tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72431830834467373292024-03-26T23:37:54.861-07:00Experts in Membership MarketingAn ongoing exploration of the national and international challenges of membership marketing, the latest research, and the remarkable results that are being achieved by a select group of highly trained membership marketing professionals.Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-69489938385933296772014-01-02T12:40:00.000-08:002014-01-23T08:44:56.950-08:00Caroline Fuchs is my guest blogger today. She says that it’s simple, just ask your members.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy New Year!</div>
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I asked a very good friend of mine,<b> Caroline H. Fuchs, CAE,</b> who is the <i>Senior
Director of Marketing for the Association
for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology</i>, to present just a few tidbits of "things" she learned in 2013. </div>
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I think that you'll find her observations interesting and useful as we charge into 2014.</div>
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It’s been said before in this blog, but it is so true—sometimes
all you have to do is ask. The simple act of asking members or constituents <span style="color: red;">what they think and what motivates them</span> accomplishes
so much. A survey engages individuals who read and respond, it demonstrates the
association’s interest in how members feel about a topic, and it provides
valuable information for future decision-making.</div>
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<a href="http://apic.org/">The Association for
Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology</a> (APIC) conducted a
quick survey through its email system to better understand why members <u>did
not</u> attend the annual conference. We were extremely pleased with the level
of engagement and the value of the information.</div>
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With hopes of adding value to your next survey, I’d like
to share some of the results and lessons learned.</div>
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<b>Incentives work</b>—an
11% response rate was achieved with the help of a free annual conference
registration prize drawing. The prize winner was ecstatic about attending in
2014.</div>
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<b>Interest confirmed</b>—the
survey validated the appeal of the conference. In addition to the
overwhelmingly positive comments, we found that conference content was
perceived as “robust and topical.”</div>
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<b>Dollars talk</b>—the
highest deterrent to attendance was cost. Correspondingly, we learned that the
ability to obtain the funding from employers (the primary funder) was difficult,
with 62% stating that it was not a budgeted item and 57% unable to obtain
approval to participate.</div>
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<b>Data can lie</b>—we
learned that the 2013 location was influential in the decision by<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7243183083446737329" name="_GoBack"></a> some members NOT to attend. Surprisingly, this contradicted
attendee data that supported the location when dates were set five years ago. The
lesson here? Keep asking questions.</div>
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<b>Make changes</b>—as
a result of the survey, APIC enhanced the registration options, including a group
discount. We also started promotion early, using postcards and emails to remind
members to budget for the next conference. And the 2014 website will
prominently feature attendance justification materials.</div>
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But perhaps the most <b>mission-confirming</b>
information came from an open-ended question about “other programs and
conferences you attended this year” where we heard that <span style="color: red;">APIC events were, by far, the most frequently attended educational events</span>.
Wow. Talk about feeling like we make a difference. </div>
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So, ask your members. It’s simple.</div>
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-57943790495626640512013-11-15T10:38:00.001-08:002013-11-15T10:38:10.498-08:00Over .85% Response with 100% pay-up!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wanted to share with you the incredible results I’ve
gotten on a recent membership campaign for one of my clients as it points out
the importance of several factors in successfully promoting membership. This
program was so successful that it generated a profit which is being used to
offset additional research my client is performing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My client is a medium-sized association targeting business
professionals in the United States with dues in excess of $500/yr. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We targeted over 25,000 for the promotion for the initial
mailing, with 20% identified as multi-buyers who received a second piece and
three follow up emails.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gross Response Rate:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Exceeded .85% or 250 new members.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What this program had going for it:</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Used expired members and response lists to target
prospect market </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Identified those most likely to buy
(multi-buyers)</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Utilized multiple channels to increase awareness
and become top-of-mind</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Allowed for proration of dues (annual renewal
date)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">It took some work to plan and execute this
program, but the results are worth it and my client’s satisfaction when we
presented the results was phenomenal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">If you’d like to learn more
about this program or how I can assist you in the marketing of your membership,
please contact me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-60738412926878717402013-10-29T10:48:00.001-07:002013-10-29T10:48:07.823-07:00Component Relations Section November 2013 Virtual Roundtable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">"Components and the
Race to Membership: 10 Tips to Develop and Effectively Use Components in
Membership Marketing"</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Presenters: </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Erik Schonher, Vice President, Marketing General
Incorporated</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Trevor S. Mitchell, CAE, Executive Director, Member
Programs & Services, ARMA International</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"> <i>"Components offer associations a multitude of
opportunities to drive their missions and increase their revenues. From the
development of content to driving membership, when properly designed and
managed, components become essential channels through which associations
develop and deliver their value."</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Excerpted from "Components and the
Race to Membership"</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Join our guest presenters, authors of the recently released
white paper, "Components and the Race to Membership: 10 Tips to Develop
and Effectively Use Components in Membership Marketing" as they discuss
their conclusions, tips, and suggestions for partnering with components to
develop, demonstrate, and deliver membership value. </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">"Whether components are
