is no longer enough. The surge of technology has caused a social media explosion that is difficult to keep up with and challenging to imitate. The bar has been raised in the areas of networking and providing up-to-date and exclusive information. We can no longer be a vague "something for everyone"; we need to develop a well-defined value proposition that resonates in today’s environment.
7. Surveying the membership base on a regular basis and always requesting and listening to feedback is extremely important to the association. Never assume the membership base wants or needs the benefits you feel they need/want.
8. In a down economy, it's more important than ever to stay in the marketplace and keep brand awareness strong. Do whatever it takes to maintain budget levels and continue solicitation efforts. That's key in ensuring you'll be well positioned once the economy begins to turn...and always continue to test - new efforts, offers, ideas, messaging, lists, etc.
9. That there is an actual discipline to it that needs to be followed, studied, and consistently applied.
10. Integrated marketing is key - no one channel is guaranteed for recruitment or renewal. I need to use direct mail, email, telemarketing and social media for each campaign.
11. Keep testing, even after you think you have found the magic bullet. Know your market and your competition. Understand your organization's business objectives and tie them to your membership marketing programs.
12. Reaching out to new members about 3 months after they've joined has won us good will. We talk about free member services and make sure they know how to take advantage of them and ask if they have any questions about their membership. They really seem to appreciate the check in.
13. Old programs such as branch/chapter, member get a member worked in the 80's and 90's. Need to sunset those, and fulfill needs of younger generation: quick turnaround, fewer hierarchies, ease of renewals, instant information, and willingness to engage.
14. Value is key to membership retention. Marketing is key to membership growth.
15. Having a clear message from leadership regarding the vision and purpose of the organization. It is key that all members understand and be able to share with others the purpose and value of the organization
16. Successful membership means instituting and implementing consistent processes and procedures for renewals, testing new membership techniques and messages, and always pursuing lapsed members.
17. You need to continue to try new things and track what works and what doesn't.
18. Clearly define goals, test the offer and meticulously record the results.
19. Investments in marketing pay off.
20. Multiple contacts are very important.
21. Membership should work with marketing to actually create a campaign.
22. Success depends on building relationships with our member companies, "drilling down" and developing relationships with multiple contacts at the member company and regularly communicating the value that the association provides to each member in multiple ways
23. Be persistent, circumstances can change regarding interest in membership. Every prospect has a "sweet" spot; you just have to find it.
24. We are not competing with other associations; we are competing for member dollars with for profit service providers and personal expenditures.
25. Times have changed - Members are looking at Association memberships much more carefully than they used to. The VALUE has to be there for the member to renew.
Feel free to add your own thoughts on lessons learned in the comments section below. Which insights listed here do you agree with and with which do you disagree?
In your own words, what are the most important lessons you have learned in the area of membership marketing?
This year, we had over three hundred and eighty participants take the time to share their thoughts on lessons learned. I went through them and pulled out a representative sample of 25 responses.
Here are the insights that your fellow membership marketing professionals shared.
1. Recruitment and retention efforts require more "touches" than ever, and certainly more than, say, ten years ago. Associations must work to break through their members' "clutter."
2. Focus on the numbers. Construct and regularly monitor membership metrics to guide decision making and expenditures.
3. You can't grow without an acquisition program. A retention program simply maintains the membership or perhaps has a decline as people leave the profession or die.
4. The profession we support is going through a period of redefinition. The membership structure that has served us well for many years is now obsolete. What I have learned is the biggest barrier is that in volunteer run association, business decisions take too long and there we are not nimble as an organization in our ability to respond to the changes in our market with changes to our own business model.
5. You have to keep in there pitching every day. There is no "silver bullet" - direct mail, email, social media, events, member get a member. They all have their place.
6. The current economy has made everyone take a serious look at value for member dues. The abstract notion of "affiliation" is no longer enough. The surge of technology has caused a social media explosion that is difficult to keep up with and challenging to imitate. The bar has been raised in the areas of networking and providing up-to-date and exclusive information. We can no longer be a vague "something for everyone"; we need to develop a well-defined value proposition that resonates in today’s environment.
7. Surveying the membership base on a regular basis and always requesting and listening to feedback is extremely important to the association. Never assume the membership base wants or needs the benefits you feel they need/want.
