Sourced directly from: http://associationsnow.com/2014/06/apples-oranges-counting-members-isnt-always-useful/

If you overhaul your association’s membership model, what was a “member” before may be something totally different after. So how do you measure success?

Here’s a thought experiment: If tomorrow Apple slashed the price of all its computers to $99, how many new customers would it have? Probably a whole heck of a lot. But would it matter? Obviously, Apple would be losing a lot of money at that price point. That business model wouldn’t be sustainable, and so the number of customers wouldn’t matter.

But customer number is an easy measure to understand, so it’s easy to overestimate its importance. I often wonder if we have the same, or perhaps more acute, problem with membership numbers in associations.

A discussion at last week’s ASAE Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference raised this concern, at least indirectly, as several association professionals weighed in on the impact of new or re-envisioned membership models.

The Learning Lab, titled “Membership Model Makeover,” featured firsthand accounts of membership restructurings from Ric Grefe, exective director of AIGA, and Laura Lott, chief operating officer at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), accompanied by commentary from a pair of association industry consultants, Tony Rossell, senior vice president at Marketing General, Inc., and Jeff De Cagna, FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation. (All deftly moderated by Bryan Kelly, vice president of marketing at Aptify. Find the slides and handouts here.

In his opening remarks, Rossell encouraged the membership professionals in attendance to think of membership as “a tool, not an end in and of itself.” And De Cagna reiterated his view that associations are overcommitted to membership as a business model. He asked how many people in the room were “struggling” with their membership models; more than half raised their hands.

Grefe and Lott, meanwhile, detailed the strategic pressures their organizations each faced that drove them to adopt new membership structures, both featuring a broad range of tiers of benefits and corresponding dues at which members can join. (See sidebar for previous coverage of AIGA and AAM.) As Lott explained, the impetus for AAM was simple: Its leaders saw that it was engaging only 10 percent to 15 percent of its market but it wanted to flip that ratio and engage 85 percent to 90 percent, so it needed a model that could be more inclusive. Grefe said that AIGA’s new membership structure was conceived in tandem with a new set of strategies also aimed at greater engagement. “The participation model is just as important as the pricing model,” he said.

At the end of the planned remarks, an audience member posed a question that caught my attention. She asked the panel about how to measure the success of a membership-structure overhaul, wondering if the number of members before and after the change is the best metric to use. Rossell responded that revenue may be the better option, but then the panel moved on to another question before discussing it further.

I don’t remember what the next question was, because I was still thinking about the previous one. It got me wondering, can you really get any kind of valuable insight from the number of members before and after a change in membership structure? By its nature, such a change likely involves a significant change in dues, or benefits packages, or member scope (i.e., who can join), which means the only thing members before and members after may have in common is the term member. They’re called the same thing, but they’re really apples and oranges.

For me, all of this discussion crystallized the difficulty we face in talking about the membership model as a concept in the association community. Membership can mean so many, many different things to different associationsundefinedor even to the same association over the course of timeundefinedthat solely focusing on the numbers misses the bigger picture. Yet, again, it’s easy to understand, so it’s easy to return to over and over. I’m surely guilty of this in my own writing on membership here.

So, the biggest lesson I drew from the MMCC session last week is that any examination of a membership model must start and end with the purpose that model serves: enabling the association to pursue its mission, whatever that may be. And that means that measuring the effectiveness of a membership-model change requires an apples-to-apples comparison on a metric whose definition doesn’t change in the course of a restructure.

What might that be? Revenue is somewhat cold, but dollars are dollars, and more revenue should mean more capacity for mission pursuit. I also like market share engaged with the association, though that requires a clear understanding of “engaged.” (Does it mean join, purchase, subscribe, visit, etc.?) Perhaps most powerful, though more difficult, would be to directly measure mission impact: Has this membership-structure change helped our industry expand its reach or raise its quality or improve more people’s lives?

Of course, don’t throw out your membership number completely. For advocacy, it can represent your association’s collective influence. For marketing, it can signify the breadth of the community that members can be a part of. And if you’ve determined that membership growth would support your mission, then it’s a key indicator of progress. But it’s just one number among many you should be tracking, and it’s a rather simplistic one at that.

If you’ve undertaken a major or minor change to your membership structure, how have you measured success? What metrics have you used, and where has membership count fit in (or not)?

