Transcript NSA Membership Marketing

NSA Membership Marketing
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Membership Counts and Profiles
Recruitment
Retention
Lifetime Value
Value Proposition & Member Benefits
Ideas and Tactics
NSA Membership
9/30/08
Active Members:
9,453
Associate Members:
747
Retired Members:
501
Student Members:
225
Educator Members:
96
International Members:
31
Life Members:
29
Firm Members:
11
Vendor Members:
6
Total Membership:
11,099
NSA Member Profile:
Gender:
Average Age:
Education:
Type of Practice:
Credentials:
Annual Gross Income:
Annual Net Income:
Male
57
At least a 4 Year Degree
Sole Proprietorship
Enrolled Agent
$237,019 (in 2006)
$81,100 (in 2006)
NSA Member Profile:
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Processes More Than 500 1040s Annually
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More Than ½ Gross Income is Derived From
Tax Preparation; 20% from write-up work
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Has Been in Practice for 23 Years
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Has 3 Full-Time and 2 Part-Time Employees
Membership Recruitment
On average, 1,300 new members join
NSA each year
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Direct Mail Marketing
Exhibits
Go Getters
State Directors
Dual ASO Members
Word of Mouth (Viral Marketing)
Website
ACAT & Scholarships
Membership Recruitment
FY 07-08 Results
Joined NSA between 9/1/07 and 8/31/08:
• Active Members:
1056
• Associate Members:
176
• Student Members:
43
• Educator Members:
8
• International Members:
10
• Vendor Members:
5
New Member Total:
1,298
FY 07- 08
New Members by District
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District I:
District 2:
District 3:
District 4:
District 5:
District 6:
49
212
73
230
157
57
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District 7:
89
District 8:
122
District 9:
95
District 10:
201
District 11:
3
International: 10
Membership Retention
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To grow, it takes 2 new members to
replace 1 dropped member
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It costs 3-6x more to recruit a
member than to retain one
Factors that Influence
Membership Retention
Associations that offer individual
Membership as opposed to associations
with institutional or company
memberships typically will see
lower renewal rates.
Factors that Influence
Membership Retention
Associations that serve a market where
dues are reimbursed or paid for by an
employer will see better renewal rates
than dues paid out of pocket by
individuals.
Factors that Influence
Membership Retention
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Associations with a rapidly growing
membership tend to have lower retention
rates than groups with a steady or
declining membership.
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This occurs because growing associations
have a larger proportion of first year
members and first year members typically
renew at a much lower rate than longer
term members.
Factors that Influence
Membership Retention
The stronger the incentive used to get
members to join an association, the lower
the renewal rate will be when compared
to members who joined with no
incentive.
Membership Retention
Retention Rates: FY 07-08
• Active Members:
• Associate Members:
• Retired Members:
• Student Members:
• Educator Members:
• International Members:
88%
72%
98%
59%
81%
69%
*First year member renewal rate averages between
55%-60%.
Membership Retention
ASAE & The Center reports that the mean
renewal rate is 83% for an individual
membership association and 91% for a
trade association.
Calculating Membership
Retention
• # of members who renewed/# of
members up for renewal.
125 renewed/150 up for renewal = 83%
• Total # of members today minus 12
months of new members/total # of
members at this time last year.
3000 members – 500 new members=
2500/2800 members now = 89%
NSA Membership Retention
• Multi-part renewal campaign: letters, e-mails,
faxes, last issue newsletters/magazine wraps,
telemarketing, incentivize early renewals
• New member welcomes & renewal campaigns
• Different messaging for different member types
• Exit surveys
• Continually communicate NSA benefits
• Engage members
• Customer Service & Use of Database
• Member Needs Assessment
Lifetime Value (LTV)
The Lifetime Value (LTV) of a member
estimates the member’s financial
contributions to the association over the
life of membership. It is critical for planning
& budgeting marketing expenses.
• Average Member Tenure
• Average Yearly Membership Dues
• Total Nondues Revenue
• Cost of Serving Members
Lifetime Value (LTV)
• Average Member Tenure: 1/Inverse of
the Retention Rate
80% Retention Rate: Inverse = 20%
1/20@ = 5 Years Average Tenure
• Average Yearly Dues x Tenure =
Lifetime Dues Value of a Member
Lifetime Value (LTV)
• Total Nondues Revenue/# of
Members = Annual Nondues
Revenue per Member
• Annual Nondues Revenue per
member x Tenure = Lifetime
Nondues Value of a Member
Lifetime Value (LTV)
• Lifetime Dues Value + Lifetime Nondues
Value = Gross Lifetime Value per Member
• Gross Lifetime Value – Lifetime Cost to
Serve a Member = Net Lifetime Value of
a Member
*Lifetime cost to serve a member = total yearly
expenses/# of members x average tenure
What is Your Value
Proposition?
