All during May we’ve focused on member engagement, from the strategies you should consider to increase you success in your efforts, to the overall impact to any association when member engagement isn’t successful or a focus or priority.
We were able to debut to Leading Engagement from the Outside in: Become an Indispensable Partner in Your Members’ Success, a new whitepaper co-authored by Anna Caraveli, Ph.D and Elizabeth Weaver Engel, M.A., CAE, which focuses on case studies
Anna and Elizabeth recently led our May Thought Leadership Webinar on member engagement sharing the key points of their whitepaper, which included case studies featuring the six associations they presented as part of their research.
The information they provided made It became abundantly clear that associations and all membership organizations need to move from an inside-out to an outside-in approach to member engagement. The long held perspective that “we are the sole source of value” no longer resonates when members and prospects understand that with the technology they have at their disposal, there are multiple sources of value to pick and choose from. The big question for your organization today is, are you one of those options they will consider?
Without question, there was a lot of interest generated around the unique approaches of the organizations featured during the presentation. We had questions from attendees on member engagement through communities; pitching retention over recruitment when cash flow is a concern; dealing with the friction sometimes found between chapters and nationals; and how to generate new sources of revenue from some of the service models presented in the whitepaper.
Anna and Elizabeth met with me once more to answer these question in Episode 16 of Ask the Thought Leader. It was a spirited discussion with some very interesting takes on member engagement and what constitutes a successful strategy for any organization. You can view it below.
While I’ve got you here, I want to invite you to attend our June YM Though Leadership Webinar, 5 Ways to Ratchet Your Retention Rates through the Roof. Mary Byers, CAE, author of “Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations” and “Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations” will be leading a thought-provoking look at association membership — and what technology companies can teach our organizations about membership. Mary will share her thoughts on perpetual membership, touch points and managed contacts. You’ll learn what associations with high retention rates are doing that others aren’t; and, most importantly, identify the five questions every membership association needs to be asking today. You’ll come away with practical ideas and a roadmap for reworking and re-invigorating your retention efforts. I hope you can attend.
