Win two movie tickets

In so many aspects of our lives we don't realise the benefits of being part of a group - whether simply one in a crowd or a member of an association. This point was brought home to me this week. While crossing the street at one of the busiest intersections in Brisbane, I snagged the heel of my shoe and fell ingloriously to the tarmac landing surrounded by my shoes, the entire contents of my handbag and a fair portion of my pride. As several nice young people came to my rescue several things occured to me ...

• There was no way I could escape with dignity intact.
• I needed some urgent chiropractic care ... and a new pair of shoes. Not necessarily in that order.
• You don't notice the people around you until you need them.

Therein is the strength of associations. The majority of members don't notice their association membership until they need it. It simply sits in the background. When things go wrong, or when they need a little help, a member should be able to seek support from their association. That safety net is a huge benefit of being a member - but also one of the hardest to convey.

I'd love to hear your ideas on how to convey this benefit. I will give two free movie tickets to whomever can provide the best story about how to effectively convey the safety net benefit of membership before the 15th of October, 2009. Tell your story via adding a comment below (to enter the draw please either put your details on the blog or email me separately).

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?

Can you "Facebook" your membership?

Facebook has just hit 250 million users -just three months after hitting 200 million users. This is one of the most fabulous examples of membership growth I know of. Here is an organisation that understood a need in the marketplace, developed a membership product that fulfilled that need and experienced enormous growth as a result. They went from 0 members in 2003 to 250 million members in 2009. Even better - they have a free membership structure that is supporting from other income sources that leverage off their strength in numbers. With vision the sky is the limit. How can you "Facebook" your membership?

What you need to know to deliver tangiable member value

Want to understand what services your members want? Then don't ask the question "what services should our association provide?". The most common response to that question is either a blank look or "I don't know".

By asking that question you waste a valuable opportunity to discover what services your members really need.When undertaking membership research you need to find out what worries your members.

You need to discover those issues that keep them up at night and what problems are at the top of their priority list. Once you understand the challenges your members are facing you can then devise products and services that will assist your members to alleviate those problems. In this way you can ensure you are delivering real value.

You will also find that different segments of your membership are facing different challenges. So when you undertake research be sure to identify the segment specific challenges to enable you to tailor your membership value proposition.

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!

Give em what they want or give em what they need?

Found this interesting post on the Acronym blog. It talks about the challenge of servicing members and asks the questions "Do we give them what they want or what they need". Well worth a read.

The Decision to Join Research

The Decision to Join research from the ASAE is well worth a read. For those who don't have time to read the entire report then click here to read a summary I've compiled. Everyone involved in membership should read this.

What's luck got to do with it?

I've long maintained that the real value of membership is intangiable (see my article "Articulating the value of membership"). Today I came across this article on Mariner Management & Marketing called "What's luck got to do with it" that gives some great examples of that intangiable value. If organisations could better articulate this value then they would have a lot more members.

Articulating the value of membership

I wrote an article recently on "Articulating the value of membership" ...

It's often the same sad story. Some poor sucker asks "What are the benefits of membership". The association representative takes a deep breath and rattles out ... "We have a magazine, a website, an email bulletin, a conference, training and ... blah blah blah" WHO CARES!Those things by themselves mean pretty much nothing. They are just a bunch of features thrown together. Frankly, when it comes to hearing about the benefits of membership I need more information. I'm not making a donation to the organisation. I'm making an investment and I expect to see a return. That's why I join an association ... read more.