Sourced directly from:http://www.scdgroup.net/2014/06/25-reasons-association-boards-fail.html


Governance Structure
1. Board structure & governance misaligned

Roles & Responsibilities
2. Board members from regions/chapters fail to understand their fiduciary duty to do what is best for the organization as a whole

3. Board (members) fail to understand the role of board vs role of CEO and staff

Strategy & Vision
4. Board too focused on operational or tactical matters, as opposed to strategic issues

5. Board fails to ensure execution of strategies related to its central mission

6. Board unable to make key decisions (too large, poor leadership, lack of vision, etc.)

7. Board fails to realize that the association has outlived its purpose or mission and doesn't take next steps to ensure relevance

8. Board allows mission/program creep; fails to provide adequate resources for new programs/services; fails to eliminate unneeded programs

9. Board allows and/or leads the association to focus on issues outside of the organization’s mission or of little relevance to its members

10. Board doesn’t appreciate that the association is an organization serving the members in their field or industry, it is not a business that does what members do

Conflicts of Interest
11. Board member(s) fail to take off "company hat" and put on "association hat" when dealing with association matters

12. Board members are reluctant to say “no” to their friends and colleagues, even when it is in the best interests of the organization

Leadership, Personalities, Power
13. Board president assumes too much power, pushes his/her own agenda(s) and ignores need for consensus building

14. Board member(s) bully the board and/or staff

15. Poor leadership leads to unproductive meetings, distractions related to new “ideas,” lack of consensus building and decision making, lack of organizational vision, etc.

16. Board president thinks/acts as though he/she is the association's CEO

17. Board doesn’t have an effective culture or process for managing and resolving conflict

Commitment & Participation
18. Board members don't adequately prepare for meetings or pay attention during meetings

19. Board members are apathetic or don’t actively or consistently engage in association business

Goals & Measurement
20. Board fails to do board self-evaluations

21. Board fails to set goals and conduct a formal evaluation of CEO

Succession & Skills
22. Board (or its leadership development committee) fails to vet board candidates in terms of competencies, ability to serve and support for central mission of the association

23. Board members lack the necessary skills and/or experience to help lead the association

Respect & Continuity
24. Board routinely modifies policies or overturns decisions made at previous Board meetings

25. Board does (or re-does) committee work, doesn’t give committees clear direction or show appreciation for their work

2014 celebrates the sixth anniversary of MGI’s Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. Based on input from nearly 865 respondents, 2014 results show that membership organisation numbers continue to rebound. In this report detailed information is provided on:

• Primary challenges to growth
  
• Changes in dues
  
• Uses of social media
  
• Successes in recruitment and engagement
  
• Tactics in renewals and reinstatement
  
• Marketing budgets
  
• Changes in membership categories
  
• And much more
  

The 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report is easy to read and easy to digest, and will be of value to anyone involved in membership marketing or association management.

Download your free copy here.

2014 Benchmarking Report confirms associations gained strength

The majority of membership organizations that were hit hard by the 2009 global economic meltdown have continued their slow but steady recovery into the first quarter of this year. More than half of those surveyed in early 2014 report increased total member counts and nearly 60 percent report new member growth over the past year. The continued steady recovery of association membership headlines the findings in the 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, the fifth annual survey of leading association indicators conducted by Marketing General Incorporated.

New membership

This year's benchmarking survey found that 58 percent of the associations sampled report new member growth, which is a significant improvement from the 42 percent reporting new member growth at the depth of the recession in 2010.

Why the numbers are important

Most membership organisations use three key indicators to measure trends in their overall health: total membership, new members acquired, and members renewed. These data help gauge performance compared to the industry as a whole, as well as identify areas of strength and weakness in their membership marketing efforts. This year, 865 membership organisations completed the survey, the leading study of its kind to examine the practices associations commonly use to recruit new members, retain current ones, and reinstate those who have lapsed.

Renewing membership

If there is a weakness in association health revealed by the survey, it lies in renewals. Just 31 percent of the associations polled report improved renewal rates in 2014. That is slightly higher than the 27 percent of associations that report a decline.

Most important goals

When respondents were asked their association's most important membership goals, 67 per cent indicated "Increasing member engagement," 64 percent "Increasing membership retention," and 60% "Increasing membership acquisition."

Want to learn more?

MGI makes the annual benchmarking report freely available in print and online for the benefit of the greater association community. MGI is able to customise the benchmarking report for your individual association with most information available in considerable and actionable detail. Contact MGI Vice President Erik Schonher at 703.706.0358 or email him at Erik@MarketingGeneral.com to learn more.

Disclaimer: Because an activity or practice has a statistical correlation with a change in membership rates, MGI is not claiming that any one behaviour in and of itself causes this outcome. There are literally thousands of variables that impact membership results.

With a recent study finding that understanding members "up at night" issues are key to associations sustainability, Survey Matters is delighted to announce the launch of the 2014 Associations Matter Study – their second research project examining membership of professional associations across Australia and New Zealand.

To take part in this study register your details and interest here!

We invite you to participate – it is free and all associations who take part will receive a complimentary electronic copy of the overall results.

