Each day, yes “Each Day” I receive an Association briefing. Its lots to read and often there are great articles that I believe may be valuable for you. This one was written by J.P. Moery and ens with the question ‘Will your membership model have to change?’ The answer is yes, probably…..So while there is a lot of reading below its well worth the time for those of you that have found your net membership growth has stalled.
Your association depends on having a critical mass of enrolled members. But too often the approach to membership development is about numbers: how many new members, how many renewals, and how many sponsors do you have? While the numbers are necessary to determine your ability to operate, they can get too much focus.
A major challenge to the association membership model today is about making evident the value to your members in being part of your organization.
To sharpen focus on your value, you may need to ask yourselves some questions that you’d rather keep internal. It’s human nature to remain silent instead of asking about something we think we’re “supposed to know.” But the fear of asking an “embarrassing question” stops us from having discussions we must have to shape a more powerful membership development strategy.
Here are 10 membership development questions that need to be asked, especially if you have been holding back from asking them for a while.
1. How can I find potential new members?
To engage prospective members you need to know what they are looking for when they consider the opportunity to join you. Many prospects simply need a clearer grasp of what you do and how you do it. To appeal to their interests, you need to have prior meaningful dialog about what members need and what they currently get from your association. Formal and informal surveys have their place, but key insights often come from meeting members and listening to their perspective about is challenging and changing for them.
According to Naylor’s 2014 Association Communications Benchmarking Report,the three types of information most sought by members are “lobbying/advocacy efforts,” followed by “industry news” and “careers and professional development.” Career resources are one of the most clicked-on features on an association’s website says Christine Smith of Boxwood Technology, which manages career centers for more than 1,100 associations.
2) How do you communicate the value of membership to recruit new members?
It’s difficult to make a convincing case about something as important as your association’s value in one big annual push. You need a strategy to communicate your value in yearly, monthly, weekly and even daily activities. This doesn’t happen by good intentions. You need a strategic workflow that puts a system of key activities in place.
3) How can you start updating our membership development strategy?
To see what activities you need to do, and how they should work together, break down your membership recruitment effort into yearly, monthly and daily efforts. (This approach is inspired by the popular One-Page Promotion Plan by 100Startup.com). For example:
Yearly: Ensure that your work is about helping your members with something of significant value and importance to them. It may be the your power as an advocate on Capitol Hill. It may be your ability to bring innovators and technical experts to industry events. It may be something else that is entirely unique to your organization. Make sure you are pro-actively building a valuable experience or service, not just reacting to the concern of the moment.
Monthly: Keep moving on your plans to strengthen your programs, communications, and community building efforts. Follow your priorities to implement new resources, web pages, programs, services, or other features to serve your members.
Check with your existing members to see how your work is meeting their needs.This does not mean you should launch a monthly survey. A formal survey is only one way to gather feedback. You may get more candid input from an informal phone call or conversation. For telephone interviews done by a professional consultant.
Weekly: Share information with your colleagues or ask for input. Check in with your current members and make sure their concerns, questions and messages are being addressed. Check that your best customers can still get what they need.
Daily: Use social media to share updates, tips, or to refer your followers to things that you find
helpful or important. Look for questions and concerns that members and non-members are asking. Take time to help if you can contribute a thought or two in an update.
4) How can I talk to members and prospects to find out what they think of my organization?
It helps to be open and say you want to learn more about their business, and ask if they mind if you ask them a few questions. This gives you permission to learn more in a non-threatening way.
Then, start with a simple, open-ended questions, for example:
“Can you tell me more about your business?”
Use the answer to guide your next question. For example:
“What do you see challenging your membership development efforts most?”
5) Why can a membership development consultant do that I can’t do for myself?
The reasons that members join associations are changing. It’s no longer simply to “support the industry.” However, many organizations are caught in the past in terms of the value proposition they send and who they call on as prospects.
You can ask members what they think of your association, and how you compare to your competition. But an experienced, objective interview process can get a more candid response, and reveal a more complete and valuable range of opportunities by gathering input from outside your familiar circle of contact. Objectivity helps us identify and define needs that you want to acknowledge and serve in new ways, and help you design ways to respond to them.
6) What should I put in my newsletter?
Your newsletter is where you help your members get access to knowledge they need, or to update them quickly on political or business news. Most email efforts focus on getting people to read your message and click through to your website. But the more effective approach is to both inform your readers and guide their next action. The big picture of your membership recruitment strategy dictates that action. Want your members to help you grow? Prompt readers to share the story they just read — and make it easy with a clickable link. Want readers to give you feedback? Consider sending them to a special page with a simple question form. Want more exposure on Twitter? Provide a pre-written tweet and an obvious button, and ask them to post it.
7) Should my organization use Twitter? Why and how?
A full 100% of the Senate and 90% of the House use Twitter to communicate with constituents. That’s according to Maddie Grant, Chief Social Media Strategist for SocialFish.
The beauty of Twitter is that updates need to be very short. As an association, this gives you a channel to share your voice on the regulations and policies that affect your industry, without imposing a huge time demand. Twitter also amplifies a CEO’s voice, especially if the CEO builds a following of bigger influencers. Tweets from lower-level managers may have a more-limited reach, but that does not mean they shouldn’t happen. In fact, having more staff members tweeting to your constituents compounds your message. Your staff might also learn something about what people in their industry want and are paying attention to.
8) If updates that basically promote my organization are not recommended, what SHOULD my association be posting on social media?
The key to expanding your reach on social media is to provide valuable content to your followers. Think about what your association has to offer, and post links to helpful resources. Share an interview with a current member or link to a short, relevant blog post. Video tutorials, advice columns, and photos from your latest events are all good to update and engage your audience.
9) Is there still a place for “old-school” communications like press releases and print advertising in my membership development strategy?
Absolutely. Publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc. will always have an audience with policymakers. But these channels are now only half of the equation. The new model with social media aims at hitting the message homewith families and their friends and neighbors.
10) Will my association’s membership model have to change?
Most likely, yes, your model will need to evolve. Membership development is one area that is seeing a lot of change for associations. Professionals no longer join just to support the industry. Membership is about collectively working with other members to achieve success. Successful associations aren’t just collections of people; they’re dynamic – they provide unique resources and foster innovation and change.
