2012 aenc-want more members-share

Want More Members?
Give Them More ROI
AENC Sept. 21, 2012
Durham, NC

Ed Rigsbee, CSP, CAE
1746 Calle Yucca, Suite 200
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Ed@Rigsbee.com
805-498-5720
Copyright 2012  Ed Rigsbee  www.Rigsbee.com

#1 View Your Organization Through
the Eyes of the Non-Member


#2 Prove to your members & the non-
members, through ROI, that
membership is a good business
decision.


This session is
about proving that
membership in your
organization is a
good business
decision.

Ed Rigsbee’s Member Recruitment System

Member Engagement Member Retention

Member Assimilation Member Evangelist

Member Recruitment


Member Recruitment Models
(All member recruitment efforts are contained in
one of the below three strategies)

1. Direct Selling; Door-to-door, Telemarketing, & Telethons
1. Generally requires commissioned sales persons
2. Reasonably quick results
2. Pull Marketing
1. Direct Mail Campaigns (expensive)
2. Internet Marketing (expensive)
3. Member-Get-a-Member (Ed’s Approach)
1. Organic Grassroots Effort
2. Member “Recruitment Evangelists” are Key to Success
3. Need Correct Tools (ROI brochure)
4. Takes Work
5. Needs Accountability Element
6. Best Method for New Member Assimilation


Marketing General ‘09 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey (Awareness)


Marketing General 2009 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey


Recruitment Campaigns
Staff vs. Member Driven
• It happens • More authentic
• Consistency • Peer-to-peer value
• Dedicated • Word of mouth
resources • More passion
• Clear message • More people selling
• United message • Personalized
• Ass’n Knowledge examples
• Outsider looking in • Know industry jargon


What About Partnership Driven?

• Take the best that staff & volunteer
driven models have to offer.
• More total effort.
• Encourages innovation.


2 Basic Member Paradigms
• The Givers, they join to participate in
and, be a part their industry’s
association.
– Regularly attend association events;
regardless of quality.
• The Takers, they join to take advantage
of collaborative synergies; want to get
more than they give.
– Will attend association events if they see
immediate value & an ROI.


Organic, Grassroots,
Member-Get-A-Member
Campaigns


You Don’t Just
Want Numbers,
You Want…


Get the Motivation Right

Grassroots Member Recruitment Campaign
• Step 1: Qualitative Research: Rigsbee
Member ROI Valuation ProcessTM
• Step 2: Develop new member
recruitment tool; ROI Brochure
• Step 3: Conference Keynote for
Campaign kick-off with brochure.
• Step 4: Board of directors drive
campaign.
• Step 5: Paid staff follow up & drive
accountability.

Advocacy & Legislative Influence


Separate

Member Value
from

Industry Value

In the Eyes of the Non-Member
• Legislative & Advocacy work Does Not
deliver ROI.
• Industry Stakeholders, regardless of their
Membership Status, gets the benefit; thus,
No perceived ROI in membership.
• Sell the “economies of scale” made
possible through Alliance and what else is
possible for them.
• Legislative & Advocacy work Does deliver
current member value and thus is best
used for member retention purposes.


Most Associations
Deliver
(Member Only)
Line-Item ROI in Real
Dollars.

Average* Specific Value from Associations

Professional Recognition,
Certification, Image &
Credibility
Range $200 to $5,000

Average: $1,507
* Information averaged in 2006


Training & Education;
Range: $500 to $4,000

Average: $1,857



(Member Only) Industry
Specific Research,
Regulatory & Code
Summary;
Range $1,000 to $4,750

Average: $2,596


Networking;
Range $200 to $10,000

Average: $4,029

What’s Your
Organization’s
Yearly Sustainable
Real-Dollar Member
ROI Number?

Rigsbee’s Member ROI Valuation Process
(Active Qualitative Research Method)

1. Process best if done with a mix of members; not
just with the board.
2. List value line items; at session or prior to
session.
3. One at a time, come to agreement as to the yearly
sustainable real dollar value (the hard part). If a
value item is received over a number of years,
divide by # of years.
4. If an item is something the entire industry
receives, regardless of membership (i.e.
legislation) do not count this item.
5. When done total the yearly value.
6. Determine what it costs a member (yearly) to
receive this value. Divide to determine ROI.


At the American Society
for Quality, Members Get
$50 in Yearly
Sustainable Real-Dollar
Value for Every Dollar
Invested in Membership.

