Membership in the Current Age

Membership in the Current Age
How Associations, Non-Profits and Service Clubs Can Build Membership in a Digital Age.
J.R. Atkins
Author, Speaker & Consultant on Social Media & Mobile Apps
jratkins@SomethingDifferentCompanies.com

Membership Decline
Many membership based organizations have seen their membership number decline in recent years.
Yet, “on-line giving” and social media based activism are on the rise.
What’s going on? Have we changed that much?

Participation vs. Membership
Many people are willing to participate but unwilling to become a member
Why?
Long Term Commitment
Larger Financial Decision
Less Corporate support or reimbursement
So many competing choices
On-Line, current topics, shifting trends, ...

Case Study: WAC vs. AMA
World Affairs Council
American Marketing Association
Why?
Personal Needs
Been there done that
Membership has it’s privileges
Pay for Access

What is your Mission?
Every kind of group is re-evaluating how they “do business”
Member Engagement”– Keep the ones you have
New Member Programs – Special Offers
But, what do you really provide and how do people get it?

What is your Mission?
Education
Service
Connecting with Others
Promote a cause, industry, …
Fun, Party, Splash & Glitz

Question of the Day!
If your organization was:
Financially Fit
Maxing Out Participation
Had Great Awareness
But you had just a few members
Would you be ok?

Recommendations
Clearly define your value proposition
What you are, what you do, who benefits
What you are Not, what you Don’t do
Take a look at your Communication Methods
On line tools
Social Media
Be Interesting
Provide Excellent Content
Give to Get

Recommendation
Be less “Membership” focused and
more “value” focused.
Don’t push membership
Do invite them back
Member Value Proposition
Build an On-line community
If you had to survive as a “virtual organization” what would you do differently
Feedback, feedback, feedback

Recommendation
Act like a Company: Grow, Merge or Close
What is working, keep doing it
What is not working, cut it off
Recruit influential leaders (special offer)
Be willing to Change
What if you had to start over, how would you to do it today
Do you own assets that hold you back, are there members that need to move on, or how would new thinking change your organization
Listen

Resources
Getting Naked: Patrick Lencioni
Crush It: Gary Vaynerchuk
ReWork: Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Ground Swell: Josh Bernoff & Charlene Li
Blue Ocean Strategy: W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne
$1500 Assessment

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Membership in the Current Age

by J.R. Atkins on May 18, 2011

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Membership in the Current Age — Presentation Transcript