organized/defined by location, industry, interest, or other delineators, they
are a valuable untapped resource. Those that work with them, leverage their power,
and unlock their potential are positioned for success."</span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Excerpted from "Components and the
Race to Membership"</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Bring your questions and comments to this enlightening and
important conversation about components and membership marketing strategy and
find your association's path to success. </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">To register, follow this link <a href="http://tinyurl.com/kdmby3u"><b><span style="color: blue;">http://tinyurl.com/kdmby3u</span></b></a><b>. or
you can register via the ASAE Calendar at <a href="http://www.asaecenter.org/"><span style="color: blue;">www.asaecenter.org</span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2013</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Time:</span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">2 pm - 3 pm Eastern time/1
pm - 2 pm Central time</span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">12 noon - 1 pm Mountain time/11 am - 12 noon Pacific time</span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">-------------------------------------------<br />
Cecilia Sepp<br />
Vice President<br />
Association Laboratory Inc.<br />
Silver Spring MD<br />
(301) 346-9656<br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-47650837628778425842013-10-25T10:23:00.001-07:002013-10-25T10:23:12.939-07:00Selecting a New CRM - Some Good Advice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Given what I do as a membership marketing consultant with a background in Information Management, I'm often asked to give advice on selecting a CRM. To that point, I read a great post on ASAE's Collaborate (Membership Section) by Paula Aviles, Membership Director for The Special Libraries Association (10/25/2013), which is worthy of repeating.<br />
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She prefaces it by writing that these are "Some lessons learned..."<br />
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<strong>TIME</strong>: It always takes longer than expected.<br />
<strong>DEMO</strong>: Be watchful as it shows you what it can do, not how, so it may end up taking more time or staff hours then anticipated.<br />
<strong>REPORTS</strong>: Most systems capture data. It's pulling it out "where things take a turn." Check the queries and reports and be sure that they are reporting the metrics YOU USE to communicate with your leadership.<br />
<strong>HISTORY</strong>: What data points will it capture, maintain or discard/overwrite when updated?<br />
<strong>TRAIN AND TEST</strong>: Make sure you allow for training and testing (all we need to do is look at what's happening with the health-care website to realize that testing BEFORE launching is essential).<br />
<strong>LAUNCH DATE: </strong>Remember the first item mentioned - 'Time' so keep the launch date movable as long as you can. Yes, at some point you need to fish-or-cut-bait, but don't rush it.<br />
<strong>This is for the MEMBERS:</strong> You're doing this for them.<br />
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This is what Paula advises and I think its pretty good. The only item I usually add is:<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>EASE OF ADAPTABILITY:</strong> Change is constant. What will our Association look like in 5 or 10 years and can this system handle the change? How many of us are paying the price with poorly constructed or operating websites because they can't interface properly with the CRM?<br />
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In summary, its about properly setting the expectations of leadership, staff and your membership.<br />
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Good luck and my sincerest appreciation to Paula for her great post and clarity of thought.<br />
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<em>Erik Schonher is Vice President for Marketing General Incorporated. A sought after speaker and</em> <em>writer, he has over 30 years of successful experience in marketing to include associations, designing</em> <em>and implementing member acquisition and retention programs, research initiatives, promoting</em> <em>conferences and guiding leadership. To speak with Erik about your programs, you can call him at</em> <em>(703) 706-0358 or through his email </em><a href="mailto:erik@marketinggeneral.com"><em>erik@marketinggeneral.com</em></a><em> .</em> </div>
Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-21894699035917696282013-10-09T06:35:00.000-07:002013-10-09T06:35:49.616-07:00How do I enhance my renewal rate? Just ask your member.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are many factors to take into consideration when soliciting members to renew their memberships. Some of these we simply can't control (ie: employement status, dues compensation, etc.). One that we can control is, which in my humble opinion is the most important, making sure that the member realizes benefits from their membership.</div>
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The key here is our knowing what benefit the member looking to realize through their membership and if they ever realize it? </div>
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Some of this can be gleaned by analyzing the offer they responded to (source analysis) then through data-analysis look at what products or services the member purchased or participated in to see if there is a trail to follow. A good point to this kind of analysis is that you can then look to see if the member renewed in previous years. This kind of data-analytics is very powerful and can lead you to a more indepth understanding of your entire "business" (ie: RFM Analysis). </div>
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In other cases we need to go to the members themselves, usually through a survey. But, we're not looking at just one survey but two. The first survey right when the member joins and the second six to five months prior to expire.</div>
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But what questions should I ask in the first survey? This is dependent upon what you plan to do with the data and what can your CRM effectively capture?</div>
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First and foremost, don't let this turn into a game of "dogpile" where various departments want to measure what is important to them. This needs to be very sleek and targeted so as not to "be a pain to fill out."</div>
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Next, what is the best methodology to accomplish this? That depends upon several factors including the number of new members, budgets, etc. Many associations use telemarketing or email. Like anything else in what we do, which offers the greatest bang for our buck.<br />
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While every association is different, I would focus on the 3 to 5 primiary benefits you present when promoting your association. I would then ask the member to provide "how" they plan to realize the benefit. For example, if a benefit is "Networking," then give them a chance to respond by listing 3 or so features that promote networking: "Attend Annual Conference" "Attend Chapter Meetings" "Volunteer for Member Committee."<br />
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As you can see this will get pretty big pretty quickly.<br />