8. In a down economy, it's more important than ever to stay in the marketplace and keep brand awareness strong. Do whatever it takes to maintain budget levels and continue solicitation efforts. That's key in ensuring you'll be well positioned once the economy begins to turn...and always continue to test - new efforts, offers, ideas, messaging, lists, etc.
9. That there is an actual discipline to it that needs to be followed, studied, and consistently applied.
10. Integrated marketing is key - no one channel is guaranteed for recruitment or renewal. I need to use direct mail, email, telemarketing and social media for each campaign.
11. Keep testing, even after you think you have found the magic bullet. Know your market and your competition. Understand your organization's business objectives and tie them to your membership marketing programs.
12. Reaching out to new members about 3 months after they've joined has won us good will. We talk about free member services and make sure they know how to take advantage of them and ask if they have any questions about their membership. They really seem to appreciate the check in.
13. Old programs such as branch/chapter, member get a member worked in the 80's and 90's. Need to sunset those, and fulfill needs of younger generation: quick turnaround, fewer hierarchies, ease of renewals, instant information, and willingness to engage.
14. Value is key to membership retention. Marketing is key to membership growth.
15. Having a clear message from leadership regarding the vision and purpose of the organization. It is key that all members understand and be able to share with others the purpose and value of the organization
16. Successful membership means instituting and implementing consistent processes and procedures for renewals, testing new membership techniques and messages, and always pursuing lapsed members.
17. You need to continue to try new things and track what works and what doesn't.
18. Clearly define goals, test the offer and meticulously record the results.
19. Investments in marketing pay off.
20. Multiple contacts are very important.
21. Membership should work with marketing to actually create a campaign.
22. Success depends on building relationships with our member companies, "drilling down" and developing relationships with multiple contacts at the member company and regularly communicating the value that the association provides to each member in multiple ways
23. Be persistent, circumstances can change regarding interest in membership. Every prospect has a "sweet" spot; you just have to find it.
24. We are not competing with other associations; we are competing for member dollars with for profit service providers and personal expenditures.
25. Times have changed - Members are looking at Association memberships much more carefully than they used to. The VALUE has to be there for the member to renew.
Feel free to add your own thoughts on lessons learned in the comments section below. Which insights listed here do you agree with and with which do you disagree?
Four Sources for Inbound Membership Marketing
This is when inbound membership marketing can become an
important new contributor to your media mix.
Inbound membership marketing helps you reach new prospects
that you may not have interacted with before and allows them to raise their
hand and come to you in search of the very information and products that you
produce.
Here are four proven sources to feed you inbound marketing
efforts.
1.
Google
and Facebook Remarketing – After all of your efforts to drive a prospective
member to your website, you may be shocked at how many abandon your join
shopping cart before completing the transaction. One of my clients has over 10,000 shopping
cart abandons from their join page each year.
Remarketing efforts – following your visitors around the internet and
Facebook with ads – encourages those visitors to return to your site to gain
more information and perhaps complete their transaction.
2.
Paid
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – Search Ads appear when a prospective member
enters a word or phrase into a search engine that matches one of your
keywords. They are effective because you
are responding with your information directly to a seeker who wants some piece
of information that your organization possesses.
3.
Content
Ads – Whereas search ads are driven by keywords, content ads are shown on
other websites offering information that relates to your products and
services. When the prospective member’s
reading interests are a match to what you have to offer, your ad is displayed.
4.
Social
Media Advertising – Many social media sites offer millions of more
impressions than one will ever achieve with traditional direct marketing
efforts. LinkedIn allows you to target
ads to very specific job classifications, titles, and industries. And Facebook allows you to match your current
members to potential prospects who are on the site and display ads to these
look-a-like audiences.
All of these inbound online marketing sources come with
these additional benefits:
·
Awareness – Many more prospects will see your
ads than will click on them, but you typically pay just for clicks.
·
Coverage – Online advertising gives you access
to every corner of the world where there is an internet connection.
·
Flexibility – With these online efforts, you can
adjust and allocate funds on a daily basis to maximize response.
·
Speed – You can literally have a digital
advertising program up and running and producing response in a day.
