Traditionally, associations have been designed to serve either organizational trade members or the individual professionals who work in such organizations. But increasingly, associations are realizing that there is a third option: intentionally designing business models to serve both the individual and the organization. (Presentation at CalSAE Seasonal Spectacular December 2014. Portions of the presentation repurposed from ASAE14, co-presented with Tony Rossell, Marketing General, Inc. and Krista Barnes.)

1. Emerging Hybrid Membership Models
Greg Melia, CAE
@gmeliacae

2. Traditional association model
• Individual or Company membership
• All members pay similar, annual dues
• Many “checkbook” members with limited usage
• Sponsors and advertising subsidize education, meetings,
and publications
• Joining is the operative norm
Photo credit: Angusf on flickr

3. Changing world
• Technological advances
• Demographic, gender and age diversity
• Globalization
• Mass customization
• Changing nature of work & careers

4. Definitions
 Professional Society — represents individuals with a common
background in a subject or a profession such as law, medicine, and
accounting.
 Trade Association —represents a group of companies having a
business or trade in common. Companies work together to
accomplish goals that no single firm could reach by itself.
 Hybrid membership model — serves a combination of
individuals and organizations engaged in a cause, industry, or
profession

5. How Prevalent are Hybrid Structures?
42%
27%
28%
Professional
Society
Trade
Hybrid
Source: “What Makes High-Performing Boards” page 19

6. The Benefits
 GROWTH
 Extend reach
 Frame ROI in new ways
 New lens for product development
 New marketing options
 Improved renewal rates

7. MEAN MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL RATE
Less than 80%
renewal
80% renewal
or higher
Individual
Member
Trade Combination
Mean 64% 88% 76% 85% 80%
Median 70% 88% 80% 88% 82%
Source:
Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

8. MEAN NEW MEMBER RENEWAL RATE
Less than 80%
renewal
80% renewal
or higher
Individual
Member
Trade Combination
Mean 52% 78% 62% 79% 66%
Median 52% 82% 64% 85% 66%
Source:
Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

9. What are the trends
For more information on Marketing General Incorporated.
Visit www.marketinggeneral.com or contact Tony Rossell
Tony@marketinggeneral.com 703.706.0360
in hybrid
memberships for
associations?

10. MEMBERSHIP TYPE BY STUDY YEAR
2014
(n = 886)
2013
(n = 693)
2012
(n = 643)
2011
(n = 643)
2010
(n = 404)
Individual Member 44% 48% 54% 49% 54%
Trade 28% 30% 28% 36% 28%
Combination 26% 20% 15% 13% 17%
Other 2% 2% 3% 2% 1%
Source:
Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

11. The Challenges
 Bylaws and other legal considerations
 Culture
 Technology
 Avoiding apathy
 Not undercutting existing business model

12. Source:
Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

13. Some Hybrid Strategies
• Group sales
• Tiered service levels
• Hyper-bundling by adding benefits to membership
• Focus on market creation/affinity program value
• Specialized offers for segments within existing
membership or new markets
• Differentiated value for individuals & organizations

15.  Group Enrollment - Save Money, Simplify Enrollment,
and Reduce Hassles
 Groups of five or more physicians:
 100% participation, 30% discount
 90% participation, 20% discount
 80% participation, 10% discount
 75% participation, 5% discount
 Additional benefits include Valuable practice benefit to new-hire
prospects by offering free MMS membership

16. American Society of Travel Agents
 Dual membership structure: Hi tech, and Hi touch
• Core membership - geared to provide a relevant and immediate
response to members' most frequent questions through peer
assistance and a sophisticated online knowledge system . $250
• Premium membership - access to an account management team
which provides advanced business consulting, customized research,
public relations consulting, peer assistance, and a professional e-journal.
$2500

17. US Chamber Of Commerce
Tiers: Individual through Advisor Benefit bundles: Conference call updates,
Access to committee service, Customized GR web portal
Friends
Members

18. National Defense Industry Association
• Government members were an underserved segment –
changes grew membership from a handful to 21,000
• Data-mining & Business Intelligence from AMS enabled
segmentation
• Open membership & value engagement
• Automation of join process removed barriers to joining
• Example: allow individuals to join, then sell upgrade to
organizational membership
• Results: Doubled revenue with same staff

19.  Institutional Membership
 10 “personal membership groups” in specialty areas like
healthcare engineering, risk management, and human resource
administration. Personal membership includes access to some
(but not all) AHA benefits, such as members only website and
hospital literature.
 American Bankers Association too!

