Let your Members do the Talking
By Sheri Jacobs
Originally Published in Forum, September 2006
It started out as a typical day. I came home from work, brought in the mail and began sorting through the clutter. I made two piles. One pile contained the items I needed to read or respond to such as bills, magazines and letters.The second pile, which went from the kitchen counter to the trash can, included a number of flyers from local landscapers and a Comcast postcard promoting highspeed Internet service.
The next day I sat at work and stared at the membership recruitment plan on my desk. The goal was simple: increase membership by 5 percent. My tactics included a direct mail campaign to prospects and ads in our magazine (to be sent to prospective members). That’s when it hit me. If I continued along this path and created an unremarkable campaign using traditional marketing tactics, I would have unremarkable results.
I thought about the last few purchases I made: membership in a health club; an iPod and reservations at a new restaurant. All three had one thing in common: Someone had recommended them. In their book Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, Dave Balter and John Butman identified six main reasons why we create word of mouth about products. They are:
1. Helping and Educating
2. Proving Knowledge
3. Finding Common Ground
4. Validating Our Own Opinions
5. Pride
6. Sharing
The authors further add that sometimes the reasons are intertwined. Regardless of the motivation, however, most people take the advice for the simple reason that friends and colleagues have no reason to lie.
I threw away my old marketing plan and started to rethink membership recruitment. Clearly, I needed to harness the power of my current members to help grow our organization. Now, more than four years later, I developed member-get-a- member recruitment strategies based on five maxims.
MAXIM ONE: Most word-of-mouth conversations happen offline.
Find out how your members communicate and give them something to talk about.
According to a study conducted by the Keller Fay Group, 92 percent of word-of-mouth (WOM) conversations occur offline and two-thirds of WOM messages feature products in a positive light. In fact, e-mail and blogs make up only 6 percent of WOM. While e-mail, blogs and Web sites speed up delivery of your message, your members will still give their undivided attention during face-to-face interactions. Don’t put all your recruitment materials or campaign specifics only on your Web site.
One association, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), harnessed the power of its members by changing its traditional member-get-a-member campaign into one that includes the tools to create a real buzz around the association. The theme for the Membership Madness Campaign was “Catch the Wave.” IIA chapters in the United States, Canada and Caribbean were invited to catch the recruitment wave and join us as they grow. Recruitment kits were mailed to chapter presidents, and membership chairmen and district and regional representatives. They hoped each chapter would work as a team to motivate members to encourage their friends and colleagues to join the IIA.
Enclosed in the decorated box was almost everything they needed to share the Membership Madness spirit with their existing and potential members:
• Roaring Crowd Sound: Open the box and get in the spirit!
• Eye Blacks: Temporary tattoos to place under the eyes before the event to turn into a lean, mean recruiting machine.
• Pennant: Hang it up at the meeting and remind people that as valued members, they’re in the big league.
• Bang Stix: Blow them up, bang them together and seize the attention of everyone in the room.
• Pom Pons: Break into a cheer, “Join a Winning Team Today!”
• No. 1 Hand: Don’t just talk to the hand, wave it around and remind everyone that your organization is No. 1.
• Membership Madness Flyers: Ask current members to identify potential members, and give them one of the enclosed flyers; a member application on the back makes it easy to join.
For the IIA, the chapter that showed the most Membership Madness spirit through photographs won a digital camera with a photo printing dock. The Membership Madness campaign’s momentum has helped IIA membership grow to more than 120,000 worldwide.
MAXIM TWO: Pay Attention to Your Light and Medium Loyals.
There is a common belief among membership professionals that the most influential members are the ones who are active in the organization: the volunteers who speak at meetings, write for magazines or sit on a committee; in other words, your association celebrities. This myth is perpetuated by the common use of celebrity endorsements for many mainstream products. Yet the story behind many celebrity endorsement deals is that they are ineffective. While high-profile members may be influential in some areas, it is usually everyday people who will actually do the talking for your organization.
How do you find them? Begin by looking at your new members and first-time buyers. This is often the moment of their peak interest and excitement about your organization. In their book, Balter and Butman comment that light loyals “are most likely to generate effective word of mouth. They have networks that can be influenced, and are seen as believers, but not evangelists. The light loyals are the consumers who should be embraced through dialogue, rather than just through promotional offers, discounts and rebates.”