·
Measurement -- You can know impressions, clicks,
and with good tracking the number of members joining.
The most important aspect of optimizing each of these
inbound sources is thinking through the tactics on how to gain an opt-in for
follow-up with anyone who does come to your landing page or website from one of
these sources. Lead capture and
relationship building is where the pay-out comes from these efforts.
Developing an inbound membership marketing program is not at
all meant to eliminate traditional tools like direct mail, email, and
telemarketing. If these tools are
productive by all means continue to use them.
But at some point even these established methods will see diminishing
returns. You need to find new, untapped
audiences for the information and services that you offer and inbound
membership marketing has proven to be an excellent tool to assist with reaching
new prospects.
The Push and Pull of Membership Recruitment
Marketers sometimes categorize products as either "push" or "pull." In a pull system the consumer requests the product and 'pulls' it through the delivery channel. On the other hand, in a push marketing system the sales efforts are initiated by the producer and information is 'pushed' toward the buyer.
Membership has traditionally been defined as a "push" product. Most people do not wake up in the morning and say, "hey, I really need to join something today." Instead, they need to be actively sold.
However, we live in a time of exciting change and the paradigm for membership recruitment is changing with it.
Today, effective membership recruitment often includes a pull strategy as part of the marketing mix by taking advantage of online opportunities and social networking tools.
In fact, in our most recent Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 56 percent of association executives reported that one way prospective members learned about their association was through association-sponsored social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn and another 33 percent report the use of search engine advertising or online ads helped make prospects aware of membership. These channels still fall below the top awareness builders for membership, but they reflect signgrowth over the previous year.
Here is what survey respondents highlighted as the top means by which prospects became aware of membership.
So how can this pull strategy be deployed?
We are effectively implementing a pull strategy through what we call trading content for contact. Instead of initiating a relationship by selling a membership, we allow potential members who are seeking specific information to find us through the very content they seek.
With this pull strategy, the relationship is started by presenting valuable information and resources that only a qualified or prospective member would find of value. This concept takes portions of the membership content and offers it for free through a host of online tools. These include:
• Co-Registration Submissions
• Ad Networks including LinkedIn and Facebook
• Online PR Releases
• Article Submissions
• Blogs
• Social Media Ads
• Affinity Media
• Search Engine and Content Advertising
As prospective members access the valuable content, they also are asked to opt-in to receiving additional communications from the organization. These prospective members who have raised their hand to a relationship are cultivated and given the opportunity to join the association and take advantage of all the products and services available.
In a very real sense, by using this pull strategy, the membership organization opens a very large funnel to allow potential members to pull themselves into a relationship at their own pace and as their needs dictate.
And because of the traceability of each stage of the relationship through web and database records, the system can continually be monitored and optimized to make the movement into a full membership relationship as simple and easy as possible.
Is it time to put a little PULL into your membership recruitment efforts? Please share any experiences you are having with these methods.
Membership has traditionally been defined as a "push" product. Most people do not wake up in the morning and say, "hey, I really need to join something today." Instead, they need to be actively sold.
However, we live in a time of exciting change and the paradigm for membership recruitment is changing with it.
Today, effective membership recruitment often includes a pull strategy as part of the marketing mix by taking advantage of online opportunities and social networking tools.
In fact, in our most recent Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 56 percent of association executives reported that one way prospective members learned about their association was through association-sponsored social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn and another 33 percent report the use of search engine advertising or online ads helped make prospects aware of membership. These channels still fall below the top awareness builders for membership, but they reflect signgrowth over the previous year.
Here is what survey respondents highlighted as the top means by which prospects became aware of membership.
We are effectively implementing a pull strategy through what we call trading content for contact. Instead of initiating a relationship by selling a membership, we allow potential members who are seeking specific information to find us through the very content they seek.
With this pull strategy, the relationship is started by presenting valuable information and resources that only a qualified or prospective member would find of value. This concept takes portions of the membership content and offers it for free through a host of online tools. These include:
• Co-Registration Submissions
• Ad Networks including LinkedIn and Facebook
• Online PR Releases
• Article Submissions
• Blogs
• Social Media Ads
• Affinity Media
• Search Engine and Content Advertising
As prospective members access the valuable content, they also are asked to opt-in to receiving additional communications from the organization. These prospective members who have raised their hand to a relationship are cultivated and given the opportunity to join the association and take advantage of all the products and services available.
