Industry
Supporters and Value Seekers; an Executive Director’s Dilemma
By Ed Rigsbee, CSP
(984 words)
I have one important
question to ask you. How much more could your organization do for its members if the yearly
sustainable real-dollar value of membership was known?
My work with
associations and societies has revealed that today, there are less and
less “industry supporters” and more and more “value seekers” in
the market place. Value seekers need more than the good feeling that
they have supported their industry on order to join and retain
membership in an association or society.
The
Dilemma
In attempting to deal
with the dilemma that has caused the above question to be so crucially
important for the survival of today’s associations and societies, we
must first digress. Especially evident in mature industries are the
number of Baby Boomer aged supporters. Many joined at the urging of
their fathers who were also in the business. Your Baby Boomer supporters
grew up in a world where Dad took care of revenue generation and Mom
took care of everything else. Dads then had much more leisure time away
from the family available to them than the Dads of today.
Sacred
Cows
The sacred cow
activities, services, and products that your organization offers to its
members are relics of the past world order. Older members surly
recognize that these are losing propositions for the organization but
are also their connection to the past. This connection creates value for
some, yet rarely for enough to justify the loss to your organization.
Resources are squandered to serve just a very few. Those same resources
could be, and should be, invested in other programs that deliver a high
return on investment (ROI) for a greater number of members.
The
Value Seekers
Many of your
prospective members are currently in their 20s and 30s, married, and
have a spouse that also works. These folks have less, away from the
family leisure time, and want to make the most of the time they have.
Frequently, association and society meetings and activities have
recreation or leisure elements built into the event—a draw for the
Baby Boomers but not so much for their younger counterparts. These
younger folks are much more computer and electronic communication savvy
than their seniors and can find the industry specific training they need
(which has been the decades old stalwart of associations) elsewhere.
The
Advocacy Trap
While nobody will argue
that traditionally associations and societies have done phenomenal work
in the area of affecting legislation. This is one of the great benefits
of large numbers collaborating for a common good. Additionally, nobody
will argue that almost every player in a particular industry reaps the
benefit of an organization’s advocacy efforts—regardless of their
membership, or lack there of. The problem that has emerged for
associations and societies is that the industry supporters, many of the
Baby Boomers, are retiring. The “supporters” belonged to their trade
association or society for a very different reason; to support their
industry. The younger “value seekers” want something different, they
want a return on their time and dollar investment. Since advocacy
creates value for all, there is no actual return on investment because
everyone gets the value regardless of membership.
Today’s
Challenge
Associations and
societies of today must show ROI in order to retain and recruit members.
Organizations that have traditionally relied on their advocacy work to
show value are finding themselves coming up short in today’s ROI
column. Currently, your challenge is to create programs, activities,
trainings, services, and anything else that deliver actual ROI for the
dues their members pay. While many associations already do a pretty darn
good job in this area, they also tend to do an awful job in measuring
and communicating that ROI value to their current members and
prospective members.
The
Member Value Process
Valuating the ROI on
your various programs, services, and activities requires both art and
science. There are a number of formulas (the science) for determining
ROI and they are all based on having real-dollar numbers. What I believe
to be the most honest way of determining the real-dollar value of any
program, service or activity is to ask your members. This needs to be
done in a live session facilitated by a non-partial third party (the
art). Association staff and volunteer leaders have high-value
determination agendas that generally hamstring the truth. Using audience
feedback technology takes away risk by allowing anonymity. I want
members to support, fight for, and stand by their valuation numbers, not
to just offer random amounts.
When
You Need Help
I have made a number of
articles and other resources on this subject available to you at no
charge; just visit http://www.rigsbee.com/association.htm
and help yourself. I am now going to make a statement that to many, will
likely sound quite self serving on my part. Conducting an honest member
valuation process takes a skilled facilitator—you just cannot grab
someone off the street to do the job. Please, please, please do not blow
it with a lousy facilitator. And yes, the next potentially self-serving
statement is this. I created the process, have been conducting the
process for over a decade, and am darn good at it. If you do not hire
me, at least hire someone as good as me. It is worth the expense to do
this right.
Now
You’ve Got an ROI Number
What now? Once you can
honestly tell current members and prospective members how much they will
get back for each dollar they invest in membership, you need to shout if
from the roof tops. This information should be included in renewal
notices, articles in your magazine or newsletter, on your web site, and
everywhere possible. This is what the younger people in your industry
need to hear. They need to hear why it is a good business decision to
join your organization and pay their dues—year after year. They need
to know what’s in it for them.
Copyright
2010 Ed Rigsbee
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In
addition to his international celebrity as a expert speaker on partnering, Ed
Rigsbee, CSP is the Chief Member Evangelist at Rigsbee Research Consulting Group and the
Executive Director of the Cigar PEG, Inc., (US Internal Revenue Service
recognized public charity). He has authored three books and over 1,500
articles on business and organizational collaborations. He travels
internationally delivering keynote presentations and multi-day workshops
on collaboration, partnering, and strategic alliances to Corporate and
Association/Society audiences. Rigsbee is frequently engaged by
associations and societies to facilitate various boards of director
meetings and his proprietary, Member
Value ProcessTM.
Ed
has received the coveted Certified
Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers
Association, one that is enjoyed by only about 10% of the membership in
the International Federation for Professional Speakers. When you are
looking for a keynote speaker, Rigsbee may be
contacted through the Rigsbee Research Consulting Group Web Site: www.rigsbee.com
or through the Cigar PEG Web Site: www.cigarpeg.com
or Ed@Rigsbee.com.
