Peter S. Weber, MS, CAE Heartland Veterinary Conference August 27-28, 2010 in Chicago, IL

1. Developing a Personal Relationship with Your Members Peter S. Weber, MS, CAEHeartland Veterinary ConferenceAugust 27-28, 2010 in Chicago, IL

2. The Decision to Join • Helping people to make membership and participation decisions has become something that association executives have to do, not something they like to do, and in many cases it shows in the symptoms of membership tyranny, which are as follows: • Membership marketing, volunteer recruitment, participation solicitations, and even fundraising appeals are done languidly and robotically, because they are seen as assembly-line tactics rather than a part of the strategic mission.

3. The Decision to Join • There is little or no appreciation of the fact that people, not companies or organizations, join volunteer membership associations. In spite of this, a great deal of association marketing and promotion is done as though a company or an organization was making the decision-wasting resources. • And then there’s the biggest symptom of them all: • There is little appreciation or understanding of the principal theories that affect membership and participation decision making in the third sector.

4. The Decision to Join • Membership recruitment, retention, and participation; volunteer management; and fundraising are necessary elements for the survival of voluntary organizations. • Associations are ultimately responsible for whether people join, participate and volunteer, donate, and otherwise become involved in associations. • While it is true that individuals make the decision, it falls on associations to set the table to facilitate that decision. Associations must influence the variables that control the individual’s decision.

5. The Decision to Join • Frequently, the language in an association’s membership promotion would lead one to believe their audience is another company or organization. In other words, a lot of emphasis is placed on benefits and value to the practice. • The value and benefits are directed toward the practice as though the practice would somehow benefit instead of the individual or individuals who would be participating. • However…

6. The Decision to Join • The motivation and the decision to join or not to join is a personal choice, particularly as veterinary practice ownership becomes increasingly corporate. • More behavioral research that uncovers motivations behind decisions needs to be done.

7. The Decision to Join – The Social Capitalism Theory • Social capitalists argue that citizen participation is at the heart of democracy and participation in voluntary organizations provides the mechanisms by which people can communicate information about their interests, preferences, values, and needs, and thus improve their communities. • Social capitalists also believe that participation through associations is one of the best ways for representative governments to achieve political and social integration of its citizens. • Think for a moment about voter participation in local, state and federal elections. Now ask if the Social Capitalism Theory can stand on its own as a strategy for member participation.

8. The Decision to Join – The Rational Choice Theory • For the most intense rational choice thinkers, the decision to join is a cost-benefit analysis, zero-sum game theory. • People make self-serving decisions to join and participate simply on the basis of the cost-benefit ratio or in response to selective incentives. • Mancur Olson’s theory of collective action (1965) is widely accepted as the rational choice model for looking at group participation. • Olson’s theory predicts that — all else equal — individuals will be more likely to join small groups organized for narrow purposes than larger groups organized for general purposes.

9. The Decision to Join – The Rational Choice Theory • It is reasonable to infer that Olson’s theory is demonstrated through the growth in the number of, and participation in, specialty veterinary organizations. • Olson’s theory is also used to describe the phenomenon of people not joining when there is every reason they should join. • In reality, many decide not to join based upon an economic, cost-benefit calculation; knowing others will pay the fare, and the critical work will get done without them. • These “free riders,” as Olson calls them, can be persuaded to join and participate only through peer pressure or incentives, which must be continually increased to be effective.

10. The Decision to Join • The effort to explore the universe of the people who are not members is of utmost interest, since for most associations penetration into the population of non-members would relieve substantial stress on stretched budgets. • Many social capitalist theorists would blame non-membership on a disconnect between individuals and the importance of organized representation to protect their common interests. • Many rational choice proponents would blame non-membership on free riders and/or failures of associations to offer a range of selective incentives, personal material rewards, coercions, and other motivations.

11. The Decision to Join • Regardless of who joins, when, where, what, and how often, the decision to join an association is not like a demographic or psychographic characteristic that can be easily modeled or found in a beehive or cohort cluster of prospects with similar interests, backgrounds, or tastes. Associations have to root out the motivation, individual by individual, and be there with the proper message and medium when the prospect is ready. • Perhaps one-to-one marketing — a practice that holds promise for associations — will in the end be the factor that helps voluntary organizations grab hold of a demographic profile in flux while mitigating the demise of the “traditional” member and facilitating the emergence of the “new” member.

