Communicating Your Society’s Value to Members and Prospective Members
ACHS – Washington, D.C. February 15, 2013
William C. Johnson Sigma Tau Delta
Value is not just a single element (price/cost). Value encompasses a range of other things for which members and perspective members are willing to “pay.” Value is provided by such things as a society’s membership fees viewed in light of the organization’s highly differentiated features—and by a combination of those.
Creating member value starts with knowing your members, current and future. We need to get inside the heads of members and prospective members in order to develop a good understanding of what they value. It goes without saying that not all members/potential members value the same things; too often we use the cookie cutter approach and assume everyone wants what we think they all should want. The truth is that most societies are flooding all of their members all the time with all the information, whether it is pertinent to the member or not.
Value is determined by the member. We all know that delivering value is quintessential to keeping our membership strong. Communicating value is not just about delivering a standard message. It’s not just what is said, but how it is said that makes the difference. It is tailoring a specific, targeted message to a specific, targeted audience.
By streamlining its communications into divisions (“buckets”) a society communicates the things that matter most to its particular membership. That is, as a member I know that the communiques will pertain to topics and issues in which I am interested.
How do we identify what members value? The main steps in member value analysis are:
Pinpoint what your members perceive are the values of membership. Ask. And ask again. Different members will identify different things; that’s important for you and for them, and will determine how you meet those needs.
Assess the quantitative importance of the different attributes. Survey to rate or rank the importance of the different attributes.
Evaluate the performance of your society (and other honor societies your members could join) on the different values against their rated importance. Ask members where they see the performance of your organization and each of the others with which they might affiliate; ideally, yours should be rated high on the qualities members value most, and low on the attributes they value least.
Don’t assume that what surveys show as greatest values now will be the same even in a relatively few years. Technologies change, features change, the economic environment changes, the college experience changes, and students change.*
[*The changing student membership: Gen.Y; Gen. X, men, women, resident/non-resident
The changing faculty chapter advisor: increased department and college pressure to minimize non-classroom, non-research, time; resident/non-resident; concerns about continuing tenure; busy with growing families; increased communications in their lives have some feeling overwhelmed with the time it takes to respond and to activate
The changing nature of colleges/universities/departments: greater scrutiny on/of what kinds of time and financial commitments are necessary when considering adding—or maintaining—a chapter. Just as there are shifts in the needs and expectations of today’s student membership, so there are shifts in the needs and expectations at colleges/universities and among faculty chapter advisors]
Every person who works in the national headquarters, every Board member, is in the membership business. One way to do this is to create lists of contacts—selected members—on a consistent basis; each staff member, each Board member, is responsible for a personal contact with persons on the list; link this with an important event (national convention? Upcoming scholarship deadlines?) and use that as a conversation starter. Doing this personalizes the membership value.
Steps to take on connecting and communicating membership value: **
I. Reinforcing the Value of Membership
1. Conduct early new-member outreach. Engage the Board, assign staff, make contact with new chapters and new members. Get your “newbies” in the loop. The newest members are ‘connected members.’ Go where they are…but do it strategically and with a plan behind your actions.
2. Send an additional welcome from the Society’s Exec. Director, focusing on practical resources, major Society projects and programs, and other benefits. Provide contact information and opportunities for faculty and students to serve on national committees
3. Six months after a new chapter is started conduct a new member “how are we doing?’ survey. Send a brief (2-3 question) survey designed to gauge quickly how well you’re meeting needs and expectations. Leave room on the survey for “other questions or comments.”
II. Choosing the right messages and media
1. Develop a 12-month message map that identifies your organization’s messages and contents\ for your various electronic/print delivery methods. Doing this will allow you to (a) stay focused on the membership values, (b) eliminate message fatigue, (c) reduce the amount of email you send, (d) identify content gaps, and (e) encourage long-term planning.
2. Reduce your broadcast email volume.
3. Publish an e-newsletter to compliment your print periodicals.
4. Harness the value of the ‘tell a friend’ link. Make your email communications and other digital resources easy to forward by placing a “forward this page” link on every page of your website and email promotions.
5. Consider your members’ technical acumen.
6. Remember that regular mail can still be effective. If the majority of your communications are done electronically, consider sending a letter or postcard to grab attention.
III. Marketing the value of your meetings
1. As soon after a regional or national meeting as possible, do a survey to find out how members perceived the value of participation. Not only will this help with planning the next events, but it demonstrates your commitment to member development and satisfaction.
2. Imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery. Don’t be afraid to try techniques that work with other associations.
IV. Personalizing the “communicating value” experience:
1. Make various statements about how membership (and chapters) will help students/
schools—and in what ways.
2. Communicate the personal—and the professional—value of membership.
3. Match your communication style with that of your audience(s).
4. “Buckets” of information can easily be created and maintained through most membership management databases or broadcast email services. Do your members find value in profession- related information? Networking events? Publication possibilities? Volunteer or service opportunities? Scholarship information? Study abroad programs? Get specific and tailor what you communicate to whom.
5. Ask for feedback from current members who have received awards, distinctions, scholarships, based on what your society provides; use that information in subsequent communiques to point out the value of membership.
6. Understanding today’s membership in order to show the values of membership in your society: there is a shift in communication preferences, with far more choices than there used to be.
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Various and sundry:
In order to keep members engaged, Society services (including communications) must be relevant, personalized, targeted and, if possible, delivered through the members’ preferred communication channel(s).
Our newest members are ‘connected members.’ Go where they are…but do it strategically and with a plan behind your actions.
Communicate value through member-to-member recruitment: useful on the local chapter level, but can be quite valuable in developing new chapters. As inquiries come in, make contact not only from the national office but through members of the Board. A faculty Board member at College of A, contacting a potential faculty sponsor at the University of B, with an endorsement of your society, can be very helpful. It also establishes what a good network your society has and how exciting, rewarding, and worthwhile being a chapter sponsor can be.
What does all this mean for us in our respective ACHS societies?
Student members who have ‘grown up’ connected, content-centric, computerized,
community-oriented, and always clicking—go where they are.
Today’s students want their information on demand, personalized, and rewarding.
Social media and positive peer reviews will define brand value.
You can never remind members too much of the value of their membership! Repeat, and
then repeat, and then repeat, “as a member of Our Society, you can/you are/you
qualify for.”
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** Suggestions adapted from ASAE “Marketing Insights” Sept. 2007 (“Twenty Tips for Connecting with Your Members”)
See also the following for some useful information on this topic:
Essentials of Society Marketing (from Stephen Ready, “Essentials of Club Marketing: Creating and Communicating Value”:
http://www.nationalclub.org/clientuploads/regional%20conf%20presentations/NCA%20Presentation%20_Stephen%20Ready_VCT.pdf
“Are you Effectively Communicating Your Value? Make it Personal,” Ben Wolf http://www.weblinkinternational.com/news/MakeItPersonal_BenWolf_ACCESummer2009.pdf
Blogs on communicating value in: www.blog.weblinkinternational.com
“How to create value for customers,” www.fortunegroup.com.au/creating-value-for-customers
“How to Communicate Value to Customers,” Kim Harrison, http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/marketcomm_communicate_value.asp
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