In a very real sense, by using this pull strategy, the membership organization opens a very large funnel to allow potential members to pull themselves into a relationship at their own pace and as their needs dictate.
And because of the traceability of each stage of the relationship through web and database records, the system can continually be monitored and optimized to make the movement into a full membership relationship as simple and easy as possible.
Is it time to put a little PULL into your membership recruitment efforts? Please share any experiences you are having with these methods.
My Top Five Trends Impacting Associations of the Future
As part of the ASAE and the Center’s team participating in the Association of the Future program, I reviewed 62 trends and picked those that I felt were most likely to impact associations going forward.
Several of you have shared your feedback on the trends that you think are most significant as comments from my original post. Here are the trends that I picked from the 62.
1. Generation Next: digital, civic, and connected (Trend #1). This generation is the leading edge of the Millennial Generation starting in 1980. I picked this as an important trend not for empirical reasons, but for experiential reasons. This trend describes my kids and their friends. The trend highlights that this generation volunteers and wants to vote, has stronger ties with parents, and connects to friends through the web. I see these characteristics everyday. My son could not wait vote for the first time as a 17 year old in the Virginia Presidential primary. My daughter has friends in Poland, Singapore, and Canada through social media. These kids have a vision to change the world and they will self organize to do it if we do not engage them in our existing structures.
Several of you have shared your feedback on the trends that you think are most significant as comments from my original post. Here are the trends that I picked from the 62.
1. Generation Next: digital, civic, and connected (Trend #1). This generation is the leading edge of the Millennial Generation starting in 1980. I picked this as an important trend not for empirical reasons, but for experiential reasons. This trend describes my kids and their friends. The trend highlights that this generation volunteers and wants to vote, has stronger ties with parents, and connects to friends through the web. I see these characteristics everyday. My son could not wait vote for the first time as a 17 year old in the Virginia Presidential primary. My daughter has friends in Poland, Singapore, and Canada through social media. These kids have a vision to change the world and they will self organize to do it if we do not engage them in our existing structures.
2. Social Networks become mainstream channel for marketing, communication, and engagement (#21). So much has been written and said about social media that I fear the hype may overstate the reality. Nevertheless, when I can sit down and using ning.com and create a new association or community in less than an hour, it is time to take notice. A major new wave is coming on shore and will impact associations in a way equal to the web. I will, however, put in a plug for the benefits of real face to face meetings and conferences. As I write this, I am flying back from a client conference where the networking was vital, the speakers were inspiring, and the information useful.
3. Rising US personal and federal indebtedness (#33). No one can say for sure whether or not the current economic challenges will be severe or mild. But I think it is safe to say that the vulnerability of some of our financial underpinnings has been exposed. In his book, The Zone of Insolvency, Ron Mattocks says “that as many as one-third of the nation’s 1.4 million nonprofits are operating at a level of financial distress, -which will force many to file for dissolution.” How will they be able to handle and even survive a major economic slowdown?
4. Increasing prevalence of ‘Freemium’ and other new business models (#44). I am looking at this concept with a couple of clients. Is there a way to engage a much larger share of the marketplace with something other than a paid membership? Don’t get me wrong, I think people will pay for value. But there may be a way to bring people into relationship with an organization on a non-financial basis first before asking for money. Here is an example, in one email campaign that we tested two possible entry points into the organization for a client; a hard “buy now” membership offer ran head to head against a “free” newsletter subscription offer. The free newsletter did 50 times better. Now the challenge to prove this model will be to see if we can convert these free subscribers to paid members or customers. As I have commented before, joining as a member is a process as much as it is an event.
5. Diminishing US influence internationally (#58). Clearly one of the pillars supporting associations based in the US is the perception that information, regulation, standards, knowledge, and resources in many fields flow from US universities, government entities, companies, and professionals. Diminishing influence could crack some of these pillars, but also open up ideas and involvement from many other parts of the world. Being a global association will be more than a desire, it will be a necessity.
Do you agree with me on any of these trends and the impact they may have? Please feel free to comment and add to these thoughts.
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