Check
out this sampling of articles from recent
issues of The Membership Management Report Newsletter...
--------------------Attracting
Potential Members-----------------
Sweeten the Pot With
New Member Benefits
Freebies can
be the shiny penny that turns people’s
heads toward your organization and entices
them to want to learn more.
While advertisers
have long known that people like to get
more than they paid for, increasing numbers
of member organizations are capitalizing
on the universal
desire by offering special benefits to first-time members.
“They are an enticement,
but they also answer a question,” says
Kristin Gregory, executive director of the
Carbondale (IL) Chamber of Commerce, of the
complimentary benefits her organization has long provided to new members. “They
are a tangible answer to the question of how the chamber serves its members
in practical ways.”
The chamber’s benefits
to new members provide something for everyone,
but give particular attention to the needs
of new or
newly relocated business owners,
says Gregory. Advertising services, free business consultations and discounted
members services are consistently popular with new members, but chamber officials
are always seeking new ideas from both current members and members of the
chamber’s
board of directors.
Though membership incentives
are directed primarily toward recruiting
new members, current members benefit
from these incentives, too. By donating
benefits — most
of the chamber’s incentives are provided by current members — businesses
raise awareness of their services and make positive connections with professionals
who may become clients.
While few if any members join
the chamber expressly to take advantage of
first-time benefits, the incentives do help
attract
potential members and
encourage them
to sign on, says Gregory. “They are a bonus that adds value in members’ minds,
and for that we’re glad to offer them. It’s just another way
to show that we’re doing whatever we can for members.”
Source:
Kristin Gregory, Executive Director,
Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, Carbondale,
IL.
--------------------Engaging
Newcomers--------------------
Member Orientations
Increase Involvement, Retain Membership
When
should an organization begin working to
retain new members? From the very beginning,
says Jane Anderson, vice president of member
services, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
(Asheville, NC).
“We’ve always felt
it’s critical to get members engaged
as quickly as possible,” Anderson says. “That’s
why we see new member orientations as such
an essential part of our retention strategy.”
The
Asheville chamber hosts a new member orientation
every month. Regularly drawing 20 to 45 participants,
these popular meetings reach an estimated
80
percent of
all new members.
As impressive as the figures
for new member orientations may be, Anderson
emphasizes that chamber staff
still tracks orientation attendance and places
follow-up
calls to members who miss their most immediate meeting. She notes that staff
has even
been known to hold one-on-one orientations for members who face conflicts that
make attending regularly scheduled events impossible.
The half-day program begins
with a sponsored breakfast and introductory
welcome from the chamber’s president.
New members are invited to introduce themselves
and then present 30-second commercials for their business. The morning’s
agenda also includes a time for chamber departments to describe their services,
and an informal, brief Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Because chamber officials
feel it is important for new members to hear first-hand accounts of the chamber’s
services, Anderson says, they try to include a few current members in every
orientation. They also incorporate elements of
outreach and recruiting by encouraging anyone considering chamber membership
to attend an orientation.
Asked what newcomers gain from
these new member orientations, Anderson highlights
four key areas:
