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Recruiting, Retaining, Engaging Members in a Changing World

By Kristin McGuine posted 05-11-2021 05:24 PM

  

Jim Lindell, CSPby Jim Lindell, CSP. Jim is the President of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc, a Wisconsin based provider of strategic and financial consulting, professional speaking, training and executive coaching. Jim will be presenting the keynote at the WSAE 2021 Spring Fore-ward. This article is re-printed from the Spring issue of VantagePoint magazine.

Some of you may recall the Saturday Night Live skit about The Olympia Restaurant with actors John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray. Regardless of what the customer ordered, John Belushi would respond with “cheeseburger, Pepsi and chips.” When the customer pushed back, Belushi would repeat “cheeseburger, Pepsi and chips.” We have to be careful with our associations that we do not become so narrowly focused. Our members and prospective members may view us as only providing “cheeseburgers, Pepsi and chips.” Associations cannot get stuck in the we have always done it this way mode.

Another example illustrates membership concerns: If you consider mainline denominations, the number of people regularly attending church has consistently declined for many years. According to Gallup, in 1955, 73% - 77% of people in all age groups attended church within the last seven days. In 2017, the 21-29 age group had declined to 25%, while the over-60 age group had dropped to 49%. Dogmatic people will say there’s no need to change the church and its message because it is consistent over the years. The problem is the members in the church have changed, and they seek a different experience.

Associations must understand what the customer wants, and then adapt the association to meet and exceed those needs. And if you’re going to delve deep, we must go beyond meeting or exceeding the customer’s needs or expectations and identify and eliminate their pain.

I remember going into Best Buy to purchase a low-end laptop. The young salesperson didn’t want to sell an inexpensive model because it was inadequate for gaming purposes. I had no intention of using a laptop for gaming. The salesperson’s biases created an inaccurate perception for him.

Associations have done a great job helping members in the past. They have beliefs, practices, services, continuing education, conferences, etc. Unfortunately, that world has changed, and had already begun to change even before COVID-19. We must identify what is necessary to attract members, engage them in activities they value, and increase their long-term commitment to the association.

At the Spring Fore-ward, we will explore how neuromarketing and identification of the association members’ pain are necessary actions for associations to succeed in our new abnormal world. 

The author will be presenting the keynote address at WSAE's 2021 Spring Fore-ward event. For more information about the Spring Fore-ward, June 7-8, please check our Calendar of Events.

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