Alabama CAE Real Dollar Value
• E-News- $150 • Knowledge Center- N/A
• Print Magazine- $150 • Special Interest Group
• Legislative Directory - $500 Participation- N/A
• Member Directory- $100 • Affinity programs- N/A
• Opportunities for involvement & • Educational programs- $250
leadership- N/A • Access to corporate sponsor
• Access to ACAE office/staff- funding- N/A
$100 • Access to public
• Technical advisory staff through officials/influencers- N/A
the Tech Hotline- N/A • Annual Golf Outing/Tradeshow -
• Professional technical training $200
opportunities- $2000 • Legal Representation- N/A
• Peer referrals- N/A • Networking- $ 3000
• Peer Support/Mentoring- $3000 • Total Value-$9,650
• Certification training- N/A
• Research materials- $200
• Total Cost-$350
• ACAE logo use- N/A • Membership ROI = 27.57X
• Convention attend discount- $75
• Web referrals- N/A


New England SAE Real Dollar Value
• E-News- 75 • NE/SAE Career Headquarters- NA
• Print Magazine-NA • NE/SAE Knowledge Center- 700
• Legislative Update- NA • Special Interest Group
• Member Directory- 0 Participation- 400
• Opportunities for involvement & • Affinity programs- NA
leadership- 2000 • Monthly educational programs-400
• Access to NE/SAE office/staff- • Networking- 2000
200
• Total Value-$8,025
• Technical advisory staff through
the Tech Hotline- NA • Total Cost-$195
• Professional technical training • Membership ROI = 41X
opportunities- NA
• Peer referrals- NA
• Peer Support/Mentoring- 2000
• CAE certification training- 100
• Research materials- NA
• NE/SAE logo use- NA
• Convention attend discount- 150
• Web referrals- NA


Michigan SAE Real Dollar Value
• Online Magazine- $0 • Knowledge Center- n/a
• Print Magazine- $100 • Special Interest Group
• Legislative Directory- $0 Participation- $100
• Member Directory- $50 • Affinity programs- $200
• Opportunities for involvement & • Educational programs- $300
leadership- $500 • Access to public
• Access to MSAE office/staff- officials/influencers- $0
$200 • Legal Representation- $0
• Technical advisory staff through • MSAE Surveys & Reports- n/a
the Tech Hotline- n/a • Online Job Search Assistance- n/a
• Professional technical training • Networking- $2,000
opportunities- n/a
• Membership ROI = 16.17X
• Peer referrals (AMCs)- $1,000
• Total Value-$4,610
• Peer Support/Mentoring- $0
• CAE training- $10 • Total Cost-$285
• Research materials- $50
• MSAE logo use- $0
• Conv. attendance discount- $100


AAMSE Real Dollar Value
• Legislative Update- N/A • Peer Review- N/A
• Hotline- N/A • Peer referrals- N/A
• Trends Report- $2,000 • Opportunity to transcend from Success
• Salary Surveys - $500 to Significance- N/A
• Access to legislators/Influencers- • Opportunities for involvement &
N/A leadership; councils, committees,
• Legislative Dinners- N/A board- $1,000
• Member Directory- $50 • Benchmarking Project- $750
• Access to Society office & staff- $400 • CEO Listservs- $1,500
• Legal Representation- N/A • Annual Conference- $75
• New Medical Executives Institute- • Affinity programs/Endorsed Partners-
$300 N/A
• CEO Meetings- $500 • Networking- $750
• Knowledge Center/Knowledge
Management- $175 • Total Cost: $400
• EDWebs- $200 • Total Value:$8,200
• Educational Seminars- N/A • ROI = 20.5x
• Compliance Information; red flag
rules, HIPAA & OSHA updates, etc-
N/A


Give More ROI
Through: High
Perceived Value,
Low Cost
Programs.


Value Perception
Rule #1
Tell Them What
You Did for Them!


Value Perception
Rule #2
Sell to Their
Buying Motives

More ROI Line-Items through
Understanding Buying Motives

1. Profits or Gain
2. Fear of Loss
3. Comforts and Pleasure
4. Avoidance of Pain
5. Loving and Affection
6. Pride and Prestige


What Do You Have (of value)
That Members & Others Want?
• Hardcopy directory
• Archived content
• Access to an online community
• Certification study group
• Classifieds and job postings P ri
• Email blasts Eve ce
• Affinity programs ryth
•
•
Breakfast with the Governor
Corporate Member reception
ing
• Advertising on Web site
• Industry Mentor Service
• One day pass to closed conference
• Legislative update summaries
• What else?


