By Duncan McCreery, MemberClicks Director of Customer Experience

This being my second straight year attending ASAE, I must say that I had a much more difficult time choosing among sessions to attend than I did in 2010.  While I went back and forth on a few tough choices, one that never left my list dove into the tactics and strategies behind member engagement programs.  Standing shoulder to should in the crowded room made it clear that I wasn’t the only one who had made this session a priority – and for good reason.

First, let’s start with the definition of engagement offered during the presentation:

Repeated interactions  that  strengthen   the  emotional,  psychological  or physical   investment  a  customer  has  in  a  brand.    The  process  of  moving new  customers   and  members  from  observers into users  of  the  resources made  available  by   your  organization.

Now this definition is really important because we’re talking about an approach to engage what is likely a diverse pool of current and potential members.  To truly engage members, we need to communicate that the organization understands the primary needs of each membership segment and that the organization’s offerings serve those specific needs.

When prompted for engagement program examples, several of the session’s attendees described programs where staff members systematically called each member to talk about the organization’s latest happenings or to solicit feedback from them.

Whether specific individuals did this full time or the work was spread across several departments, it sounded like the organizations with 50+ staff members had a lot of success with these programs.  It made me think how a small staff could take this concept and make it work without having the same amount of man-hours to invest.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it’s all about getting more bang for the buck.  If you can be strategic about taking full advantage of the touch points you already have, you can accomplish the personal touch and deliver the targeted message without having to launch a new program that requires 50 people to make phone calls.

The key is to speak to the needs.  If you’re aiming to grow the ranks of your student members, make sure, for example, you’re offering networking events that include young professionals and students.

Our presenters offered some great examples of targeted communication from the for-profit world included below.  As you’re watching these ads, ask yourself who your intended audiences are and how you can best deliver the message to them.  In these examples, how does Toyota demonstrate they understand the needs of each audience?

As you think about applying or revising your small-staff’s membership engagement strategy, here’s one quick way to get started:

1. Write down each of your membership segments
2. List out the primary reasons why people from each segment join the organization
3. Send surveys to each of the membership segments to find out what you do well and what they would like to see
4. Re-examine your programming and communications to make sure that the needs of each segment are covered regularly
5. If there’s a gap, target communications to that group with information and events specifically for them

If you have any examples of what your organizations is doing with its membership engagement strategy, please feel free to share!

Do you know what your strengths are? Do you know what your weaknesses are?

Knowing both is crucial to your career success. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and it’s important to find a role that plays to your strengths while letting you work on your weaknesses.

How do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, though?

Signs of a strength:
1. You have success doing it.
2. You have an instinct that tells you to pursue it.
3. This activity leads to growth.
4. You feel accomplished after you have completed it

Signs of a weakness:
1. You have a lack of success doing it.
2. You have a lack of natural instinct for the activity.
3. This activity leads to no new growth.
4. You recognize that there is a lack of need for the activity

Take the time to reflect on your work and tasks. Are you truly taking advantage of your strengths? I think it’s important for us all to be aware of our weaknesses so we can grow in our careers, but I don’t want to spend my days doing tasks I have no instinct for, and I’m betting you don’t either.

I think small staff association professionals have an advantage here. You get exposed to so many different aspects of association management that determining your strengths and weaknesses can be much quicker. On the other hand, you may have to devote more of your time to tasks that are not your strengths due to a lack of manpower at your association.

What do you think? Is your role comprised mainly of your strengths?

This post was inspired by Kathy Spangler & Carol Vernon’s “Putting your strengths to work deliberately” session at ASAE’s recent annual meeting.

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By Greg Parker, MemberClicks Solutions Advisor

“Innovation” and “Competitive Advantage” – how often are these terms thrown around in any and every business setting? We expect it in San Jose. We expect it in Manhattan, but in St. Louis…really? At ASAE’s recent annual meeting, that’s exactly what we heard.

Multiple educational and breakout sessions spoke to these topics, but the one that truly nailed it was the closing session by Peter Sheahan.

Peter spoke to the trend of members’ expectations “going toward narrative and away from facts.” He said, “you’re in the business of storytelling far more than you’re in the business of fact-telling.”

” Ninety-three percent of decisions are based on emotion,” he said. ‘We make decisions, and want to hear stories and emotional narratives more than we want facts.” The question begs, what story are you telling? Better yet, what story do your members want to hear?

