YTheyJoin identifies nine types of association members based on their motivations for joining and this article discusses one of them: CompShoppers™.

CompShoppers are members who compare your association to other sources of information, discounts, or benefits. Other sources may include competing organizations, the Internet, books or directories, etc. For example, some members join your association because they want discounts for attending meetings, or they want health insurance or insurance related to your profession.

CompShoppers are shopping around and may also be looking for an organization with lower dues or more local in nature. This group represents a warning to the association and they should be targeted in a special way. You can do this by knowing who or what the competition is, and by showing members that they get value for their money which can be done with a simple pie chart that shows how the money is spent and who benefits.

Your association should have a presence on the Internet and consider using Facebook or YouTube to establish a more personal relationship. For example, the Director of Meetings can put up a short video where they talk to speakers about their presentations at an upcoming conference. More and more members will want to communicate by Web via hand-held devices and some associations now twitter with these people – i.e. short, real-time messages.

The bottom line is you need every tool possible to target and keep members.

To learn more about YTheyJoin, the original member-segmentation and target-marketing program, please visit www.YTheyJoin.com You can also call directly 703-772-5263 or e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com