Prove Relevance by Proving
ROI, Especially Generational

• YPO Groups
• Dinosaur Groups
• Certifications/Credentials
• Extreme Meetings (?)
• Cause Based Events (?)
• Keep Volunteer Leaders on Strategy

Formal Senior to Junior
Member Mentoring Programs
1. Is there a structured length of time for the
relationship? What effect, positive or negative, has the
length of time had on member engagement for, the
senior member? Junior member?
2. 2. What percentage of your senior members (defined
as 20+ year members) currently participate in your
program?
3. What is the most important benefit/value that your
senior members have reported they have received
from their participation?
4. What else do you believe could be done to make your
program more beneficial to your senior members?
5. If you do not have a formal "Senior to Junior Member"
mentoring program, do you have any solid plans on
starting one in 2012, or 2013?

New Member Assimilation;
aka On-Boarding

Use ‘em or
Lose ‘em!

How Do You Assimilate New Members?
Typical Answers Include:

• Put them on a • Board in the barrel for
committee questions at meeting
• Put them on the Board • Welcome email from Board
• Coupon for an • Send member information
educational seminar notebook
• Staff calls each new member
• Detailed new member & welcomes them
orientation with
incentive • What About a
• Get them to a local
chapter meeting New Member
• New member showcase
& introduction
Engagement
Process?

Avoid Assimilation Atrophy
• Responsibility of recruiting member to urge new
member to attend the annual convention.
• Responsibility of recruiting member to introduce
new member into his or her circles of friends and
colleagues.
• Responsibility of recruiting member to introduce
new member to association leadership that can
get him or her onto a committee or involved with
a project.
• The above is difficult, if not impossible with
commissioned sales staff recruiting new
members.


Sacred Cows Eat Up Resources & ROI
• Quarterly Newsletter, Aggregated News, or
Magazine Experiencing Reduced Readership;
Hardcopy or Electronic
• Association Built Product or Service that Nobody
Wants
• Obsolete Sponsor Programs or Desires
• Golf Tournament or Sporting Event
• Agreements That Do Not Work
• Legacy Committee or Program
• Annual picnic or Social Event
• Off-site Event or Trade show with reduced
attendance
• Non-Producing Member Group or Board Member
• Joint Conference with Other Organizations


Associations are
Morphing from
Informational
Organizations to
Communities of
Reciprocity.

In all media,
claim your
name…NOW!

Why Should Your Members Renew?
Typical Answers Include:
• Professional development • Sense of community
• Networking • Annual conference
• Can’t afford not to • Regional decision making
• Exclusive Education • Unified voice for profession
• Legal Benefits • Access to exclusive content
• Advocacy • Exclusive Benefits
• Advertising • Cost savings
• Public Image • Separates themselves in market
• Access to business place
• Leads • Creditability in a crowded
• Know what is going on in industry
industry • Build professional business
• Trend information environment
• Legislative Updates • Competitive advantage
• Communication to members • Political strength
• Certification • Voice in national advocacy
• Maintain certification • Food, Fellowship, and Fun
• Support their industry

Benefits or Features?

Why Members Do Not Renew
• Business closed/merged–12%
• Change of profession-15%
• Cannot determine-16%
• Dues too high-17%
• Not enough time to use member benefits-7%
• Services no longer relevant-17%
• Other-16% -Association Management, November 2001

Not Enough Perceived Value: 73%

Marketing General 2011 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey


Is Dissent Valuable?


Contrarians Are Just
Future Leaders,
Waiting for
Intelligent Direction
& Integration.

Valuing Contrarians
• See the cornucopia of diverse members and
discover how to reel in contrarians through
collaboration.
• Position your organization as the one
organization in your industry where everyone is
welcome, embraced, and valued.
• Get your persnickety members to understand and
appreciate the value they receive and deliver
through their membership.
• Recruit all your members to become evangelists
for your association.
• Realize that contrarians see different patterns!


Linkedin Member ROI Group
Question: How does your
organization recognize long-term
(20+ years) members and what
does it do to reward their loyalty to
your organization?


