The document discusses how to create a member-centric chamber of commerce. It begins by outlining session objectives like rating a chamber's member centricity and strategies to improve. It then discusses Collins' 7 measures of success for remarkable associations, including having a customer service culture. Six strategies for developing a member-centric chamber are provided: enhancing member experiences, ensuring all staff are member-centric, developing interest communities, making engagement easy, soliciting feedback, and recognizing members. The document concludes by asking attendees to identify a 90-day action step.

1. ©2011 Hight Performance Group How Member-Centric is Your Chamber? 1
How Member-Centric is
Your Chamber?
How to move from being a
“good” Chamber to a
“great” Chamber

2. • Performance improvement consultants for
• Marketing, sales, customer experience & loyalty,
productivity, membership development
• 2008 named ACCE Consultant on Demand
for membership development
• The nation‘s member retention specialist
• Developer of The Member Retention Kit (over
450 member-based associations use the Kit)
• Cathi Hight – U.S. Chamber instructor for
Institute for Organization Management
How Member-Centric is Your Chamber?©2011 Hight Performance Group
2

3. ©2011 Hight Performance Group How Member-Centric is Your Chamber? 3
Session Objectives
• Rate Your Chamber with the Member-
Centricity Scorecard
• Explore what it takes to excel in the new
Membership Life Cycle
• Recognize the ingredients of a ―great‖
Chamber based on the 7 Measures of
Success
• Explore 6 Strategies to Create a Member-
Centric Chamber

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The Member Centricity Scorecard
• Read each statement
• Rate how well you use each strategy to
develop a member-centric Chamber
• Add up the value of each statement
• Total your score for all statements
• Compare your overall score to the
legend

5. ©2011 Hight Performance Group How Member-Centric is Your Chamber? 5
Collins‘ 7 Measures of Success
• The ASAE/Center for
Association Leadership 4-
Year Study
• 1,000 ASAE execs invited to
nominate top 5 associations
• 506 associations nominated
• 104 associations mentioned
most frequently
• 51 associations participated
in the study (20 yrs+
operation)
• Analyzed 15 years of
performance
• Only 9 identified as ―Great‖
• AARP
• American College of
Cardiology
• American Dental Association
• Associated General
Contractors of America
• Girl Scouts of the USA
• National Association of
Counties
• Ohio Society of Certified
Public Accountants
• Radiological Society of
North America
• Society for Human Resource
Management

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The 7 Measures of Success
• Commitment to Purpose
• A Customer Service Culture
• Alignment of Products and Services with Mission
• Commitment to Analysis and Feedback
• Data-Driven Strategies
• Dialogue and Engagement
• CEO as a Broker of Ideas
• Commitment to Action
• Organizational Adaptability
• Alliance Building

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A Customer Service Culture =
A ‗Member-Centric‘ Organization
• ―Remarkable associations build their structures,
processes, and interactions—their entire
culture—around assessing and fulfilling
members‘ needs and expectations.‖
• ―We measure success by how relevant we are to
members. Are we meeting their needs? Are we
anticipating their needs?‖
--7 Measures of Success
What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t

8. © 2011 Hight Performance Group
The Ongoing Membership Cycle
8How Member-Centric is Your Chamber?

9. • Acquisition
 Effective value-propositions focused on benefits,
 Special promotions, incentives
 Recruit for retention
• Integration
 Onboard members into the ―community‖
 Provide additional ‖touches‖ often
 Live up to the brand promise
• Engagement
 Offer multiple and diverse opportunities for
members to engage based on interests or needs
 Provide positive, exceptional experiences
 Monitor engagement levels and target members
with low engagement levels
• Renewal
• Make it easy and convenient to renew
• Make it automatic
• Offer renewal incentives
• Stop providing benefits with lapsed memberships
• Market to past members and win them back
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Where Do We Need to Improve?
How Member-Centric is Your Chamber?

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6 Strategies to Develop a
Member-Centric Chamber
1. Enhance your
members‘ experiences
2. Every staff members is
―member-centric‘
3. Develop and support
communities of interest
around you
4. Make it easy and
convenient to engage
5. Solicit feedback, listen &
act on members‘ needs
6. Recognize and reward
members

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Strategy 1: Enhance Your
Members‘ Experiences
• Create a vision, mission and set of
values (or guiding principles)
focused on delivering value for your
members
• Measure and manage your
‗Moments of Truth‘
• Operationally, define ―member-
centric,‖ establish success metrics,
identify staff behaviors to reinforce
• Be responsive to members‘ inquiries
• Solve members problems timely
• Thank members for their business
• Realize that it‘s all about them!

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Strategy 2: Every Staff Member is
‗Member-Centric‘
• Realize ―You can‘t send ducks to
eagle school.‖
• Don‘t put ‗square pegs‘ into round
holes—hire for intrinsic traits,
attitude and self-accountability
• Provide ongoing customer service
training
• Spell out how each role is linked
to the Membership Life Cycle
• Hold staff accountable to your
Customer Service Standards
• Recognize and reward customer
service ―inside and out‖

13. Strategy #3: Develop and Support
Communities of Interest Around You
• Connect members to one
another via mutual
interests and needs
• Task forces, councils
• Special Interest Groups
(SIGS)
• Birds-of-a-feather
(women‘s, YP‘s groups)
• Live tweets at current
events around topics
• Share best practices and
solve common problems
• Forums, panels, experts
• Blogs, online resources
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Strategy #4: Make it Easy and
Convenient to Engage
• Offer self-service options on your web site
• Ensure that systems work (e.g., links, online
registration, renewals, shopping cart)
• Find ways to save members money and time
• Think ahead for members
• Go to members instead of making them come to you
• Automate transactions and processes
• Make products/services accessible on their terms
• Offer payment options and discounts
How Member-Centric is Your Chamber?

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Strategy 5: Solicit Feedback, Listen &
Act On Your Members‘ Needs
• Ask for feedback and
suggestions
• Survey members by
phone or online
• Conduct interviews and
focus groups to explore
deeper meanings
• Poll members on specific
topics or issues
• Don‘t assume, ask!

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Strategy # 6: Recognize and
Reward Members
• Honor members at special events
• Provide certificates for training or
participation (e.g., Leadership program)
• Congratulate them on their business
anniversary and accomplishments
• Recognize their investments (time, money,
resources, in-kind contributions)
• Nominate them for community awards
• Spotlight members on website or
newsletters (it‘s about them!)
• Recognize ―Volunteers of the Month‖
• Acknowledge members in press releases
(help them be heard above the noise)
• Send out handwritten, personal notes
• Post kudos and provide recommendations
on their social networking sites
• Encourage and reward member loyalty

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90-Day Next Action Step
• What one thing will you explore or
implement in the next 90 days?

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Session Summary
• Take responsibility for your role in the Membership
Life Cycle
• Invest in creating the best experiences for members
• Remember that the ―great‖ associations have a
foundation for being customer/member-centric
• Spend time to know your members well
• Help members integrate and connect in your
―community‖
• Reach out and ‗touch‘ members regularly
• Make things flow efficiently for members
• Collect, listen and act on feedback
• Find ways to recognize and reward members

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What Have I Done Today
to Retain a Member?
• Contact us for support at (720)
304-0747
• Email me at
cathi@hightperformance.com
• Check out our web site:
www.hightperformance.com