If you are in charge of membership or marketing you may have problems. First, you probably have several bosses. In a sense all of your members are bosses, plus there are the volunteers some of whom head membership or marketing committees. Of course, they all have the direct phone number to your main boss, the Executive Director.

Also, most associations want more: more members; more sales; more people attending seminars; and more people at the convention. Guess what, this is your responsibility and did I mention that we are in the middle of a recession? Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of tools to work with especially if you depend on mass marketing which is cold and impersonal and treats everyone the same.

This is where member-segmentation and target marketing can help. Let’s say your Executive Director wants a ten-percent increase in attendance at the next annual convention. Where is the growth going to come from? Try the following strategy.

Send everyone a notice about the convention (and be sure to mention the most exciting speakers and topics). Then target the people most likely to attend, and for those of you who use the YTheyJoin™ program this would be the Shapers and Relevant Participants. If you do not use the program, this could be those who attended in the past, possibly new members, and people living within 200 miles of the convention city. Send repeated announcements and any expensive color brochures to these people; just send postcards to the others. This type of targeted marketing will save you money and should also result in increased attendance. We know this because our clients have used this strategy with excellent results.

A good strategy for increasing membership is your member application. Take a good look at it. Is it cold and impersonal? Intimidating? Like a laundry list? You can change this by simply allowing a little white space where you ask the person to write about their professional needs and expectations. Better yet, include the YTheyJoin tagging form where they get 100 points to spend on your products and services, etc. to explain what is most important to them. We often get comments like “Thanks for asking!” And a check follows.

Do you have ways to get more members, more sales, etc? If you do not have ideas and good methods, your job may be at risk and a raise or promotion may not materialize. Member segmentation and target marketing can make you look like a star! For more info, call 703-772-5263.

Our anniversary is here and to date we have worked with over 100 national associations! This includes membership, readership, and compensation surveys as well as the YTheyJoin™ member segmentation and target marketing program (formerly called Allegiance and developed by Dr. Dale Paulson in 1991). We would like to thank the assn community and here is a partial list of our clients. For a more detailed list please visit our Web site at www.AllegianceResearch.com

American Assn for the Adv of Science

American Chamber of Commerce Execs

American Coll of Healthcare Execs

American Diabetes Assn

American Industrial Hygiene Assn

American Inst of Architects

American Soc for Trng and Dvlpmt

American Soc of Appraisers

American Soc of Assn Execs

American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Inst

Assn of Otolaryngology Admins

Assn of the U.S. Army

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America

Infusion Nurses Soc

Int'l Assn of Amusement Parks/Attractions

Museum Store Assn

Nat Assn of Housing and Redev Officials

Nat School Boards Assn

Nat Soc of Prof Engineers

Population Refer Bureau

Soc for Human Resource Mgmt

Urban Land Inst

My company has many resources available that are free of charge. For example, please see the list of fourteen Fact Sheets listed in the July 21st article in this blog.

We also have a PowerPoint presentation that explains the YTheyJoin™ program. This program describes nine types of association members based on their needs and motivations, how to identify them, and how to do target marketing. This methodology was developed by Dr. Dale Paulson several years ago and he is the sole provider. If you would like a copy of the presentation, or for Dr. Paulson to visit your office to discuss it, just send us an e-mail or call. There is no oblgiation.

Here are the nine types of association members.

Mailboxers

Relevant Participants

Shapers

CompShoppers

Cognoscenti

Boosters

Altruistics

Doubters

Non-Relevants

For more info, e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com or call 703-772-5263 or visit the Web site at www.YTheyJoin.com (Please note that YTheyJoin and the nine member categories are trademarked by Dale Paulson.)

Here is a sample renewal letter to one of the member types, Altruistics™. This type believes in your mission and wants a voice in Washington or locally. The YTheyJoin Workbook has sample cover letters for each of the nine member types. The point is to write a targeted letter to each group and use the resonant messages.

Dear Ms. Johnson:

We know that you believe in the values and the mission of the XYZ Association. Our mission to ensure the safety of the public and to provide a voice in Washington is very important to you.

We know this because earlier this year you told us how you feel about membership in the Association. We appreciate this feedback and now we can send information that meets your specific needs and expectations. This is more than just words – we have actually designed a renewal package with you in mind. During the year your membership package will include:

• Legislative and regulatory updates in our newsletter
• Important alerts via e-mail or twitter
• Opportunities for letter-writing campaigns
• Opportunities for volunteer and grass-roots activities
• Copy of our Code of Ethics

The Association will continue its efforts to improve the services we provide to you. Each month the staff comes together to see how we can better meet your needs, and if you have an idea we would like to hear from you. And be sure to look for us on YouTube. Renew now! Thank you!

(Signed by Exec Director and the Govt Relations Director)

For more info about YTheyJoin call 703-772-5263

After you id the nine types of YTheyJoin™ members (each type was described in previous blog articles as well as the methodology to id each member), you can design targeted services and communications. For example, instead of writing the same renewal letter to everyone, design different letters for the nine types and use resonant statements for each group. Here are examples of Resonant Statements:

(Mailboxers) We know that your time is extremely valuable and that your primary involvement with our assn is through the mail or Web. You want info that is concise, relevant, and up-to-date.

(Relevant Participants) We know that when possible you like to attend our assn meetings to obtain relevant information or meet others in the field, or to buy/sell at the Expo.

(Shapers) We know that you do, or want to, actively participate in our assn by helping to shape policy, serve on a committee, or lead a chapter.

(Cognoscenti) We know that you look to our assn for info that is not available elsewhere or for opportunities to write or speak.

(Boosters) We know that you look to our assn to be a leader in the field or to help you advance in the profession by providing certification.

(Altruistics) We know that you believe in the values and mission of our assn. to ensure the safety of the public and provide a voice in Washington.

Look for a sample renewal letter in the next blog article. To learn more please visit www.YTheyJoin.com or call 703-772-5263 or e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com