Transcript Slide 1

Membership Recruitment and
Retention for Chapters
Mike McGough
VP, Marketing & Membership
[email protected] (703) 462-2204
Chapter Leadership Meeting
September 2010
Alexandria, VA
Membership Trends for Associations
• McKinley Marketing Study, Winter 2009
– 80% state current economic conditions
have had a negative impact
• Lower retention
• Less recruitment of new members
• Decreased education program attendance
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How did associations react?
Action
Percent of Associations
NIRI
Budget Cuts
86%
Yes
Freeze on salary incr.
55%
Yes
Reduction of programs/services
38%
No
Staff reorganization
32%
Yes
Layoffs/eliminate positions
30%
Yes
Outsourcing of staff functions
13%
Yes
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Effect on NIRI Membership
• Less new members
 -18% in 2008
 -23% in 2009
 +7% (to date) in 2010
• Lower retention rates
 -6.5% in 2009
 About even (to date) in 2010
 Overall membership down 8% in 2009
 Chapter membership down 15% in 2009
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Listings: U.S. versus Global & NIRI
Membership Trends
50000
45000
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
TOTAL GLOBAL LISTINGS
TOTAL US LISTINGS
NIRI MEMBERS
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Membership Marketing
• Organize a team
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Include a variety of members
Distribute work load and responsibilities
• Develop a plan
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Written plan for recruitment and retention
• Set goals
• Find out who your chapter members are, what
they want from your chapter
• Information and trends on NIRI members follows
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Years of IR Experience
Corporate
Background
5 and Under = 39%
Corporate
6-9 Years = 26.5%
10+ Years = 34%
Finance: 49%
Corporate
Corp/Comm: 34%
Mktg/Sales: 16%
Years of IR Experience
Background
Counselor
Counselor
5 and Under = 8.5%
Finance: 26%
6-9 Years = 16.9%
Corp/Comm: 57%
10+ Years = 74.5%
Mktg/Sales: 17%
Corporate = 74% of membership
Counselors = 14%
Service Provider = 9%
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NIRI Member Tenure
Years in
NIRI
Corporate
Counselor
Service Prov.
Less than
1 year
10%
6%
10%
1 – 2 years
26%
14%
30%
3 – 5 years
27%
21%
27%
6 – 9 years
23%
24%
21%
10 + years
14%
35%
12%
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NIRI Member Survey – what is important
• Resources members value in NIRI:
– Information
• News and information on the IR field
– Networking
• With colleagues and service providers
– Advocacy
• Standards of practice/regulatory guidelines
– Education
• Professional development
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Important Issues to Members
Hot Topics at 2010 Annual Conference
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Our New Capital Markets
Effective Roadshows
Deliver Your Message with Confidence
Effective IR: The First Three Years
IRO Strategic Best Practices
Providing Guidance: Trends, Positives, Negatives
Effective Targeting & Evaluation
The Art of Financial Modeling
Complying with SEC Plain English Requirements
How Investors make Investment Decisions
Social Media Compliance
Changing Sell and Buy-Side Expectations
What CFOs Want from a Really Great IRO
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Background/Research
• Review chapter surveys, research, information
• Engage them individually
– Why members join, what do they value:
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Education?
Networking?
Prestige?
Current IR information?
– Who they are:
• Special areas of need
– Industry-specific IR information
– Area issues
– Other needs
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Membership Marketing Basics
• Develop a unique selling proposition for your
chapter and NIRI
– The premier organization for IR professionals in (your
city)
– The best networking, education, IR information
• Come up with your own personal story about
how NIRI has enhanced your career
– Personal viewpoints are compelling
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Implementation
• Use multiple channels of communication
– E-mail, direct mail, phone, in-person, web
– Social media
• LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, NIRI eGroups
– Members-only or open group? You decide…
• Personalize all messages with names
– “Dear Jane Sample” or “Dear Ms. Sample”
• Use one-to-one marketing, a personal invitation
to attend or join with sender’s name and contact
information for questions
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E-mail Recruitment
• Use a distributor that provides stats
– Constant Contact, Magnet Mail, etc.
• Tuesday is best, then Thursday and Wednesday
– Avoid the weekend and late at night (spam filters are on
high alert)
• Messages: keep brief, reduce scrolling
• Double check links, phone #’s for correctness
• To get around spam filters, avoid:
– All caps in words, frequent use of word “free”
– Multiple exclamation points
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Direct mail
• Aim for the look and feel of professional business
correspondence with direct mail
– Chapter letterhead and envelopes
– No envelope teasers or messages
• Avoid a “junk mail” look
– Keep letter copy brief, one page (one side)
• Personalized to target audience, such as CFO’s or
communications professionals
– Use a P.S. – people read these, if nothing else
– Consistent fonts and type size
• Use limited bolding or underlining for emphasis
– Push them to the web for more information
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Social Media
• Meet your members and prospects online and
engage
• If you have an “open” LinkedIn or Facebook
group, promote membership and events
• Tweet your events and promotions, and note
them in your NIRI eGroup
• Web advertising
– Google Adwords: www.adwords.google.com
• Pay for keyword links and ads
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Offers
• Give the prospective member something extra
– Free chapter meeting or event
• Free lunch meeting certificate
– Publications
– Percent-off coupon for seminars
– Use a deadline for the offer to create a sense of
urgency
• “reply by…”
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Retention
• Retention programs
– Communicate value
– Engage new members
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Welcome phone call
Letter and e-mail with upcoming events
New member orientation meeting
Ask them to host an event, find a speaker, lead a
meeting
– Outreach to lapsing members
• Lists available from NIRI
– Phone calls or e-mail about upcoming events
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Recruitment Lists
• Lists from NIRI National
– Hoovers database and other prospect lists: request
from Dave Meisner at NIRI [email protected]
• Chapter prospect database
– If you don’t have one, develop a list
• Lapsed member lists available from NIRI
– Contact Robin Kite [email protected]
• Google, Hoovers IR alerts or listings
– Set up alerts to go to your e-mail based on key words
• Scan Business publications (local and national)
• Be sure to eliminate members from lists
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Recruitment Ideas
• New promotion: NIRI will provide chapter with a
special application that waives the $150
application fee if a prospect joins their chapter
• IR Fastrack: bundles membership with education
programs for a discount
• Member-get-a-member
• Examples from attendees?
• NIRI Chapter Officer web pages lists successful
programs
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Thank You for all you do for NIRI!
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