12. The ISVMA Membership Experience • In November 2003, the ISVMA had 1220 veterinarian members and a largely disconnected and unorganized student membership. Veterinarian annual dues were $180. • Today, ISVMA has more than 2250 veterinarian members, nearly 100 CVT members and 450 active student members. Veterinarian annual dues are now $260. • Despite the outstanding growth, there are still nearly 1000 non-member veterinarians and 400 non-member CVTs in the state. • If these prospects joined the association, it would relieve all budget stress and result in more meaningful programs and services available to the profession through ISVMA.

13. Developing a Personal Membership Strategy • Consider the number of responsibilities that your members and member prospects juggle on a daily basis. Joining a professional organization may not be one of their top priorities. After all, what veterinary professional has time for more meetings and activities? • Associations must explain how that kind of thinking can cause veterinary professionals to miss out on the numerous benefits that membership in a professional association offers. • They will make valuable professional contacts and gain access to a wealth of useful information.

14. The Basic Benefits of Membership • Although each organization has its own unique advantages, most professional associations offer some or all of the following basic benefits:

15. The Basic Benefits of Membership • Exclusive online resources. The Web sites of most professional associations have "members-only" sections that provide access to a variety of databases and message boards, as well as listserve subscriptions so that you can be notified via e-mail about upcoming events and special activities that may not be open to the general public. Some sites feature content on a variety of topics, such as running a business, advancing your career or boosting your technology expertise. • Networking opportunities. When you join a professional organization, you'll deepen existing business relationships and make new contacts on a regular basis. Such networking goes beyond the exchange of business cards - as you attend periodic meetings, become active on a committee or take a prominent leadership role, you'll forge lasting ties with others who have common professional interests and similar business concerns.

16. The Basic Benefits of Membership • Education. Many professional associations offer their members the chance to update their knowledge of business and trade basics or acquire new skills through seminars, workshops, break-out sessions at conferences and online courses. Typical subject matter can run the gamut from tax tips and small business financing to advice about hiring and staff management. • Free or discounted publications. Membership in many groups includes a free subscription to the organization's magazine. Some associations also offer their members free publications and discounts on CDs, journals, videos/DVDs and other materials. • Conferences and seminars. Members are often given priority registration for their organization's convention and may receive discounts on conference fees or special rates on related expenses, such as hotel reservations and car rentals.

17. Beyond the Basics • Depending on the organization, there are likely additional benefits beyond those listed above. • Support system. Members of professional associations can often take advantage of formal coaching or mentoring relationships with more experienced professionals who provide guidance and useful insights. Such relationships can be a source of answers and solutions when you're facing a challenging situation in your business.

18. Beyond the Basics • Political clout. Most state veterinary associations have committees to track federal and state legislative developments that could have an impact on their profession. These associations have a significant political presence that far exceeds that of individual members. Joining this type of professional organization enables members to tap into the group's political influence and resources.

19. Beyond the Basics • Civic leadership. As an individual professional, you may not have the time or resources to sponsor a charitable event, partner with an educational institution or otherwise participate in community activities. But if your professional organization is active in civic and philanthropic ventures, you can become involved in many worthwhile projects. • Joining a professional organization is beneficial for professional development and the future of the professional’s business. The connections they will make, the resources made available to them and the ideas and advice they will discover represent an outstanding return on what amounts to a modest, manageable investment of time, money and effort. It could turn out to be one of the best things they could do for themselves and their business.

20. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • Establish and focus on the structural foundations that support a growing membership marketing program in your association. • The following are sometimes overlooked strategies that have a big impact on whether your membership is growing or not: • 1. Make recruiting new members a priority. You cannot retain your way to growth. No matter how effective your retention program is, members will still leave your association, so building a thriving membership acquisition program is fundamental. Survey results in the 2010 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report* indicate that associations that put a higher priority on acquisition than retention are more likely to be growing their membership numbers.

21. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • 2. Do not reinvent the membership marketing wheel. Every organization has unique challenges, but that does not mean that time-tested membership marketing strategies and tactics do not apply. Take time to understand and use the best practices that have grown membership for hundreds of associations over the years. If you'd like more on membership retention, I would recommend the following resources: • The Decision to Join: How Individuals Determine Value and Why They Choose to Belong, by James Dalton and Monica Dignam • 2010 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, by Marketing General, Inc. • Membership Essentials, by Sheri Jacobs, CAE, et. al.

22. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • 3. Give membership marketing adequate funding. A member generates a predictable dues income stream over time for an association: For example, an association that charges $200 a year in dues and maintains an 85 percent renewal rate will hold onto a member for an average of 6.66 years and receive $1,332 in lifetime dues revenue alone. How much would you spend to receive a $1,332 income stream? Fund your membership marketing with a view toward the lifetime value of a member. • 4. Build your awareness of prospects by obtaining opt-ins. Some associations have adopted a concept that can be called "trading content for contact," offering a free article download or e-newsletter subscription in exchange for granting permission for further communications. These opt-ins are prime prospects for membership and can provide a high-response complement to outside list rentals.

23. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • 5. Engage new members by encouraging a second interaction. Survey data indicate that the more personal your follow-up interactions are with a new member, the more likely that member is to renew. Another key is to encourage additional interactions between the new member and your organization. Eliciting almost any interaction from a new member, from having them complete a survey to simple phone contact, increases the likelihood of renewal.

24. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • In the 2010 Marketing Benchmark Report, by Marketing General, Inc. (http://www.marketinggeneral.com/), a personal approach to new members revealed the top 10 methods: 1. Mailed Welcome Kit 2. Email Welcome 3. Membership Card or Certificate 4. Volunteer or Staff Welcome Call 5. Invite to Chapter Meeting 6. New Member Survey 7. In Person New Member Reception 8. Special Discounts on purchases 9. Custom New Member Email Follow-Up 10. New Member Newsletter

25. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership * Continual renewal contacts and services may improve renewal rates. • The data appears to indicate that organizations that stop their renewal process earlier are more likely to have membership renewal rates under 80%. However, those that continue in their efforts to renew members are more likely to have membership renewal rates over 80%. • In fact, those who say that they “don’t stop contact” are 83% more likely to be in this higher renewal grouping than those who stop contact earlier. • As mentioned, the above data are key-pionts of some of the data contained within the report. Visit the Marketing General Inc. website to download your full copy of the report.

26. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • 6. Deploy multiple channels and higher frequency of contacts to renew members. The days when three renewal notices got the job done are over. A renewal system today should include mail, email, and phone, with a total of 10 or more renewal contacts to achieve optimum returns. • 7. Track and measure every membership marketing activity. All the right membership marketing in the world will not make a difference without tracking. Even with well-run programs, the variance in results between the best and the worst marketing effort can be 1,000 percent or more, depending on timing, copy, lists, offers, and marketing channels. Carefully measuring results allows the proper allocation of marketing funds and best return for each dollar spent.

27. Proven Ways to Grow Your Membership • The Marketing General, Inc. benchmarking report also indicated that, despite the economy, 46% of the associations reported that they have seen their total membership grow with 54% of this growth contributed to new members. • Direct mail has been found to be the most effective channel for recruiting members with a listing/ranking of the most effective as: 1. Direct Mail 46% 2. Member get a Member and WOMM 32% 3. Email 24% 4. Promotion at Own Conference 15% 5. Personal Sales 11% • Of note also is that associations who use direct mail as a recruitment channel also are more likely to report membership renewal rates of over 80% compared to those who do not.

28. Personalize and Engage • It has been discussed that there are many different ways to motivate a potential member to join. But if there is one thing that I have learned in my 22 year association career, it is that membership recruitment and retention is made much easier if you can get a person to become involved. • Getting involved means different things to different people. We all have our individual levels of comfort and areas of confidence. Some ways that you can get your members and member prospects involved include: • Answering surveys • Participating in your grassroots political network and celebrating wins (see handout 2 – esource_vii_23 and handout 1 – esource_viii_3). • Attending seminars or programs • Serving on committees or task forces • Mentoring (or being mentored)

29. Personalize and Engage • Serve as a quick and important source of useful information (see handout 4 – esource_vii_19). • Communicate the important of organized veterinary medicine with new veterinary students as early as possible (see handout 5 – Why Do You Belong). • Personally communicate with new members (see above). • Offer “Family Friendly” events for younger veterinarians with families (see handout 6 - Hockey Night). • Facilitate targeted networking opportunities (e.g. new graduate discussion after one year to share experiences, frustrations, ideas, etc. with people that can relate; or a practice ownership workshop for graduates 5-10 years out of school). • Have an open nominations and election process that allows every member a voice in your leadership (see handout 7 - Nominations Form and handout 8 - Region VII Ballot handout).

30. Plan, Plan, Plan • Planning is vital to the success of association membership recruitment and retention. • See “Handout 9 -Development Plan” and “Handout 10 - ISVMA Member Focus”.

31. Important to Remember • Your association cannot do everything for everyone. • However, your association is something different to everyone.