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In the second survey what we want to find out is if they've realized any benefit from their membership. To that end, second survey is similar to the first, asking why they joined and offering up the opportunity to explain what features they participated in. Of course, you'll also want to ask if the member "intends to renew." If yes or no, why?<br />
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In addition, you may also want to ask in the second survey "How important is this feature to you and how well did we deliver it to you?" This "gap analsyis" will help you determine the value of benefits you promote and how well you deliver them.<br />
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Now we analyze the first and second survey results to help us understand:<br />
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<li>Why members join?</li>
<li>What features (if any) do they use?</li>
<li>Are we effectively delivering the benefits they are looking for?</li>
<li>Do they plan to renew?</li>
</ol>
Secondary benefits of this kind of program include:<br />
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<li>Potentially identifying "high risk for renewal" members (which might allow you a chance to fix this)</li>
<li>Promotion of some underutilized features</li>
</ol>
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-12617965953422382892013-10-09T05:39:00.000-07:002013-10-09T05:40:17.941-07:00New Membership Models<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Bold","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Bold;">JUST PUBLISHED!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Bold","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Bold;">10 Tips to Develop and Effectively Use Components in Membership Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">Components offer associations a multitude of opportunities to drive their missions and increase their revenues. From the development of content to driving membership, when properly designed and managed, components become essential channels through which associations develop and deliver their</span><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">But exactly what is a component? What are the elements associations need to consider in creating a</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">component? What is necessary in the management of a component? How can they be used to increase</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">membership?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">Written by two respected leaders in the field of association and membership marketing, Erik Schonher, CeM MBA,VP Marketing General, and Trevor Mitchell, CAE, Executive Director Member Programs & Services ARMA International, the purpose of this white paper is to act as a primer and provide association executives with an appreciation of the growing importance of components in the development and delivery of membership value and how to take the initial steps necessary to develop and integrate a component strategy into an association’s overall membership marketing plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">If you'd like a free copy of the whitepaper, or discuss how you can grow your components and increase their effectiveness in driving your membership, please contact me at 703.706.0358 or Erik@MarketingGeneral.com</span></div>
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-77284892501641545992013-09-22T12:42:00.000-07:002013-09-22T12:42:34.998-07:00New White Paper: 10 Tips to Develop and Effectively Use Components in Membership Marketing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Bold","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Bold;">JUST PUBLISHED!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Bold","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Bold;">10 Tips to Develop and Effectively Use Components in Membership
Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">Components offer
associations a multitude of opportunities to drive their missions and increase
their revenues. From the development of content to driving membership, when
properly designed and managed, components become essential channels through
which associations develop and deliver their</span><span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">But exactly what is
a component? What are the elements associations need to consider in creating a</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">component? What is
necessary in the management of a component? How can they be used to increase</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">membership?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">Written by two
respected leaders in the field of association and membership marketing, Erik
Schonher, CeM MBA,VP Marketing General, and Trevor Mitchell, CAE, Executive
Director Member Programs & Services ARMA International, the purpose of this
white paper is to act as a primer and provide association executives with an
appreciation of the growing importance of components in the development and
delivery of membership value and how to take the initial steps necessary to
develop and integrate a component strategy into an association’s overall
membership marketing plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Berkeley-Book","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Berkeley-Book;">If you'd like a free copy of the whitepaper, or discuss how you can grow your components and increase their effectiveness in driving your membership, please contact me at 703.706.0358 or <a href="mailto:Erik@MarketingGeneral.com">Erik@MarketingGeneral.com</a></span></div>
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-82173951137636346892013-07-31T10:52:00.001-07:002013-07-31T10:52:54.898-07:00A Good Example of Writing to the Differences between a "Feature" and a "Benefit."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday's webinar.<br />
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Right now I want to share with you a very clear definition of "Feature" vs. "Benefit" that was just sent to me by my good friend Page Stull here at MGI. Page has a very long history as an editor and association marketer so I value his insights greatly. <br />
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While I'm sure this may be "old hat" to many of you, I believe it never hurts to review. So, I'll leave you Page's trustworthy hands for the rest of this post:<br />
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Most of us understand the difference between benefits and features, but let’s take that concept to the next level so our copy can be even more effective.<br />
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First, let’s define the features/benefits relationship:<br />
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<li>Features are the things associations give their members.</li>
<li> Benefits are what members receive using the features.</li>
</ul>
Here is a feature-laden sentence:<br />
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When you join the association, as a member you'll be eligible for continuing education courses for just $59 per credit.<br />
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Here is a benefit-focused rewrite:<br />
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Our continuing education programs will increase your understanding and elevate your skills for just $59 per credit. <br />
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The rewrite assumes the reader values increased understanding and elevated skills, but perhaps we can do even better by adding the element of emotion.<br />
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People have aspirations in life—to be better off, to be a better person, to gain respect, avoid discomfort, to be satisfied, and so forth. So, we add an aspiration—say, a promotion.<br />
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Here is the rewrite:<br />