About the study:

In the inaugural study nearly 8,000 members provided feedback about their membership, generating fascinating insights across the spectrum of association activities. This year’s study will build on the data gathered in 2013, investigating the most significant findings to provide even deeper insight. We learnt  in the 2013 study that up to date information and professional development are highly important to members, and that they want their association to lead the way in protecting and promoting their profession. So this year, the Associations Matter Study will seek specific ideas and suggestions to guide service provision - in the areas we already know are most important to members.

What associations said about the 2013 study:

“Well done to Survey Matters, AuSAE and the participating associations for this important research - it makes for interesting reading… I'm already looking forward to seeing next year's results, and encourage all associations to participate: it was painless!”

“The insights we have gained into member perceptions and needs are foundational to our strategic planning for the next three years.”

“Easy to participate, a great benchmark study”

To find out more please call: +61 3 9452 0101 or email bmainland@surveymatters.com.au

Sourced directly from: http://maggiemcgary.com/blog/2014/6/three-reasons-why-content-marketing-doesnt-work-for-associations

On Tuesday, Ray van Hilst and I presented at ASAE’s Marketing, Membership and Communications Conference--it was fun (as far as public speaking gigs go) and great to see so many association friends. If you want to see our five quick tips for improving your website in five minutes, you’re in luck--here’s the link to our presentation.

I didn’t see Joe Pulizzi speak about content marketing, but Associations Now wrote about his presentation, and that he pointed out that associations are, for the most part, doing it wrong when it comes to content marketing. He said that according to a recent study by the Content Marketing Institute, only 26% of nonprofit organizations surveyed think they’re using content marketing effectively. I’m surprised it was that high, to be honest, as I don’t think that most nonprofits think of content as marketing, period, let alone consider themselves to be content marketers at all.

It may seem like an easy fix to someone who hasn’t worked in the association world--just create a mission statement for your content, create a content marketing strategy, then create an opt-in subscriber strategy. Done. Let me get right on that, said every association staffer ever. I mean, never, because this strategy would probably never work for actual associations.

Here are three reasons why content marketing in the for-profit world is different than content marketing in the association world, and why what works for them won’t work for most associations:

Silos. In the for-profit world, content is marketing. In the association world, there’s marketing then there’s content--web content, publications--and the two are almost guaranteed to be totally separate. The marketing department works on marketing things--membership, conferences, products. The communications or publication departments work on writing and publishing the association's magazine and/or journals and/or website, developing and writing the content that is one of the most tangible benefits of membership. Their audience is existing members. Marketing may sell ads that run in these publications or on the website, but that’s about as much crossover as there probably ever is between departments, and even those relationships aren’t that great. Marketing wants more--more space for ads, more opportunities to market--and pubs wants to write and produce quality content that is geared towards existing members and is not salesy. So telling associations to just set a content marketing strategy….in the world of silos that is the reality of most association’s inner workings and getting publications and marketing to work together towards one common goal is a lot easier said than done.

Technology. Associations are a different business than for-profits, and a lot of things that for-profits have to work for, associations can take for granted. Like subscribers. For the most part, if you belong to an association, you’re opting in to receive content from them--publications, email newsletters, etc. That’s what members are paying for, after all. That’s where associations have the advantage over for-profits. Where they’re at a disadvantage is, for the most part, money and technology. In the for-profit world, there’s marketing automation technology and CRM….and the money to both purchase technology platforms/services and to either hire people who know how to use them or outsource that part. In the association world, marketing strategies that go much beyond communicating with current members, house ads in your own publications and then maybe posting that content to social media sites and exhibiting at your own conference are, at least in my experience, pretty rare. IT departments are comfortable with Microsoft and whatever AMS the association is using; implementing Salesforce or Hubspot is not something they’re known to take on very willingly, even if there is budget for it, which, for 99% of associations, there probably is not.

Staff skillsets. In the for-profit world, marketing directors are, at least from my maybe overly-optimistic POV, expected to stay current in terms of skills. Marketing automation, SEO, content marketing, social media marketing….all these are areas they probably have at least a decent understanding of, as well as a staff who are proficient in each of these areas as well as what’s on the horizon in terms of marketing. Association marketing directors--and no disrespect intended, and I certainly don’t know everything, but in my 20 years working in the association world, I have seen a lot and know a few things--but, to generalize, they tend to be more traditional marketers who learned marketing a while ago, got into their current position five or 10 or 20 years ago and have pretty much been rinse-and-repeating the same email and print marketing strategies each year since. And to be fair, it’s hard to be a marketer in an association--a world where selling is verboten and you’re there for the lofty purpose of helping people and serving members. But for the most part, associations don’t have huge marketing budgets or staffs….or any marketing budgets or staffs, and the more senior marketing staffers tend to have traditional skillsets. And even those who want to push the envelope and do cool new stuff--like content marketing and/or social media marketing--well, suffice it to say, that’s why there are a lot of smart consultants who used to be associations staffers, and a lot of patient-and-trying-but-not-really-getting-anywhere association staffers. Writing for the web, cross-channel content promotion, building opt-in subscriber lists, tracking analytics....these are mostly not skillsets that the majority of association marketers possess.

