The Octopus Insights: finding 8 paths toward improving membership programs
Visiting the North Carolina Aquarium at Ft. Fisher last week was a treat. Volunteers have extended themselves throughout the Aquarium: at the touch tank, manning the loggerhead turtle station, helping to interpret Luna the new albino alligator, as well as being represented deep in the organization. The octopus on display was ever-active and ever-changing its shape....as your membership program should. The goal is to expand membership, but which direction? how? and where is the greatest reward...today? The juxtuaposition of the octopus and the reach of volunteers created a powerful image. Flexible, responsive, sometimes nearly invisible by virtue of its adaptive skin, the octopus reminded me of eight questions (how could there be fewer?) whose answers can guide you to membership program success:
1) Which tentacle of your membership program has the best traction? Is it aquisition, retention, upgrades, and/or outreach?
2) Where is the greatest opportunity for membership growth? Is it among volunteers or can they help expand your reach? Ever-present, often changing their footprint in the organization, volunteers may lead you to new members who may not be current visitors.
3) Ask your volunteers (they will speak the truth) why would someone become a member? Use your volunteers as an in-house focus group to learn what member benefits are most valued. Use them as a research team by asking what member benefits raise the interest of non-members during cocktail party conversations or during those conversations in the produce section at the grocery store (or wherever). Ask them about the value proposition of your membership offerings.
4) Among your volunteers find the folks that are paid members of the highest level. Ask them why they stopped there. Ask the same question of volunteers for each of your membership levels by those who populate those levels. Don't ask them to give more, just ask why they stopped where they stopped.
5) Segment your membership (no, it does not need to have eight legs) and recognize that each segment may have different expectations and wants. While all of the segments have a central goal (to support the whole) they each require slightly different marketing messages.
6) With eight legs, an octopus is always touching, exploring...dipping its toes into different footholds. Your membership program should invest some minor attention into finding the next hidey-hole, the next opportunity for movement and growth. Are you constantly looking around for opportunities?
7) Consider the suction cup. What binds your long-term members and volunteers to your organization? It may be different than the tug of a temporary toehold. The light touch of a direct mail campaign is different than a firm handshake. Don't confuse loyalty with the latest greatest new marketing pitch that boosts member numbers temporarily.
8) Remember that your reach exceeds your own particular grasp. Volunteers can help you shape membership strategy as well as being ambassadors on the exhibition floor and beyond outside your institution. Look among your volunteers for former marketers, price point consultants, interviewers, data analysts, and all of the other behind-the-scenes services that can help your membership program grow.
In these tough economic times, the most successful organizations are those that keep their members and volunteers close while continuing to reach out in new directions.