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Our continuing education programs will increase your understanding and elevate your skills for just $59 per credit, building on your experience and perhaps taking your career to the next level—all for just $59 per credit.<br />
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When features become benefits of value we can appeal to our reader’s aspirations and stir emotions. And that’s far more powerful than a mere feature.<br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-10886662401646773722013-06-10T09:18:00.001-07:002013-06-10T09:23:47.613-07:00Tactical Planning for Developing Prospect Awareness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Developing “awareness” of your membership offer is the first step in any “sales cycle.” But what is awareness and how do we use it in the membership sales cycle? <br />
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First, “context” is a very important component of any stage in the sales cycle, and awareness is no different. We need people to listen when we talk. But the only time people listen is when it means something to them, usually when they have a problem or slight concern and are looking for a solution. Therefore, in promoting awareness, we must look for those opportunities when prospects will be open to listening to what we have to say. <br />
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A good way to learn when your prospects are open to listening is to ask your members when did they first learn about your association. After all, they too were prospects once.<br />
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The <em>2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report</em> indicated that the Top Five ways “…members initially discover (your) association” are:<br />
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Word-of-mouth recommendation....86%<br />
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Association website....80%</div>
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Email....66%</div>
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Promotion to/at your own conferences/conventions....54%</div>
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Local events/meetings....52%</div>
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To find this out, you can either “ask them” through qualitative and/or quantitative research, or analyze your database and look for correlations between members joining and other events (i.e.: attended a conference or even, purchased a product, etc.).<br />
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Once these are identified, we “reverse engineer” the channels with the goal of understanding how many members/buyers resulted from these efforts.<br />
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<u>Word-of-mouth recommendation</u><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>200 prospective members were referred by current members</li>
<li>Generated five new members for a close ratio of 2.5%.</li>
</ul>
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<u>Association website</u><br />
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<li>1500 people visited the Cookbook page</li>
<li>15 followed the “Join up” link (1%)</li>
<li>Generated one new member (6.7%)</li>
</ul>
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With these metrics in hand, we develop tactical plans to drive awareness with an appreciation for the ultimate result of generating paid memberships.<br />
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<u>Online Lead Generation Program</u><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Goal: 10,000 prospects (or 670 new members) </li>
<li>Overview: Develop a landing page and bring online prospects to the site by offering FREE materials which they can download by providing their first & last name, postal address and email address. With delivery, offer the opportunity to join. Place all prospects who download the recipes but don’t join into a 7-step on line conversion program where they will receive an email referring to the original offer as well as present other benefits of membership. At the end of the program, all non-joining prospects will be placed into a quarterly promotion program and distributed to the appropriate county for follow up. </li>
<li>Target Market: People looking for discounted tools</li>
<li>Promotion Channels: Expired members; Google PPC (key words TBD)</li>
<li>Offer: 150 Free Coupons</li>
<li>Time Period: July 1 to October 31.</li>
</ul>
The key to any promotion or tactical program is being able to measure its effectiveness in accomplishing your overall goal. Understanding why prospects seek you out and what it takes to help them decide to buy is key to your business. <br />
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Good luck.<br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-10625930404262017512013-05-17T05:32:00.000-07:002013-05-17T05:52:44.419-07:00The Importance of Brand in your Email Marketing: 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report shows email to be a primary promotion tool to increase awareness and drive member acquisition/renewals/reinstatements. So, Above or Below the Fold? Where do you place your logo?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report clearly shows the use of emails as a TOP 3 channel to promote association awareness, promote membership, fuel member engagement, and drive member renewal and reinstatement (see the data presented below).<br />
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Experience and research shows that the offer should be presented "above the fold" so it is one of, or THE FIRST, thing the recipient reads (do any of you remember "The Johnson Box" from direct mail?). However, given how small an amount of "real estate" it is, if push comes to shove, should you also place your logo or provide a brand element in the space as well?<br />
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The unwritten rule that I have always followed regarding this question is to include both branding/logo and a CTA/the offer above the fold/in the preview pane.<br />
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It is valuable real estate and you are quite limited with your space but it is important to incorporate both elements in this area. <br />
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Brand provides the reader with justification to read the email answering the simple, but very important, internal question the recipient asks themselves, "Should I really even bother with this email?" <br />
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Hopefully, your brand strategy successfully associates your association with the services and quality that the recipient wants - needs - and they say to themselves "YES, I've gotta read this now!" as the one time recipient and now engaged reader proceeds to devour the content of your email.<br />
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One of our e-Production leaders was asked recently by a colleague if emails are like mailed postal pieces – in that it is OK to create a different appearance for each campaign and allow for there to be some initial mystery as to who sent the email…that by doing this with emails could somehow increase engagement. <br />
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She indicated that in her experience, this is not the case with emails though – "recipients should be very aware of who the email sender is when the email is initially viewed. There are so many factors that contribute to an email’s success – a major factor is trust the email recipient has that the email they received is valid – from a source opted in to and recognize. The branding/logo included in this section reinforces the from line of the email and contributes to allowing for this trust."<br />