Recognize Long-Term Members

• Some of my clients make the older members "fellows". One
particular association at their annual event get all the
members of 50 years standing to stand up and "take wine
with the president"
• In addition to having "ribbons" attached to the online roster
showing the length of membership, we recognize
companies during the awards dinner at our annual
convention both in the program and having them stand.
This year we did the recognition by groups having them
stand at their seats for 5, 10, and 20 years. 25+ year
members came to the stage to be recognized for their
commitment to the industry.



• My association celebrated its 25th
anniversary in 2011. We sent a special
invitation to the charter members to attend
a special reception held during our annual
convention. They were also recognized
during the membership luncheon and
were presented with a plaque.



• We include a list of our members, in
5-yr increments, annually in our
magazine.
• We discontinued the pins when we
changed our logo in 2009
• We do encourage our chapters to
honor their longtime members.


Membership Evangelism; What’s It Take?
1. Help members to understand how a larger organization--reaching
critical mass--will serve them better, personally and professionally.
2. Recognize publically and privately, the efforts and results of your
member recruitment evangelists; especially their efforts to help new
members to assimilate into your organization.
3. If the board of directors and paid staff are continually exploring
additional methods to deliver real-dollar value to members, as
opposed to exploring more ways to get into the pockets of members,
regularly and clearly communicate new “member only” value
propositions.
4. Teach your evangelists the difference between “member only” and
“industry stakeholder” value.
1. Member Only Value: benefits and services one receives that is only
available to paid members. If an association gives it out free, it is not a
member only value but rather an industry stakeholder value.
2. Industry Stakeholder Value: much of the legislative, lobbying, and
advocacy activities where everyone in the industry benefits, regardless of
holding membership in your organization or not.

5. Develop an effective recruitment tool that proves “member
only” ROI and that membership in your organization is a good
business decision.

Evangelist’s Tool: The ROI Brochure

• Brochure fits in #10
envelope, breast coat
pocket, or other
convenient location
• No extra postage,
generally, when mailed
with annual renewal or
other association to
member communication


Recruitment Evangelist ROI Brochure Elements
• Brochure best as:
– 11” x 8.5” tri-fold
– 4 color double sided
• Brochure covers:
– Front cover should always state, “Membership is a Good Business
Decision.”
– Back cover offers factual and/or historical information about your
organization and complete contact information.
• Upon opening, visible on the right side, should be the results from
your Member ROI Valuation Process, proving that membership in
your organization is a good business decision. The line-items are
“member only” benefits.
• Left should include, the “What’s in it for” the various industry
stakeholder segments or organization’s membership categories.
• Last open:
– Far left, What’s in it for the individual
– Center page, What’s in it for your business
– Right section, What’s in it for your industry. This is the place for your
org to toot it’s legislative and advocacy prowess horn. This is because,
from a non-member perspective, they are already getting this value even
though they do not hold membership in your organization.


Outside left: Outside center: Outside right:
Results from Rigsbee’s A bit of history on your This is your brochure
Member Value organization and all cover. In addition to your
ProcessTM including all contact information on organizations logo on the
line items valued and the bottom. top, title the brochure:
totals. “Membership, It’s A
Good Business
Decision!”

Inside left: Inside center: Inside right:
What’s in it for the What’s in it for the What’s in it for the
prospect personally? prospect’s business? prospect’s industry? This
Include a paragraph for Skip the features and list is last because it offers
all member categories— benefits (how your the least real-dollar ROI
member, allied, supplier, organization will make to the member.
etc. the member’s company Remember, they get
better.) legislative benefit even if
they are not a member.


Just because your
implementation was
faulty, it doesn’t mean the
idea was bad.


Additional Resources from Ed Rigsbee
• Association Resources:
http://www.rigsbee.com/association.htm
• Association Articles:
http://www.rigsbee.com/associationarticles.htm
• How to Conduct Ed Rigsbee’s Member ROI Valuation Process article:
http://www.rigsbee.com/association-member-retention-1.htm
• All Ed's articles & permission to reprint:
http://www.rigsbee.com/morearticles.htm
• Linkedin Member ROI Group; only for association/society staff and
executives, no volunteer leaders and no vendors are invited.
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2672904
• For questions about the above resources or to engage Ed Rigsbee to
help you implement any of the phases of his Member Recruitment
System, call 805-498-5720 or email to ed@rigsbee.com
• Ed Rigsbee’s association client list & client comments:
http://www.rigsbee.com/clientlist.htm
• Ed Rigsbee’s client testimonials at Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/edrigsbee


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