If you can find your story, chances are you’re on the road to innovation. Sheahan will tell you that innovation is rarely “sexy.” True innovation isn’t where the “sizzle” is…

The story is the key, that’s where you find the “sizzle.”

According to Sheahan, “The hardest thing about staying awesome is the gravity of success.” You’ve paid your (metaphorical) dues and even though there may be room for improvement, things are going pretty well. That’s gravity talking. Success creates complexity which in turn creates specialization and ultimately isolation. Stories aren’t born in isolation. So where does one look for the story? I want my sizzle!

According to a brilliant friend of mine, Lara Hodgson, there are several keys to tapping into that story.

1.  Innovation is more about what you notice, not what you know. Look at your organization and ask, “What are the unique characteristics or benefits that we offer members?” Then turn those around and list the specific problems or needs that those benefits meet. That’s the beginning of a great story. As you continue the process, you’ll begin to notice areas where you can improve, and dare I say, innovate.

2.  Your best ideas happen when you lack resources. Anyone can be innovative when money, time and creativity are in abundance. It’s when your back is up against the wall that you really start to get creative. Don’t just break that glass in case of fire, (if all you have are fires, then use them to your advantage…and call me for some ideas to help) but mentally put yourself in places of break the glass in various situations.

3.  Your greatest idea may not be in what you are expert in. In a recent interview, Apple founder Steve Jobs said that getting fired from Apple (after his first run), was the best thing that ever happened to him. During that time, he purchased a small, no-name company called Pixar. How’d that work out for ya? Get out of your comfort zone. Look for ways to improve the process in a new area. A new set of eyes is always a good thing!

Find your story, tell your members, enjoy your sizzle!

Happy Friday! If you’re on the East Coast, I hope you’re not freaking out too much about Hurricane Irene. Seems like it’s been quite the week of natural disasters. We hope everyone stays safe!

To top off this week’s posts, here are five of my favorite from around the association blogosphere this week:

1. The Associations Live blog shares 10 learning shifts for conferences and events. These are great things to keep in mind, especially as events become more and more digital. One key non-digital learning? Talk to strangers! Conference facilitators should make an effort to group people up who may not know each other.

2. Jeff Hurt shares some great visual language all meeting planners should employ. Research has increasingly shown that most of us are visual learners and including interactive media and idea mapping at meetings is a step in the right direction.

3. Elizabeth Engel praises Joe Gerstandt’s session at ASAE’s Annual Meeting, and asks fellow association professionals if they are “ready to fly.” Other questions to ask: Who am I? why am I here?

4. David M. Patt reminds ASAE attendees that they should not necessarily try to replicate every element of this year’s excellent annual meeting. ASAE is a huge operation with a large budget – and small staffs especially should try to take inspiration from their events, but to attempt to copy them.

5. Wes Trochlil shares a frustrating story about a car salesmen and reminds association execs that truth is everything. Whether you’re working with your board, volunteers, members or staff, make sure they know they can trust you.

Whether you’re in Hurricane Irene’s path or not, we hope you have a wonderful, safe weekend!

When you survey members to gauge their satisfaction with their memberships, do you ask them to rate programs and services in terms of “usefulness” and “criticalness?”

Rather than striving stay relevant in this fast-paced society, aim higher. Be indispensable.

There’s a reason there’s an association for everything. Each one is designed to meet the needs of a special audience. Those of us at MemberClicks are reminded of this every day, as we serve many small-staff organizations specifically tailored toward their members’ unique needs.

It’s vital for association staffers to remember that there is no such thing as a typical member, so stop trying to cater your organization’s programs to fit an “average perception.” Don’t be average. Be extraordinary.

Even though members’ expectations can vary depending on their situations, it’s still possible to incite passion and commitment among them.

Does your mission statement reflect what makes your members special?

Does your communication drive the entire association?

Do the staff’s actions  create value “both within the marketplace and within an organization?”

Do you have a grander vision for your association?

Offer programs and services intrinsic to your members’ wellbeing. And don’t be afraid to get rid of programs that are highly rated as “useless.”

Just because your association has a high renewal rate doesn’t mean nothing should change within the organization. Make every effort to form a genuine sense and commitment toward indispensability.

Everyone in your organization should know how to best present the mission and energize members, volunteers and board members.

Once your team has a clear vision of the association’s mission, they will be able to more effectively demonstrate how and why the organization is irreplaceable in its members’ lives, which should be the all-encompassing goal.

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