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Who are you to members and who do you
want to be? This vital assessment should
drive your benefit & services package.
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Which benefits & services support the
mission, vision & strategic plan of the
association?
Understand your members and have a
keen awareness of what your are capable
of doing and what you should or should
not be doing.
New Definitions of Value
Years ago, belonging to one’s professional
association was routine and dues were
paid without questioning the benefit.
Membership was viewed as a way to
support the profession or defend the
industry and that was seen as valuable
enough to justify a lifetime of membership.
New Definitions of Value
Consumers have come to develop higher
expectations from membership
organizations.
Today’s members expect a quantifiable
return on their investment of dues
dollars in addition to the association’s
delivering on the mission.
New Definitions of Value
For every dollar they spend in dues, they
demand at least a dollar’s worth of
value in return.
To respond to this trend, associations must
continually demonstrate the value they
return to their members and
communicate that value consistently.
Value Proposition = Unique
Selling Proposition
The association’s value proposition is composed
of all the programs that are given to members
when they join. It answers “Why Should I Join
Your Association?:
From a value standpoint, association programs fit
into two categories:
1. Does the program provide a tangible or
intangible benefit to the member?
2. Is the program related to the mission of the
organization or unrelated to the mission?
Benefits Sweet Spot
Unrelated to Mission
Discounted
Insurance
Knowledge
Discounts on
Sharing
Education Help Desks &
Publications Libraries
Intangible
Tangible
Credit Card
Program
Networking
Advocacy
Related to Mission
Awards
Understanding & Articulating
the Value Proposition: Turning
Features into Benefits
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A feature is a product or service the
association offers.
When describing the benefits of
membership, it’s crucial to put yourself
in the shoes of the prospect or member.
The benefit is more powerful than the
feature because it defines actual value or
outcome for the member
Turning Features into Benefits
Feature: program Benefit: which means you’ll:
Membership
Directory
Networking
Fee Survey
Locate peers in your
profession, discuss issues, or
capitalize on opportunities
Develop & strengthen
contacts to help you in your
practice.
Make informed decisions
about your fees based on the
latest research & even increase
revenue.
Reasons for Joining NSA
Top reasons members join NSA:
1. Information
2. Education and CPE
3. Tie: Credibility, Ethics/membership
certificate and publications
4. Advocacy
5. Networking
Least important reasons for joining:
1. Annual meeting
2. Leadership opportunities
75% of members say NSA
membership meets to strongly
meets expectations
Member Benefits:
NSA Member Survey Results
Top 6 challenges facing members:
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Keeping up with tax law
Marketing/business development
Employee issues: hiring & retaining staff, etc.
Technology
Time management
Competition
Member Benefits:
NSA Member Survey Results
Other top challenges:
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Customer service and relations: timeliness of
service, getting info. from clients, keeping
clients honest
Education
Expenses
Cash flow
Information overload
Pricing of services
Membership Marketing Tactics
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Use Active Voice
Use Benefits Over Features
Use the word YOU
Keep it Simple and Direct
Use Call Outs, Bullets, Charts, Bold,
Italics, Testimonials, Boxes, Color, etc.
Use Personalization if Possible
Membership Marketing Tactics
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Letter Packages Outperform Self-Mailers
Letters: Use Johnson Box, PS and PPS; Put
the Appeal and Offer Upfront
Letters: Longer Letters Out Pull Shorter
Letters; should have more emotional
appeal than brochures
Envelopes: Plain or Teaser, Return Address,
Live Stamp, Label, Handwritten Font,
Color…Plain White & Boring Works
Membership Marketing Tactics
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Speak to your audience’s pain points first
and then offer a solution. But only in bite
size chunks.
Don’t give away all of your information.
Create a desire to learn more and make it
easy for them to find out more.
Use every response technique you can email, toll free telephone, fax, business
reply card…repeat and make it easy to
find.
Membership Marketing Tactics
Writing the Offer
Link Benefits to Two Primary
Motivators: Greed and Fear:
· What’s in it for me?
· What happens if I don’t respond?
• Offers with Deadlines Outperform
Offers Without Them (90 Days)
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Membership Marketing Tactics
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Offer Incentives & Discounts: Should be
15-35%
Price Points: #s Ending in a 7 or 9 Get
Higher Response Rates
Use Real Examples, Numbers Product
Data, Testimonials
Repeat & Repeat the Offer & Take Action
Response Mechanisms—Make them Easy
to Find
Membership Marketing Tactics
New Members
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Break Down the Welcome Membership
Kit/Materials Into Smaller Pieces to
Increase Communication & Encourage
Engagement
Welcome Call
Six Month Check In, Thank You, “How
Are We Doing?” Survey
Communicate BEFORE the Renewal Cycle
Begins