Confronting the Market Reality and Where Do We Go From Here Presented by Adam Finkel and Dave Wenhold Sunday, April 12, 2015

Membership numbers are the backbone of any association. Higher membership numbers have benefits beyond the association’s bottom line. – Strength in numbers for legislative campaigns, public relations campaigns, and fundraising. – Increase in the volunteer base for an association creating more vibrant committees. – Allowing the association to hire an AMC or paid staff.

When developing membership strategies, there are two distinct components that must be considered. Different strategies are required for each. – Member renewals – New member recruitment

Calculate your retention rate: – Percentage of members from the previous year who have renewed their membership with an association. ASAE Statistics: – Mean retention rate: 83% – Median retention rate: 87% NCRA has a retention rate of 88%.

Since 1998 years, there has been a decline in NCRA’s membership numbers with the total membership declining by approximately 2-4% per year.

In 2014, NCRA launched the Court Reporting Take Note campaign. This is a massive PR campaign predicated on a study that shows there will be 5,500 new court reporting and captioning jobs in the next five years. – If you graduate CR school, you will have a job.

Recent recruitment and retention tactics over the past few years have given NCRA a 0% change over the past year perhaps showing the decline has stopped. Too early to tell if this is a trend or just a blip.

Critical to ensure the newest generation of court reporters are involved in your association for years to come. Important to reengage with court reporters who may have previously been a member or who may never have joined for various reasons to get them back in the fold.

%4%3% %24%10% %41%35% %25%40% 60 & older4%6%13%

Baby Boomers – Born between 1946 and roughly 1964 Gen X – Born between Gen Y or the Millennials: – Born between 1980 and 2001

PROS: – A productive part of their organization – “Hardworking” – “Team player” – Mentoring others CONS: – Not Adaptable – Not Collaborative Source: Ernst and Young study of 1200 working professionals

PROS: – Most effective managers – “Revenue generator" – “Adaptability" – “Problem-solving" – "collaboration" CONS: – Not an Executive presence – Not being cost effective Source: Ernst and Young study of 1200 working professionals

PROS: – Tech-savvy – Know how to use social media to leverage opportunities – Most "enthusiastic“ about their jobs CONS: – “Team player" – “Hardworking" – “A productive part of my organization" Source: Ernst and Young study of 1200 working professionals

Millennials have fewer attachments to traditional political and religious institutions. This includes membership associations. Millennials are less trusting of others than older Americans are. Millennials are more burdened by financial hardships than previous generations. Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, “Millennials in Adulthood”

What do you offer that can benefit them? What different types of tactics are important to reach them?

Taking a global view of your association’s membership strategy, brainstorm tactics to increase membership in your state. – Retention strategies for current members – Recruitment strategies for previously engaged members – Recruitment strategies for students and young professionals – Other strategies that will benefit your association