To put this idea into action, create a member-get-a-member campaign designed specifically for first-year members. You will accomplish two goals with this type of program. First, you will actively engage a group of members and increase the likelihood of retaining them in your organization.
Second, you will expand your reach into previously untapped networks.
Still not sure who your light and medium loyals are? Ask. Create an opt-in newsletter titled, “Be the First to Know.” Let potential subscribers know that recipients of the newsletter will receive previews of information before the rest of the organization. The slow release of information creates the “insider” feeling, being “in the know.” Make this option available to all members; however give special benefits only to the ones who sign up. If your organization has a publishing arm, considering releasing a chapter of a new book to subscribers prior to the release of the book. Don’t forget to keep promoting the opt-in newsletter. This will help build your list of light and medium loyals.
What about your board members or other active members? Consider this: if your last member-get-a-member campaign fell flat because your board or active volunteers did not recruit any members, it may simply be because they have already recruited or spread the word to their network.
Maxim Three: Make it Easy to Spread the Word.
Do you make it easy for your members to spread the word about membership? Conduct a communications audit of your organization. Do you ask your members to pass along your marketing collateral? Does your Web site include a “Tell-A-Friend” button on every Web page?
Before you create your next Member-Get-A-Member campaign consider incorporating these ideas into your effort.
1. Make it easy to spread the word by giving your members a tool kit or a buzz kit. Create an actual tool kit. Components of the kit could reside on your Web site, but give members something physical. This won’t be the most important thing on their mind, but make sure it stays on their mind with a physical reminder. An effective buzz kit includes membership applications, tips, list of benefits, and something unexpected but valuable; something worth talking about and sharing. Include a small “thank you” gift for participating in the campaign.
For example, in the Association Forum’s Buzz Ambassador Program, participants received a limited edition Association Professional bobble head, a free education pass to two Forum events (as a thank you gift for participating), membership information and applications, a lapel pin and “Wish You Were Here” postcards. The kits were initially mailed to 30 individuals. When a new member joined the Association Forum they received a buzz kit in addition to their new member packet. Two years later, this program has netted more than 1,000 new members.
2. Determine meaningful rewards. Make them relevant and worthy of your members’ contribution. Before launching your next campaign conduct a mini two-question survey to find out what type of reward might be of value to your members. Don’t forget that not every reward costs money.
3. Develop some internal champions. Don’t go it alone. Enlist the support from other departments in your organization. Identify ways that increased membership will help other departments, such as increased attendance at meetings or more readers for a publication. A member-get-a-member campaign should include input and support from all departments because everyone will benefit. Launch your campaign with a party for the staff. Make sure each staff person understands the details of the campaign.
4. Take off your marketing hat and create a message that is easy to spread. One that is real. Words like “networking” and “powerful resources” are not as effective as an actual story of a compelling experience. FedEx used the slogan “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” Not “Growingglobal marketplace through a network ofsupply chain services, transportation services, business and information services.” Avis used the slogan “We try harder” not “The world's second largest general-use car rental business, providing business and leisure customers with a wide range of services.”
Maxim Four: Member-Get-A-Member Works Best When Integrated.
Reinforce your message through all communications. All elements of your membership recruitment campaign should feel united. Integrate the look and feel of the campaign into your new member packets. Carry this theme into your membership information brochures, Web site, e-newsletters and publications. Referrals occur when members remember to talk about you. Make sure they don’t forget about the campaign by marketing the campaign in all of your communication vehicles.
Maxim Five: Don’t Let a Shoestring Budget Limit Your Ideas
Here are five no-cost, low-cost or just great ideas to get you started on your next campaign:
1. Make the product more remarkable, not the word-of-mouth activity. Give each person on your staff a spending limit that they may use to “make things right.” If a member calls to complain about something, fix it, no questions ask. Become a remarkable organization that listens to its members and they will start talking.
2. Everyone loves to see their name in print. Publicize your Buzz Ambassadors in your magazine, newsletter and Web site.
3. Add a simple link to refer a friend to every Web page, staff e-mail and marketing collateral. Consider outsourcing this work to tellapal.com, tellafriendking.com or referralblast.com.
4. Simplify the message. Members won’t recite your mission statement to their colleagues. They will use their own words. Enhance this communication by giving them an easy way to describe your association.
5. Create incentives for the staff to participate. Let nonmembers and former members participate. Don’t create obstacles or deterrents. Allow members to recruit former members to rejoin.
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