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I concur. In today's content-enriched market, individual's are looking for ways to perform "Attention Triage" so, similar to when you are first introduced to someone, you 10-seconds to prove that you are worthy of their attention and ENGAGEMENT. <br />
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If you have any questions concerning your brand or your e-marketing strategy, please feel free call me.<br />
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I look forward to your comments and observations.<br />
<br />
<strong>MOST EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT CHANNELS</strong><br />
2013 (n=685) 2012 (n=685)<br />
Word-of-Mouth 58% 54%<br />
Association Website 33% 34%<br />
Email 31% 37% <br />
<strong>METHODS FOR CREATING AND MAINTAINING ASSOC. AWARENESS</strong> 2013 (n=691) 2012 (n=683)<br />
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Association Website 33% 34%<br />
Email 31% 37% <br />
Word-of-Mouth 58% 54%<br />
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*2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report<br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-75608415109391439642013-05-12T09:48:00.003-07:002013-05-12T09:48:50.764-07:00Potential IMO Revenue Model - Presented for your consideration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report will be released in June at the Marketing and Membership Conference here in DC.<br />
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I recently used the results of the study to help a client develop a revenue model for her association. To do this I cross-tabbed two questions: Operating Budget by Revenue Streams. Here's the result:<br />
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POTENTIAL MODEL OF REVENUE DISTRIBUTION BY PRODUCT CHANNEL for IMO. <br />
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<u>Rev. Stream/Prod</u> <u>Under $1MM</u> <u>$1MM to $4.9MM</u> <u>Over $5MM</u><br />
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Dues 43% 35% 31%<br />
Conf/Web (Events) 29% 27% 26%<br />
Cert/Bks/Affinity 14% 23% 27%<br />
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It's interesting to see the changes in revenue impact as the Operating Budget increases, and this makes perfect sense. Every association or business must be responsive to the market and have product which is readily available to sell. Small IMOs may not have built up the inventory of products so they heavily rely on dues. As they grow, their market base increases, their revenue increases and they have more support in the development of product that can be sold through multiple channels.<br />
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While conferences seem to remain stable in their revenue contribution, what's of great interest is the increased participation of certification/books/affinity programs which is primarily driven by certification (see below).<br />
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So, if you're an association with an Operating Budget of $5MM+, and you're demanding Dues to provide over 31% of your revenue, are you properly allocating your resources to maximize your renvenue potential? Also, are you positionining yourself for future growth, OR, are you really driving your associaiton the other way?<br />
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In case you don't agree with the way I've grouped the categories, I've provided the crosstabs below so you can perform your own analysis.<br />
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I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts on this. Do you think its viable? Does it reflect your association? Let me know.<br />
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Operating Budget Less than $1Million $1 to $5 Million More than $5 Million <br />
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Dues 51 43% 40 35% 35 31% <br />
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Conferences 23 19% 22 19% 21 18% <br />
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Certification 5 4% 10 9% 12 11% <br />
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Webinars/seminars… 12 10% 9 8% 9 8% <br />
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Books/products 6 5% 14 12% 13 11% <br />
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Affinity programs 7 6% 2 2% 6 5% <br />
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All Other… 14 12% 16 14% 18 16% <br />
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118 100% 113 100% 114 100% <br />
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* Data used for this analysis was pulled from the MGI 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4I9ai_rJp74/UY_Ba7q5U4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/P_9Hrapzm18/s1600/What+percentage+of+revenue+is+attributable+to+each+of+the+following+areas+-+CROSSTABS+(2)_Page_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mwa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4I9ai_rJp74/UY_Ba7q5U4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/P_9Hrapzm18/s640/What+percentage+of+revenue+is+attributable+to+each+of+the+following+areas+-+CROSSTABS+(2)_Page_1.jpg" width="494" /></a><br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-43057674585408966922013-05-07T10:48:00.004-07:002013-05-07T10:50:37.737-07:00Results indicate that Membership Associations Who Performed Member Research in 2012 Had Higher Acquisition and Renewal Rates.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Results from the 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report continue to get more interesting everyday!<br />
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This year we learned that 65% of membership associations that introduced member research in 2012 saw an increase in new members. 59% saw an increase in membership and 45% realized an increase in renewals.<br />
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If your leadership needs it, these results provide a strong rationale to perform member research. The trick is to design the survey in such a way as to allow interpretation that lead activities that are immediately actionable and measurable.<br />
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If you have any questions concerning this information please feel free to contact me at 703.706.0358.<br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-13577010631012342112013-05-06T14:14:00.001-07:002013-05-06T14:14:18.463-07:00Increasing Member Engagement and Acquisition remain top goals for Membership Departments according to the 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Results from the soon-to-be-released <em>2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report</em> indicate that an equal percentage of responding associations (74%) indicate that “increasing member engagement” and<br />
“increasing both membership acquisition and retention” are the top two membership goals.<br />
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Trade associations are significantly more likely than individual membership associations to set a goal to <br />
increase member engagement (83% vs. 71%).<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TqDwlUvTqXQ/UYgbpWNR6mI/AAAAAAAAAHM/bAKUADuItkU/s1600/Depts+that+manage+social+media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mwa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TqDwlUvTqXQ/UYgbpWNR6mI/AAAAAAAAAHM/bAKUADuItkU/s640/Depts+that+manage+social+media.jpg" width="494" /></a>
I'll be speaking at the upcoming Alexandria Brown Bag providing a "Sneak Peak" at the <em>2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report</em> results. I hope to see you there.</div>
Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-50099982466932505382013-04-30T15:58:00.001-07:002013-04-30T16:00:55.811-07:00Margin of Error - Here's a quick rule of thumb to the question: "What's the best sample size?"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An often asked question is "How many responses do I need to get on my survey to make sure that it is valid?"<br />
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Jeff Tranguch, Research Analyst with MGI, prepared a very quick email to one of my clients on precisely this today. A really bright guy, I wanted to share it with you because of its simplicity and brevity.<br />
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Here it is in his words...<br />
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"As you can see, the number drops as you approach 1000
responses. They will have some direction with about 500 or so responses
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All of the numbers below are calculated at a 95% confidence
interval which basically means that if we were to conduct this study 100 times,
the same results, plus or minus the margin of error would occur 95 out of 100
times."</div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Number of Responses<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Margin of Error<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>100<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-9.8%</div>
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<b>250<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-6.2%</div>
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<b>500<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-4.4%<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>750<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-3.6%<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>1000<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-3.1%<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>1500<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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+/-2.5%<o:p></o:p></div>
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</tbody></table>
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<br />
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me.<br />
<br /></div>
Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-20589625560958306702013-04-30T10:58:00.000-07:002013-04-30T10:58:04.455-07:00Quick Tip - CAN-SPAM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As reported in the 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, to be released in May, e-mail is one of the Top Three tools used to drive awareness and engagement of members and prospects. To that point, I wanted to share some insight which just came across my desk from our e-Biz group on the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.<br />
<br />
First...What is Spam? The word "Spam" as applied to Email means "Unsolicited Bulk Email".<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
“Unsolicited” means that the Recipient has not granted verifiable </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
permission for the message to be sent. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
“Bulk” means that the message is sent to a list of people, as part of a larger collection </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of messages, all having substantively identical content. </div>
<br />
<strong>A message is Spam only if it is both Unsolicited and Bulk.</strong><br />
<br />
What is CAN-SPAM and what are its main requirements?<br />
<br />
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is an acronym which stands for: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003. <br />
<br />
The act, which became law on January 1, 2004, was the United State's first attempt at a national regulation for the sending of commercial email. <br />
<br />
The CAN-SPAM Act establishes requirements for all commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. The law applies to both B2B and B2C emails.<br />
If you’re sending commercial email, you will want to be very familiar with CAN-SPAM’s main requirements:<br />
<br />
• Never use deceptive headers, from-names, reply-tos, or subject lines.<br />
<br />
• You must always provide an unsubscribe link.<br />
<br />
• Remove recipients from your list within ten business days.<br />
<br />
• The unsubscribe link must work for at least 30 days after sending.<br />
<br />
• You must include your physical mailing address. <br />
<br />
And here's the kicker...If you violate the law, you could be<em> fined $11,000 for each offense</em>. <br />
<br />
Obviously I'm not a lawyer. So when in doubt, lawyer up and get proper advice. <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. <br />
<br />
</div>
Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-39301187230362115972013-04-29T14:09:00.003-07:002013-04-29T17:00:35.550-07:00It's only been 12 months...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
I'M BAAAAAAACK!!</h2>
<br />
After taking a year off I'm back and want to tell you about a new blog I'm cowriting with my MGI Research associates, Dr. Adina Wasserman and Jeff Tranguch.<br />
<br />
Welcome to The Association Research Blog ( <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://associationresearch.blogspot.com/"><strong>http://associationresearch.blogspot.com/</strong></a> ) and as the name cannotes, this blog is dedicated to exploring new research ideas, discussing established research procedures and how other association professionals are using the research.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I urge you all to take a look as we have already started posting "sneak peeks" of the 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Enjoy and its great to be back!!</span><br />
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Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-49109023208445779802012-04-20T07:30:00.000-07:002012-04-20T07:30:17.537-07:00Dues Rate - Negative Impact on Renewal Rates for Individual Membership Associations? The 2012 Membership Benchmarking Report says "NO WAY."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In preparing the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, we're looking at new ways to analyze the data and find new and important correllations. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I asked Jeff Tanguch, Research Manager here at MGI, to filter out the trade associations (N=146) from the overall response (N=684)and look at the relationship between Individual Membership Association renewals and annual dues. He found that 71% of membership associations whose dues are $200 or more also had a renewal rate of 80% or better. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Therefore, this may indicate that dues level does not impact renewal rate. Then what is it? </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Short answer: PERCEIVED VALUE. People will pay for what they believe is valuable. That is a personal decision - what is valuable to them. Not you...not me...THEM. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What do you think? Let us know your opinion. If you'd like a free copy of the 2012 Membership Benchmarking Report, please let me know. I'll send it to you as soon as we have it.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, if the value is demonstrable, then dues is little consideration. </span></div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-79786469226367540542012-04-17T11:49:00.003-07:002012-04-17T11:54:38.955-07:00More results fromt the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we continue to prepare the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, results from 691 assocations indicate that those with less than an 80% renewal rate appear to spend more on engaging and retaining members than associations with a renewal rate of 80%+.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may indicate that associations achieve a renewal rate of 80%+ by applying greater resources in first identifying and educating potential members. What do you think?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">N=691 LT 80% % 80%+ %</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Awareness $46,975 19.4% $42,058 23.2%</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Recruitment $89,398 37.0% $77,213 42.6%</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Engagement $30,339 12.5% $16,613 9.2%</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Renewals $58,167 24.0% $32,305 17.8%</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Reinstatements $17,006 7.0% $12,931 7.1%</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Totals $241,885 $181,120 </strong></span><br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
