1. Driving Innovations in Membership Recruitment, Retention and Engagement
Maria Tong
ASAE China Representative

2. Agenda
Membership cycle and what matters
Trends for future membership
What should you consider to respond the trends and case studies

3. “Membership is the lifeblood of every association.”
Why membership?
“Membership is the lifeblood of every association.”
– Kevin P. Corcoran

4. R e t a i n R e c r u i t Value and Engagement
Value is WIIFM (What in it for me), making a reason for member to join.
Engagement starts from the first day a member interacts with an association.
Engagement makes members to stay.
R e t a i n
Join
Renew

5. Trends to future membership
Membership in context: providing value to members where they are
The impact of other decision-makers: engaging influencers to get new members
Changing roles and responsibilities: the association position in the larger community
Data: identifying a new opportunity for associations
Innovation in member engagement

6. 1、Membership in context - the value
Value to individual members relative to where they are in their life journey
Shift from “association defines value” to “members define value”
How association defines the community is different from how individual does
1, at different stages of individual’s professional life, his needs must change. One size fits all doesn’t work. Association must provide resources and supports for a variety of situations while individual members change their personal needs.
2. However, the opportunities to effectively meet individual expectations based on context must be balanced with the understanding that an association can’t be all things to all people. The very notion of providing such individually oriented program and services seems to run counter to the collective aspects of associating with a group of people for a larger good.
3. An individual’s reason for joining may evolve and no longer remain their reason for renewing

7. What should you consider?
How can you keep up to date on a member’s context?
Are there any new membership needs that your association can address?
What opportunities do you have to gather this information?
Are there any new emerging market or new demographic change in membership?
Personalization and segmentation in communication
On new member and renewal forms, ask members why they joined or what will make this year’s dues payment worth it
Share 2 case studies- AIGA (membership pricing), IUAA(small events)

8. Membership categories
Rather than title, position

9. Evolving categories 1
Electronic 2
Product Driven 3
Customized 4
Corresponding 5
Enterprise/Corporate 6
Committee/SIG/COP Driven 7
Emerging economies 8
Traditional but Multi-year

10. 2、The Impact of other decision makers
Influencers: other players have a role in the membership decision: family, faculty advisors, senior colleagues, etc.
What association are doing now and could do in the future to influence the influencers to gain new members and more fully engage their existing members
Trade associations have an
especially difficult time
measuring satisfaction and
engagement through only one
point of contact
1.It’s not always the member making the membership decision; could be CEO, HR director, supervisor
2, share 2 case studies-

11. What should you consider?
Reach out to potential members through their influencers.
Who might influence a prospect’s decision to join and how would you reach that person?
What business challenges does the influencer have that the prospect’s membership can help address?
Is it possible to establish the idea of community among the decision-making group even they are not the member of the association?
In large member company, we have to make our membership pitch to
perhaps ten people and our approach has to be different for each of them
Challenges are different fro professional associations and trade associations.
Reach out through their influencers
Ask the audience if they have any experience in reaching out influencers, share this experience.
Association can creatively and effectively engage with families to expand membership and create appositive membership experience

12. 3、Changing roles and responsibilities
Competition from Social media and Corporates (Use of “member” to establish loyalty among customers)
Increasing social responsibility among for-profits
Member expects the professional community to contribute to and support their larger community.

13. What should you consider?
What unique and exclusive resources can you offer?
How do you communicate your competitive advantage?
How are you creating ambassadors who can articulate this value?
Make a brag sheet for your association or industry.. (Think about reaching influencers with this.)
The opportunities to partner with companies on social responsibilities program.
Think about unique and exclusive resources association can offer.

14. 4、Data: identifying new opportunities
Associations have a lot of data but we are not always collecting the right data, or rarely using it to the full extent
Member experienced difficulties managing the volume of information

15. What should you consider?
What data do you collect on a regular basis and how are you using this data?
What would you rethink to provide value in terms of information and knowledge?
Inventory all your sources of data and hire a grad student or statistics temp to dig in and find you new insights
Prioritization of information for the individual that is accessible and specific to that person’s life life journey
Association can play a role in helping members to determin the most important and relevant information.

16. 5、Innovation in member engagement

17. New generation
Generation shifts as boomers retire and millennials become the majority in the workplace
Case study: AIGA
The next generation’s needs: participation, contribution, ownership, rich experience, curation, relevance, clear sense of value.
To achieve the goal, they resturcture so that there was greater emphasis on the benefits delivered at the chapter level
AAUW case: Program “Start smart” . Educational program on wage negotiation for women engaged in the post college job search . Demonstrating the benefits of associations to be the young colleague graduates. The UNT research on these young professionals highlighted their preferences, echoing the finding of the studies ant he discussion of at the retreat, easily accessible and relevant information , socially import outreach activities, and networking opportunities for all members, regardless of career stage.
AIGA case: AIGA determined if they are going to attract next generation, they must address following needs: participation, contribution, ownership, rich experience, curation, relevance,clear sense of value.
To achieve the goal, they resturcture so that there was greater emphasis on the benefits delivered at the chapter level. The

18. Case study: CMIC Gamification
Game ON! The Gamification of the 2011 GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference,

19. Online community (mobile)
Case study: AANAC
Discussion in Action

20. Thank you
Maria Tong