membership crossroads
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
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Membership at the Crossroads
5.23.11
Jay Younger, FASAEManaging Partner & Chief Consultant
McKinley Advisors
Membership is dead!
Long live membership!
3
Is the annualized trend in full, paid memberships for your association over the past 5 years:
23%
28%
44%
18%
38%
44%
27%
29%
44%
Flat
Lower
Higher
CESSE 2011 EIA 2010 EIA
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Same trend with 5 year forward-looking estimate
23%
28%
44%
18%
38%
44%
27%
29%
44%
12%
15%
67%
Flat
Lower
Higher
Estimate CESSE 2011 EIA 2010 EIA
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What concerns you most about membership in your association over the next 5 years?
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4
4
6
11
14
"Open" Journals / Info
Lack of Employer/Govt funding
Competition
Membership Model
Providing/Communicating value
Aging Membership/Attracting Youth
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Typical age
distribution of an
association’s
membership
TODAY
1%
3%
18%
30%
39%
6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Under 25
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 or older
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Forecast age
distribution for
the same
association in
2025
1%
3%
9%
18%
30%
39%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Under 25
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 or older
IN FOCUS
The Membership Value Proposition
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How we look to some…
Pay us in advance so that you’ll have lots more to read and the ability to pay us again for access things that may or may not be relevant for you…
…because it’s the “right thing to do” and you’ll feel guilty if you don’t.
10
Customer Value Proposition
Job to be done: solves an important problem or fulfill and important need for the target customer
Offering: satisfies the problem or fulfills the need. This is defined not only by what is sold but also by how it’s sold.
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Living with a mature model
We typically try build our member value proposition around our existing processes and resources…
…this has acute impact on themembership value proposition.
Think about:
Conference committees
Website navigation
Presidential initiatives
Chapter meetings
e-newsletters
Some of our processes and decisions that erode the MVP:
Product development
Pricing
Brand strategy
Incentive compensation
Promotional mix
Technology platforms
Service levels
R&D investment
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Deconstructing the MVP
What within your membership offer:
• Is available EXCLUSIVELY to members?
• Addresses ONE job to be done, not ten?
• Is CHEAPER, FASTER or EASIER to obtain?
• Is relevant to nearly ALL of your target audience?
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The “half full” argument…
• There WILL be markets and potential members to serve in the future.
• Certain membership drivers are ETERNAL.
• Membership growth is a LAG INDICATOR of a viable customer value proposition.
• Our challenge is to create a BALANCED AND COHERENT value proposition for membership.
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Behavioral Drivers
Functional Emotional
Mission Profit
Risk Return
What’s Core
What’s New
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Strategies to Enhance the MVP
• REWORK internal structures
• Seek BALANCE in the MVP
• EXPAND DEPTH within member organizations
• Focus on the USER EXPERIENCE
• Determine what can be made EXCLUSIVE
• Test low/no cost CONTENT alternatives
• TARGET communications (REALLY)
• Invest in MOBILE
• Increase FLEXIBILITY in membership policies
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Let’s talk…