20.  Individual ($50 - $90)
 Build Job Skills (development programs and networks)
 Manage Your Career (member logo, mentoring)
 Stay Informed (magazine, e-news)
 Save Money (registration discounts, fellowships)
 Make the Case for Museums (advocacy)
 Museum Membership (Pay what you can - $8,000)
 Strive for Excellence (standards, resources)
 Distinguish Your Museum (directory listing)
 Stay Informed (magazine, e-news)
 Save Money (registration discounts, fellowships)
 Make the Case for Museums (advocacy)

21. What ASAE is doing
 Adding an organization focus to existing individual
membership
 Focusing on the 15,000 staffed member-based
professional c3s and c6s
 Developing persuasive offers for organization purchases –
from basic membership to Circle Club
 Adding a Career Portal to introduce ASAE to potential
members and foster engagement

22. All Approaches at a Glance
Career - Freemium model, which promotes value of ASAE
membership, programs, and services to help advance an
association professional’s career.
Individual Membership – Gives access to all ASAE content,
community and career resources.
Organizational Membership – Gives all employees at an
association the option of accessing ASAE content, plus the
option of participating in the ASAE community and career
resources. Also, bundled pre-purchase savings options.

23. What An Organizational Bundle Might Include
• ASAE University
• In person
• Online
• On-site training
• Content Licensing
• Exclusive programming
Learning
• Benchmarking
• Operating Ratios
• Salary
• Co-sponsored projects
Research
• Associations Now
• ASAEcenter.org
• Publications Library
• Reprint rights
Content
• Board Development
resources
• Executive Team briefings
• Exclusive invitations (e.g.,
Key Committee
participation)
• Recruitment support
Executive
Support
• Inroads newsletter
• Coalition participation
• Power of A awards entry
Advocacy

24. Do you have a hybrid opportunity?
 What membership structure changes can expand your organization
beyond its current focus?
 How will you identify membership prospects?
 Who funds membership, participation & content?
 What is the core portion of the market? Is there a high end subset or
lower part of the market?
 How can membership growth create new product and market
opportunities?

25. Potential Directions
• Create a portfolio of engagement options – from customer to a
variety of membership opportunities
• Appeal to both individuals and organizations – maintain a
connection to individuals, while providing economy of scale to
organizations
• Leverage technology – to allow for targeted, customized
information delivered quickly in cost-effective ways
• Serve many niches – create a model and systems that provide
value to demographic and functional niches.

26. Development Case Study
Council for Exceptional Children Membership Options
Individual Tiers: Premier, Full and Basic
School District Package:
 Includes 1 administrator and 5 professionals
 Incorporates professional development

27. Process to Develop
Member Workgroup
Feedback sessions
Pricing models
Recommendation to Board

28. Motion Approved, then what?
Business Rules
Database programming
Renewal strategy – Upgrade!
Recruitment strategy
Sales strategy for package
Communication timeline
Collateral

29. Launched July 2014
Members “upgraded”
Strong communication still needed
Developing champions among our
units
Incredible energy around
organization's growth potential

30. In conclusion …
 Understand what your members want and need.
 Develop member benefits that solve the problems.
 Assess the costs to provide those benefits and get rid of anything
that does not provide a benefit.
 Put a membership model in place that both aligns with the way
your audience wants to pay and makes it easy for your offering to
sell.
 Test these offerings and revenue models with members and
nonmembers. Adjust accordingly.
Source: The End of Membership as We Know It (ASAE Press)

31. Thank you!
Greg Melia, CAE
gmelia@asaecenter.org
Visit www.associationsnow.com
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