Montana Farm Bureau Federation

1. Montana Farm Bureau Federation JohnBrewerConsulting@Bresnan.net 406-690-0004

3. Competition • 1,373,070 trade and professional associations; charitable and philanthropic organizations in 2010 • 61,640 new applications in 2010

4. Session Objectives • Share some of the top line findings ASAE’s “Decision To Join” study • Are you asking “The Ultimate Question” • Tools to evaluate your relevance

5. Presentation Information

6. The Decision to Join • The Decision to Join (DTJ) is based on a survey of 16,944 individuals who are, were, or could be but never chose to become members of an association • 18 diverse organizations participated by submitting member and nonmember names to a database that was analyzed as one common pool of professionals • Have belonged to 5,200 associations

7. Thank You to the Decision to Join Co-sponsors! American Chemical Society American College of Healthcare Executives American Geophysical Union American Health Information Management Association American Society for Quality American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Mechanical Engineers The College of American Pathologists Credit Union Executives Society Emergency Nurses Association IEEE Institute of Food Technologists National Association of Secondary School Principals National Athletic Trainers’ Association National Court Reporters Association National Society of Accountants Project Management Institute School Nutrition Association 7

8. Primary Areas of Inquiry • Attitudes toward associations in general • Challenges the respondents face • Functions that associations perform • Means of accessing professional information • Attitudes toward the sponsor association • Personal Benefits from membership • Benefits to the Field (Good of the order) • Overall attitude toward membership

9. Primary Segments Analyzed • Level of association involvement • Age/Generation/Career Stage • Gender • Employer/practice type • National v. International

10. Level of Involvement IS CRITICAL!! Respondents perception of value from their association increases with their level of involvement.

11. Involvement Segments

12. Level of Involvement

13. How likely is it that you would recommend membership in the association to a friend or colleague?

14. The Ultimate Question How likely is it that you would recommend membership in the association to a friend or colleague? Answers based on a 10 point scale 9-10 Promoter 7-8 Passive 6 or less Detractor

15. How did you first learn about membership in the association? Colleague or co-worker 35.9% Professor or instructor 29.0% University or college program 12.8% Do not recall 6.7% A workshop, conference or meeting 4.3% Some other way 3.3% Advertisement in a journal or magazine 3.1% Direct contact from the association by direct mail 2.0% Browsing on the Internet 1.4% Direct contact from the association in person 0.6% Direct contact from the association electronically 0.5% Booth at a trade show 0.2% Telephone or email inquiry 0.2% News story 0.1% Personal Professional Contact 77.7% Why “Promoter” status is important

16. How likely is it that you would recommend membership in the association to a friend or colleague?

17. How likely is it that you would recommend membership in the association to a friend or colleague?

18. Value of Membership Sense of Community Value to Association Levels of Engagement How do we get these folks more engaged? Retention

19. Members Want to be Part of the Common Good “A person’s decision to join an individual membership organization is NOT a cost-benefit analysis.”

20. How important were the following benefits in your decision to join?

21. How important were the following benefits in your decision to join?

22. Personal Benefits

23. Benefits to the Field Providing standards or guidelines that support quality 3.85 Gathering, analyzing and publishing data on trends in the field 3.77 Maintaining a code of ethics for practice 3.74 Promoting greater appreciation of value to other practitioners 3.70 Conducting research on significant issues affecting the field 3.70 Promoting greater public awareness of contributions in the field 3.67 Influencing legislation and regulations that affect the field 3.64 Supporting student education and entry into the field 3.58 Attracting competent people into the field 3.53 Certifying those who meet critical competency standards 3.52 The association's role in defining critical competencies 3.44 Providing awards or recognition for excellence in the field 3.07

24. Leaders v. Members The importance attributed to program activities varies with level of involvement. In some cases, elected leaders are not in sync with rank-and-file members

27. Reasons Why Leaders are Out of Sync • Access to information and analyses that give them a vantage point members don’t have; • Responsibility to take action that members don’t have; • Ignorance; unaware of the needs certain segments might have;

28. Age/Generation/Career StageIssues

29. Generational Stereotypes Silent Generation (1925-1945) What you put into it is what you get out of it. Boomers (1946-1964) Relationship oriented benefits (networking) Generation X (1965-1976) Support Association but don’t want to come to meetings Generation Y/Millennials (1977-2000) What's in it for me? High tech, low involvement, demand quick response

30. Will “Generation X” join their professional associations as their predecessors did, or are they different in ways that make this questionable? 30

31. Association Membership of Baby Boomers and Generation X, by Age Source: General Social Survey data, various years 31

32. What is your overall attitude toward associations? % choosing “very favorable”

33. Are associations capable of addressing the practical needs of the members? % choosing “very favorable”

34. Will there be a greater or lesser need for associations five years from now? % choosing “greater”

35. What do you think are the most important functions of an association?

36. What do you think are the most important functions of an association?

37. Generation and Career Level Finding: Values differ by career level (generation) Networking and connecting Professional training Representing the field to the government Opportunity for leadership experience 37

38. Strategic Opportunities • Ask the Ultimate Question and develop more promoters • Create awareness with Next Gen before their late 20s • Engage members (ad hoc, segmentation) • Organizational evaluation: (time for radical reinvention or just tweaking) • brand promise; relevancy

39. “When you’re done changing, you’re done!” --Benjamin Franklin

40. MeasurementThe Ultimate Question “How likely is it that you would recommend membership in the Chamber/CVB to a friend or colleague?” (1-10 scale with 10 as very likely) What will make your organization Remarkable?

41. Commitment to Purpose 1. A Customer Service Culture 2. Alignment of Products and Services With Mission Commitment to Analysis and Feedback Commitment to Action 3. Data-Driven Strategies 4. Dialogue and Engagement 5. CEO as a Broker of Ideas Remarkable 6. Organizational Adaptability 7. Alliance Building

42. Montana Farm Bureau Federation JohnBrewerConsulting@Bresnan.net 406-690-0004