Ten Strategies For Improving Recruitment and Retention

Andy Freed

Executive Vice President & COO

Virtual, Inc.

About Virtual

• Evolved from PR company founded in 1989• Full management services

– Range from startups to multi national associations

• Outsourced technology solutions • Consulting and strategic services

Ground Rules

• Be as rude as me• Listen, don’t read• The power of Diet Coke• Lifetime guarantee

Membership Rules!

“You know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.”

--Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff

Membership makes this bird go up!

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

“Ready! Fire! Aim”

--Classic Association Membership strategy

Key Questions

• Where does membership fit in for your organization?– What are your membership goals and how

will you measure them?– Are you retention or recruitment focused,

or both?– What resources do you have available?

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership

effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

2. Create an organization –wide membership effort

• THE hardest job of a membership director but the most fulfilling if it works

“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them toward a certain goal.”

--Walt Disney

“I’m in [insert department here], not membership, so I don’t have to do that”

--Any number of people I’ve worked with

“That’s right, I forgot—your salary doesn’t come from dues or revenues from products or services we provide the members…”

--My typical response*

*Not what I really wanted to say!

How do you do it?

• Set goals• Measure performance• Engage key players in recruitment and

retention strategy– Calls, visits and letters– Customer Advocacy Team

• Walk the talk

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort

3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

“The watchwords used to be location, location, location. Today it is database, database, database.”

--Tom Peters

Have an information strategy

• What are you tracking?• How are you using the data?• Mine, mine, mine

– Advocacy benefit of good membership data

Track membership trends

• Who has become disengaged?• Who is paying later than in previous

years?• What programs and services are people

using most?• What are people calling about?

The Nuts and Bolts

• Choosing a system• Surviving the conversion process

Build vs. Buy vs. Rent

“Don’t own nothing if you can rent it. If you can, rent your shoes.”

--F.G.

Key Questions

• Can you support the system internally?• Do you know how to manage an IT

implementation?• Does it have capacity to grow with you?• Who are you relying on for support?

Kicking the Tires…

• Industry standard tools such as Microsoft

• Open architecture for flexible offering• Rapid development web toolkit• Consistent R&D resources

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and

competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

“As a general rule, the most successful person in life is the one with the best information.”

--Benjamin Disraeli

Know your customers

• CEO visits• Telephone outreach• Formal surveys• Ubiquitous feedback mechanisms

Know your industry

• Eat your dog food• Read what your members read• Go to the programs they go to• Know the rate of change OUTSIDE your

association

“When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.”

--Jack Welch,

Former CEO, GE

Know your competition

• The internet changes everything• The Lexus and the Olive Tree• Techtarget.com• Elance.com

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.

• Annual formalized membership satisfaction surveys

• Don’t just measure performance, measure expectations

• Doing “Ok” is NOT OK• Benchmark constantly and broadly

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.

6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

“The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.”

--William James

“The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.”

--Ronna LichtenbergIt’s Not Business, It’s Personal

“Never forget to say thank you.”

--My mom

Put their name up in lights!

• Awards programs• Ad hoc correspondence• Newsletters• Don’t forget “formers”

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate

7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

7. Build the Bandwagon

• Mark membership milestones• Mark association milestones• Give members the tools to promote you

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon

8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

Quantify the Value of Membership

• Discounts• Calls• Advocacy• Research

Don’t just count it—report it

• Constantly remind members of value—– Annual Report– CEO Visits– Calls to disengaged members– Web site

Creating value: Birthday Cakes1940: Cake from flour, sugar (raw materials economy): $1.001955: Cake from Cake mix (goods economy): $2.001970: Bakery-made cake (service economy): $10.002002: Party @ Chuck E. Cheese (experience economy) $250.00

Is your membership raw eggs or a party?

Name your price

• Value before price• Establish membership categories

– Watch “downshifting”• Not etched in stone

– Over communicate on changes

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price

9. Take the locks off the doors10. Never stop selling or serving

9. Take the locks off the doors

“L.L. Bean has been a fixture on Main Street in Freeport, Maine, since it opened shop there in 1917. The locks on the doors were removed in 1951 when the decision was made to keep the store open 24 hours a day year-round. Today, 3.5 million shoppers visit L.L. Bean in Freeport each year.”

--Maine Guide Book

What can your members do in their pajamas?

• Generational expectations, technology and time pressure

• Online collaboration• Online transactions• Immediate answers for questions

10 Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention

1. Make a plan2. Create an organization wide membership effort3. Build a customer information system4. Know your customers, industry and competition5. Measure. Benchmark. Repeat.6. Communicate & congratulate7. Build the bandwagon8. Worry about value, not price9. Take the locks off the doors

10. Never stop selling or serving

“Service is just a day in, day out, ongoing, never ending unremitting, persevering, compassionate type of activity.”

--Leon Gorman, L.L. Bean

Andy Freed

Virtual, Inc.

781 876-6205

Afreed@virtualmgmt.com

www.virtualmgmt.com