</div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-11940652669111754552012-04-16T18:49:00.000-07:002012-04-16T18:49:28.846-07:002012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Results -- Reinstatements<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you know, we are <em><u>feverishly</u></em> working on the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. In my review of the data, I discovered that associations with renewal rates over 80% would rather increase their budgets in member recruitment and awareness while associations with renewal rates under 80% would increase their engagement and renewal budgets. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not to be unexpected. However...what is telling here is that a 5.2% of the associations with a greater than 80% renewal rate would increase their reinstatement budgets while only 2.5% of those associations with a reported renewal rate of less than 80%.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my thought, a small percentage of associations with an 80% renewal rate believe that this area may offer greater opportunity for ROI than recruitement, awareness, engagement or renewal. This is most interesting as I find many associations don't have a coordinated or strategic approach to their reinstatement program...this in the face of the data we have collected at MGI (working with hundreds of associations) indicating that reinstatement programs are LOW HANGING FRUIT!!</span><br />
<br />
What have been your experiences with reinstatement programs? Let me know.</div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-55634467468787116562012-04-06T04:49:00.000-07:002012-04-06T04:49:59.205-07:002012 Membership Benchmarking Report - Early Results Report!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We've started analyzing the results of the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey. Of the over 680 associations that responded to the survey, 664 reported their renewal rates. Of this group, 62.5% of the associations reported having a renewal rate in excess of 80%! This is telling as it is an increase over last year - an indication that associations continue to do better as the market gets better. This will be an exciting report and we look forward to getting the 2012 Membership Benchmarking Report to you in May!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6wPsWaibx4/T37NETWVHSI/AAAAAAAAAGA/0K1boCE2xHI/s1600/MM+Crosstabs+for+size+of+associations+and+Ren+Rate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 341px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 627px;"><img border="0" height="492px" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6wPsWaibx4/T37NETWVHSI/AAAAAAAAAGA/0K1boCE2xHI/s640/MM+Crosstabs+for+size+of+associations+and+Ren+Rate.jpg" width="640px" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-74461970186025373102012-03-20T00:07:00.000-07:002012-03-20T00:07:22.782-07:00The Science behind the Theory of Member Engagement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Increasing member renewals is a cornerstone of any membership strategy. As with any business model, the renewal of a member/customer is substantially less than the cost of replacing the non-renewed member or lost customer. <br />
<br />
<br />
Integral to the process of keeping members is the development of member-loyalty. Unlike businesses, the fundamental premise of our membership business model (community development) requires us to provide services and products that foster loyalty with the association. As pointed out in the whitepaper, “The Business Value of Social CRM and common Use Cases: 01,” (Chess Media Group & Avectra, 2013), “… giving members the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with other members, innovate, encourage progress, and …ownership emerges thereby building loyalty…” (p.6). <br />
We interpret “opportunity” as mentioned above as assisting the members to realize the benefits of membership through a series of activities that “engage” the member. <br />
BJ Fogg, PhD, a behavioral scientist and Professor at Stamford University, points out three primary vectors necessary to generate engagement:<br />
1. Motivation – understanding and affecting motivation<br />
2. Ability – increase the ability of the member to participate <br />
3. Trigger – a cue or prompt as a “call to action.”<br />
<br />
One example of this engagement strategy by a membership association with over 300,000 members found that those members who made two or more calls to customer service in a single year were 80% more than likely to renew than those who made no calls at all. <br />
<br />
Members are looking for camaraderie, networking, education and training. They expect to receive this through the website, conferences, webinars, publications, regional events, and the Membership Support Line. <br />
<br />
Because of its ease of access and given the changing nature of buyer behavior, often the website is the most common of these channels through which members learn about the features offered by, and the subsequent value of, membership. <br />
The challenge, therefore, is to assist the member, particularly the newest ones, to realize the value of membership by experiencing the benefits first-hand and as soon as possible. Therefore, a member engagement, or a strategic initiative that takes into account the three vectors as outlined by Dr. Fogg and utilizes the website, is the most logical step.<br />
<br />
A possible outline of such a program may be:<br />
<br />
Month 1: Welcome kit which drives members to the website to confirm receipt of the kit and to "register" for a free whitepaper or other offer.<br />
Month 2: Wecome letter from the president/Executive Director which asks the member to respond by noting "what the member is most interested in"at the association.<br />
Month 3: Send a list of 3 benefits (perhaps packaged as a newsletter) that most "new" members purchase or participate in or ask about. Track click-thrus<br />
Month 4: Same as 3<br />
Month 5: Same as 4<br />
Month 6: Same as 5 and include a survey of 5 basic questions to ascertain member experience/satisfaction.<br />
Month 7:Same as 4 and include a summary of the survey responses including what information the members have most often mentioned and links to those on the website.<br />
Month 8: Same as 7 without the summary.<br />
Month 9: Same as 8<br />
Month 10: Start the renewal program.<br />
<br />
This is just one possible interpretation. The goal is to incrorporate the 3 vectors described earlier.<br />
<br />
Good luck and let me know how it works for you.<br />
<br />
