The Art of Membership

Member engagement, recruitment, and retention are fundamental activities that all membership organizations must master to ensure the growth and viability of their organizations over the long term. The Art of Membership by Sheri Jacobs, CAE, provides associations and membership organizations with the practical tools they need to build a loyal and diverse membership base over the long term. Readers will be able to put the tools to work immediately regardless organization size, budget, culture, type, or environment. The recommendations are concrete, irrefutable and backed by data derived from ASAE research, the author′s own more than 40 Market Research Studies conducted with her team encompassing members and nonmembers from organizations of all types and sizes and her more than 15 years of experience developing and executing membership recruitment and retention plans for more than 100 associations. The book contains ample cases and examples from associations, nonprofits and for–profits (pricing strategies, value propositions, and marketing tactics) in addition to chapter–by–chapter "how–to" guides with checklists and worksheets that break down the concepts from goal to strategy to tactics culminating in an actionable "to–do" list.

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits ix Preface xi About the Author xix Part One Find Your Value 1 Understand the Value Before You Start Selling 3 2 Value Is in the Eye of the Beholder 23 3 Sell What Matters 44 4 Charge More or Less&mdash,And Other Alternative Pricing Strategies 64 Part Two Who Are Your Members? 5 Members or Customers? Developing the Most Qualified Prospect List 93 6 Behavior and Preference Are Very Different Things 118 7 Look at Where Your Members Are Going 137 Part Three Sell Your Organization 8 Be a Problem Solver 159 9 Prove It! 180 Part Four Personalize the Process 10 Overcome Objections 203 11 Engagement, Onboarding, and the First Ninety Days 222 12 Be Flexible 240 References 257 Index 263 List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits Tables Table 1.1: Primary Reasons to Join and Renew 9 Table 1.2: Defi ning Member Benefi ts 11 Table 1.3: Drivers of APTA Membership 12 Table 1.4: Reasons for Not Renewing Membership 14 Table 1.5: Asset Audit Template 21 Table 2.1: Reasons for Dropping Membership 31 Table 2.2: Getting Lapsed Members to Rejoin 31 Table 3.1: Brand Attributes Survey 48 Table 4.1: What Is the Next Best Alternative (NBA) to Your Product? 79 Table 4.2: Pricing Worksheet 80 Table 4.3: HIMSS Organizational Affiliate Membership 85 Table 4.4: HIMSS Individual Membership Program 86 Table 5.1: Scoring Model 101 Table 5.2: Calculating the Lifetime Value of a Member 106 Table 6.1: Member Involvement and Promotion 124 Table 8.1: Problem&mdash,Feature&mdash,Outcome 169 Table 9.1: Organization Event Calendar for Member Feedback 184 Table 11.1: Onboarding Planning Worksheet 238 Figures Figure 4.1: Pricing Decision Tree 81 Figure 5.1: ABA Member Referral Program Promotion 109 Figure 8.1: Onboarding Timeline 172 Figure 9.1: Socialmedia.org Promotes Its Membership 192 Figure 9.2: Zero Moment of Truth 194 Figure 12.1: Association Forum of Chicagoland Gift Card 247 Exhibits Exhibit 2.1: Member Profi le Characteristics 42 Exhibit 2.2: Sample Psychographic or