Step 1: Send a one-page survey (I like to call it a tagging form) to all members where you give them 100 points to spend on your various products and services. You can include this in member applications or welcome-aboard packets, send by e-mail, put it in your newsletter or magazine, etc. Member applications are cold and impersonal and this form is a way of saying “We care about you and want to know about your professional needs.” It may be the first and only time that you ask each member why they joined, and you will be pleasantly surprised to see how many members say “thanks for asking!”

Step 2: Look at the places where they spend the most points and summarize this information into a 3-digit code that you write on each form. For example, 573, means this person is a Cognoscenti, spent 70 points on this, and their next choice is Shaper. (Please refer to the previous article to see the list of categories and the corresponding number for each.)

Step 3: Enter the code into each member’s record. All you need is three columns and it is like a Zip Code®.

That is all there is to it. Now you know what each member wants, no more guesswork! In the example, the person who is a 573 is a strong Cognoscenti (wants to read your publications and may buy some of them and may also want to be a speaker or writer for your assn) and has some interest in serving on a committee. This person spent points on no other categories.

I have a free Fact Sheet that explains this program, called YTheyJoin, and if you would like it just send me an e-mail at AllegianceResearch@gmail.com

     Yes, mass marketing is so 1990's. Spend spend/waste waste. You spend lots of money on mailings to random lists, assuming everyone is the same, to achieve maybe a two-percent response rate. Think of all the paper you sent that ended up in a trash can. Way over ninety-percent of the people you contacted rejected you and how can this be good for your association?

     Did you know there is a better way? Did you know there is a way to achieve high response rates? Did you know there is a way to save a lot of trees? And you can look like a star in the process!

     Sure, it is easy to sit back and send the same letter to everyone or have a vendor do this. If that is your nature, then you will not be interested in this blog. For those who are looking for a better way to serve members, to save money, to increase retention, and to make their jobs more interesting please read on.

     No, this is not about data mining that takes a lot of time and money, is based on past behavior, and gives you little information about newer members. And this is not about membership surveys that go to a small random sample and the results remain anonymous.

     This is about target marketing and the best way to do this is to get to know your members--learn about their professional needs--and record this information in their member record. Want to sell books? Go to those who say they are interested in your publications. Need help with legislative affairs? Go to those who say they are interested in grassroots efforts. Want to staff committees? Go to those who say they are ready to serve.

     I can hear you now! "My database is a mess!" "My to-do list is very long right now!"

     Hey, target marketing as I describe it can go into any database and the time involved is small. As a matter of fact, it will save you time overall. Target marketing takes three steps and I will describe them in my next blog article.