Dale Paulson, Ph.D., invented YTheyJoin in 1992 and he originally called it Allegiance for Associations. He is the sole provider. He invented the nine categories and the system of codes and has clients around the country. It is the original member-segmentation program for associations. Gallup tried to buy it but he said no. Like most good ideas, YTheyJoin is occasionally “borrowed” by other consultants who may present it as their own, and the buyer should be an educated consumer.

Dr. Paulson specializes in research for national associations and his innovative methodologies have received several trademarks. As President of Allegiance Research Group, he conducts survey research and gives seminars and speeches. While others like to say they are the “biggest and best in the Western Hemisphere” or “the world’s leader in the field”, Dr. Paulson tends to avoid these types of descriptions.

In 1998 Dr. Paulson’s book on Allegiance was published by the American Society of Association Executives and it contains detailed information about the program and how it was developed. It is based on his empirical research and much of this is included in the book. The book is available for sale at ASAE or at Amazon and is titled “Allegiance®: Fulfilling the Promise of One-to-One Marketing for Associations.”

Hundreds of thousands of association members have now taken the YTheyJoin one-page survey, and the program helps associations save tons of money by target marketing which is both personal and timely.

I invite you to visit the Web site at www.ytheyjoin.com for more info about the program.

In the next article, I will describe one of the nine member types in the YTheyJoin program, and specific marketing ideas for this group.