</div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-11100748132415891412012-03-09T05:34:00.000-08:002012-03-09T05:34:29.914-08:00Pitch Camaraderie - It Never Gets Old<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I'm currently preparing a FY2012-2013 Membership Marketing Plan for one of clients. As part of this process, I'm speaking with Board members and other volunteer leadership to get their perspectives. As part of my interview process, I always ask..."Why did YOU join?"<br />
<br />
The overwhelming reason from each of the 12 people I spoke to was because they were looking for... <br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt;">"Camaraderie" </span></b></div><br />
On the heels of these interviews, I was also reviewing a member acquisition letter that, even after years and years of use, it still remains one of my best responding letters. It starts..."As a member of our profession I know you understand how important being a member of a community is."<br />
<br />
Its an interesting dichotomy that as technology allows us to become more independent and possibly "reclusive," we're still drawn to each other for ideas, affirmation and confirmation. <br />
<br />
My point is to suggest that you DON'T UNDERSELL THIS when preparing your member promotions. "Camaraderie" is still something we look for and are willing to pay for. Some also want discounts, training, social media...but these simply don't seem to be as consistantly desired as "Camarderie."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-88431965674719206532012-02-17T04:13:00.000-08:002012-02-17T04:13:25.838-08:00LinkedIn Screams Ahead as a Prospect Source for One Client<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For a couple of years now I've been using online lead generation programs to effectively generate awareness for our clients, developing a prospect pool for membership and product sales when it was difficult to find these individuals through traditional means, and converting them to memberships. <br />
<br />
<strong>Program Summary:</strong> If you are not aware of these programs, or have not attended one of my sessions on them, basically we create an offer (usually a FREE White Paper), use online media to promote or "push" the offer (Google PPC, LinkedIn, banner ads, etc.), and collect contact information (email address, name, postal address, etc.) when fulfilling the offer. Once captured, the now "prospect" is enrolled in a 3 to 5 step online conversion program that consists of emails and a final direct mail piece. If the prospect does not join, thier contact information is placed into the association's promotion file.<br />
<br />
Here are the results after just one-week from such a program:<br />
<br />
Campaigns Ad Clicks Form Fills Conversion Rate<br />
<br />
<br />
White Paper DISPLAY 836 12 1.44%<br />
White Paper SEARCH 123 6 4.88%<br />
White Paper LinkedIn 234 111 47.44%<br />
<br />
Total 1,199 129 10.81%<br />
<br />
Needless to say, LinkedIn has performed remarkably well. In fact, when looking at the same information in terms of media spend, while the media spend for display and search was between $50 adn $95/prospect, it was only $6.60/prospect for LinkedIn.<br />
<br />
Our client is extremely happy with these results to date.<br />
<br />
Are you using online lead generation to help drive awareness of your association and help build your prospect file? If you are, please tell us how it's working for you?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>Experts in Membership Marketing is published by Erik Schonher, Vice President, Marketing General Incorporated. If you have any questions concerning the content of this blog or MGI, please feel free to contact me directly </strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>at (703) 706-0358. </strong></em></span><br />
</div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-19746863543352909782012-02-01T06:11:00.000-08:002012-02-01T06:11:09.273-08:00How to Sturucture a Well Designed Membership Recruitment Strategy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've been speaking with several associations during the past two months on recruitment, testing strategies and developing effective programs to drive membership growth. As part of my research, I just reread the results of a program I ran a year ago and thought it would be important to remind everyone that it's important to keep several things in mind as a recruitment effort is designed and implemented: <br />
<br />
<br />
<div> </div>When developing your recruitment strategy for the coming year:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Create a structured learning environment that tests multiple target audiences and offers. </li>
<li>Be sure that what is learned is actionable information for future campaigns. </li>
<li>Recognize that each new member represents multiple years of dues and non-dues revenue. </li>
<li>Refine recruitment programs to identify the most and the least productive combinations of offers, target segments, and creative appeal. </li>
<li>Finally, keep in mind that an initial investment today, even if it incurs a loss in present day dollars, if done correctly can acquire essential knowledge to refine future acquisitions and set the stage for long-term organizational growth. </li>
</ul><br />
<div>Following these simple rules will help you not only get the most out of your current campaign, but many campaigns to come.</div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Erik Schonher is Vice President for Marketing General Incorporated, the nation's largest marketing organization specializing in membership growth, and can be reached at (703) 706-0358 or <a href="mailto:Erik@MarketingGeneral.com">Erik@MarketingGeneral.com</a> .</span></div></div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243183083446737329.post-47173172248726756332012-01-24T15:38:00.000-08:002012-01-24T15:38:25.552-08:00The 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Study is LAUNCHED! FREE Copy of the Report to Everyone Who Responds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It's that time again!<br />
<br />
Here is an opportunity to benchmark your organization against more than 600 other associations. For the fourth year in a row, Marketing General Inc. is conducting the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey. <br />
<br />
I hope you will participate using the attached survey link. https://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=132743300922<br />
<br />
For the past four years, our study has provided critical comparative data on how organizations recruit members, engage new members, and renew their members. <br />
<br />
We expect similar insights from this study, with a focus on the key strategies that are working in the marketplace right now and comparisons among associations of like size and industry. <br />
<br />
Use the attached personalized link to complete the survey. It should take about 10 minutes. https://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=132743300922<br />
<br />
To thank you for your participation in this best practices research project, MGI will send you a FREE copy of the final report from this study: The 2012 Member Marketing Benchmarking Report. Your participation is much appreciated. No specific responses will be reported from any individual or association without their specific written consent. <br />
<br />
Please click on the link below to start the survey. <br />
<br />
https://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=132743300922<br />
<br />
Thanks in advance for participating!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Erik Schonher is Vice President for Marketing General Inc and oversees several clients and projects to include the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey and Report.</span></div>Erik D. Schonherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014409596396359885noreply@blogger.com0