So anyway….it’s easy for someone outside the association world to paint a rosy picture of how easy it is to implement a content marketing strategy inside an association; it’s another thing to actually understand that, while there’s certainly a place for content marketing in the association world, there are unique challenges to work around and simply plugging in for-profit advice most likely won’t work.

Sourced from the ATO Website: https://www.ato.gov.au/Non-profit/Expenses-and-purchases/In-detail/Claiming/Guide-to-company-tax-return-for-non-profit-organisations-2014/

This guide has been prepared for non-profit clubs, societies and associations that are not exempt from income tax.

It helps these organisations complete the Company tax return 2014.

In this guide we discuss some common errors made by non-profit organisations when completing the return and the consequences of these errors. We also provide guidance on how to complete related labels on the tax return correctly.

To foster relationships with our members beyond the face to face networking opportunities, I am pleased to announce AuSAE will soon be launching our very own private online community thanks to partner ConferNet and software provider Socious.

This new community will enable AuSAE members to communicate 24/7 and discuss current workplace challenges and innovations with like-minded groups regardless of their location of residence.

The AuSAE team are very excited to provide increased tangible value for our members via this new community and see not-for-profit leaders actively participating in discussions, networking with their peers and sharing information and knowledge via this new network. Special interest groups within the site will include: Advocacy, Governance, Membership, HR, Leadership and many more.

Testing of the site has begun with an estimated “go live” in early July. For more information on this new member resource please contact me directly at toni@ausae.org.au

To see some examples of successful online communities in action click here. 

The Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) is pleased to announce the appointment of Brett Jeffery as General Manager New Zealand commencing on July 1 2014.

Brett Jeffery is a long term AuSAE member and has served on the AuSAE board for the past five years. Brett has had over twenty years’ experience working alongside association and other non-profits in his numerous New Zealand tourism and hospitality roles, including most recently Sales and Marketing Manager at Rotorua Events and Venues.

“Brett is passionate about ensuring not-for-profit leaders receive opportunities to network, and further their careers and I am sure he will achieve great things at AuSAE” said Tony Steven, President of AuSAE.

This appointment reaffirms AuSAE’s commitment to strengthening the New Zealand and Australian Not-for-profit sector by providing localised networking and professional development opportunities for all not-for-profit leaders.

“I am positive this growth of the AuSAE team and Brett’s depth of experience in the New Zealand not-for-profit sector will lead to an increased number of engagement opportunities for our members” said Mr Steven.

The Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) is the peak professional society working for its members throughout Australia and New Zealand and representing over 10,000 individual leaders that work in not-for-profit organisations. AuSAE’s core purpose is to equip these dedicated and passionate leaders with the tools, information and networks they need to better achieve the vision of their organisation. For more information on this appointment or AuSAE services, please contact me on the details below.

Warm regards,

Toni Brearley
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Society of Association Executives

P + 61 1300 764 576 F +61 (0) 7 3319 6385
A Suite 2.01, 433 Logan Road, Stones Corner QLD 4120 Australia
P PO Box 1400, Coorparoo DC QLD 4151 Australia
E toni@ausae.org.au W www.ausae.org.au
T https://twitter.com/ausaenews F https://www.facebook.com/AuSAE

As reported in the latest CICA e-Bulletin, at the May Board Meeting the CICA Board approved a proposal to establish a new ‘Workplace Relations & Safety Program’ for CICA members from 1 July 2014.

Key benefits:

• Help Desk Hotline assistance on all Workplace Relations and Safety queries
  
• No fees for CICA members to access the Help Desk, by phone or email
  
• CICA Member only benefit
  
• Australia-wide service and support
  
• 24/7 incident response service
  
• For complex queries, an additional / optional legal service is available at special discount rates
  

Key features of the help Desk Hotline service:

Delivered by national commercial law firm Holding Redlich for CICA

Free access on issues such as:

• Pay and conditions
  
• Leave entitlements
  
• Award compliance
  
• Fair Work Australia compliance
  
• Pay disputes
  
• Investigations
  
• Claims
  
• Misconduct and performance management
  
• Safety
  
• Employment contracts
  
• Policies and procedures
  
• Directorships and shareholding
  
• Privacy
  

Refer the CICA website for all details of the CICAASSIST program.

From 1 July, contact CICAASSIST. Simply phone 1800 475 299 (1800 HR Lawyer) or email cica-assist@holdingredlich.com

Article by Lynne Newbury 

Making the switch to a new online membership software is not only expensive but time consuming for many associations. Productivity can be slowed down when the transition is taking place, but it’s not all bad news. There are several key approaches that can help make the transition a smooth and stress-free one for all staff involved and eventually members when the new system is live… Read more.