Hard sell membership may be good for short term sales but won't generate loyalty.

I read an article by Aaron Crowe who talked about the unpleasant experience of being sold a gym membership. I could really relate as I've gone through the same process recently myself. The sales pitch was so intense that, despite joining, I resigned a couple of weeks later. I'd found I'd really come to resent the entire process and going to the gym reminded me of it. I ended up joining another gym with a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Thankfully not too many associations have chosen to follow the membership sales approach adopted by many gyms.

Do you know why your members decide to join?

It's interesting to read members and prospective members discussing the pros and cons of buying a membership. I read with interest Amy Wang talking about the benefits of reciprocal memberships available with different zoo memberships. While this is not necessarily a big consideration for the general population, for mothers on a budget seeking ways of keeping their children entertained this can be a big factor in the decision to join or not. It shows the benefits of considering each segment of your membership when developing your membership product.

Do you know how and why your members make the decision to join your organisation over other alternatives?

Interesting discussion regarding compulsory membership moves by Australia association

The Association of Financial Advisers and the Financial Planning Association of Australia are calling for mandatory membership of financial planners in order to lift both the professional standards of public perception of the finance advice industry. Even more interesting than the article itself are the comments. It is interesting to see how members and prospective members are reacting to this more ... read more.

Membership Marketing Benchmarking Final Report now available

Tony Rossell has released his Membership Marketing Benchmarking Final Report (you need to register on the site to get a copy). This is a US report so the findings need to be considered within the context of the US market.

There are a number of interesting findings and the entire report is worth a read. Those I found more interesting were:

• Direct mail was by far the most popular method of recruiting new members at 46% - with those who market predominately via direct mail more likely to have renewal rates of over 80%.
• The first year dues discount is the more effective recruitment incentive.
• Highly personal new member integration programs has a direct impact on retention.

They have a range of other research reports available on the website as well.

Tips to generate members from events

Members recruited from events are more likely to renew and more likely to be actively involved in your organisation. Non-members registering to attend your events represent a great opportunity to recruit. Following are a couple of simple, easy to implement ideas that should increase your conversion rate ….

Prior to the event

• Have a significant price difference between members and non-members.
• Include an additional section on the registration that enables non-members to join your organisation on the same form.
• Market the event to those who have enquired about membership previously but not joined.
• Market the event through your sponsors and suppliers. Find out if you can send out a registration form with their next mailout – or if they could send out an email or fax to their clients on your behalf.
• All non-members registering for events should be given a courtesy phone call to ask if they would like to join to take advantage of the discount. If you are a little shy about calling you can start by letting them know that you’ve received the form and would just like to confirm their details.

At the event

• At the event make sure that non-members are identified (such as by a spot on their badge). Ensure that all staff, board and volunteers are aware that these people are non-members who may need special attention.
• Appoint several member volunteers whose specific job is to ensure that the non-members have a great time throughout the event.
• Provide incentives to non-members to join at the event.
• Provide a forum at the event, such as a membership information session, where non-members and members can attend to find out more about the benefits of their membership.

After the event

• Phone the non-members who attended and ask what they thought of the event. If they had a great time, ask if they would like to join (provide some kind of limited time incentive). If they didn’t enjoy the event then, if appropriate, action the feedback and provide some kind of “make-good” to the dissatisfied non-member – such as inviting them to a future event as your guest.
• Keep the details of all those who didn’t join on a list for the promotion of future events or member recruitment campaigns.

Most common methods of sourcing new members

On his Membership Marketing blog Tony Rossell recently talked about how research has found direct mail to be the most common method of sourcing new members (see: Direct mail is tops for membership). Here is where the Australian, UK and US markets seem to be quite different. In Australia and the UK traditional professional associations and industry bodies have rarely used direct mail to its full potential. Is there an opportunity here we are missing? If you've had any experience with direct mail please comment below. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Getting members engaged with your organisation

The Decision to Join research was quite clear when it said "If a resigned member can be regarded as dead, then an inactive member can be regarded as comatose". It went on to say that ad-hoc volunteering opportunities are the crucial segway between inactive and active members.

This means that if you can get your members more actively engaged with your association then they are more likely to renew. What makes this challenging is that different members will want to engage with you in different ways. Some will want to attend events while others would prefer opportunities that don't involve them leaving the house. You need to provide a variety of options to cater for all preferences.

Broadly speaking, getting members engaged is a three step process of which you are responsible for two steps. These are:

1. The association is responsible for creating opportunities for members to get involved.
2. The association is responsible for effectively communicating these opportunities to their members (in such a way that the members are fully aware of the opportunities available to them).
3. The member is responsible for taking advantage of those opportunities.

What recruitment incentives work best?

Tony Rossell has put up an interesting blog with the results of their research on what member incentives work best to encourage people to join. He's put forward his thoughts and there's been a few interesting comments in response. Well worth a read for the different perspectives. Click hear to read the article.

Potential non-dues revenue streams

If I were to offer you a 24 carat diamond ring for $5 what would you think? My guess is you would wonder what was wrong with it. Your members will do the same thing when you offer a quality product as a ridiculously low price.If you want to create a strong, sustainable association then you need to be generating income from as many sources as possible.
Consider revenue sources such as:

• Training courses and workshops
• Conferences and trade shows
• Networking events and services
• Third party programs (such as insurance deals that give your members a discount and you an income stream)
• Online and hardcopy publications (including magazine advertising, directory listings, etc)
• Consultancy services (including industrial relations advice)
• Sales and marketing assistance
• Merchandise
• Referral fees
• Sponsorship of your events and other activities
• Advertising in your online and hardcopy publications
• Fundraising
• Grants

The key consideration when adding non-dues income streams is to ask the question – will this product or service help our members to be successful in their careers or businesses. If that link isn’t immediately obvious then you may wish to consider other services.Also, you need to leverage from each thing you do.
For example, if you run a conference you can generate income through delegate registrations, trade booths, sponsorship, sales of conference materials to those who didn’t attend, merchandise, sale of publications through a bookshop at the event, etc.

And don't forget to market your income producing products and services to non-members. It's a great way to get them engaged with your organisation with a view to becoming members. Of course, for any product or services being offered to non-members they should always be charged at a higher rate so they offer another opportunity to generate the surplus that enables you to deliver even higher levels of service!

Know your membership statistics

If you want to decrease your marketing costs and increase the effectiveness of your membership marketing then it is worth taking a look at your membership statistics. A quick analysis of your growth and retention rates can give you an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your member recruitment and retention processes and enable you to take targeted action. I've written an article to give you an overview of the key statistics you need to know and how to work them out ... read more.