Association Insight International & European | Page 37

Expert Briefing | Association Insights 2. Quantity over quality In a time limit of roughly 10 minutes, try to find as many ideas as possible. This means the more obvious solutions are captured quickly, and gives time for more creative solutions. The more ideas there are, the more likely there’ll be some good ones. Don’t worry if some are really ridiculous (see below). 3. Wild ideas are encouraged Crazy, silly ideas are great, because they often lead to really creative breakthroughs. What might not be immediately possible, might suggest a really interesting idea that could be done. Below are some the solutions identified by workshop participants in a very short period of time. They might not necessarily be the best solutions or the most creative, but there are some real solid ideas here that can be tried by any association. With more time some of these solutions can be refined further to make sure they have the best chance of working. 4. Combine or build on ideas Look at the list of ideas as they are captured; see if any could be combined together to create something new. Could you build on someone else’s idea to improve it? How might we improve the renewal cycle process? Before moving onto the next stage it’s a good idea to refine the ideas to improve them, or combine several ideas to make a better one. This is also a good time to look at any really wild ideas and see if they can suggest anything more realistic. Auto renewals unless opted-out - continuous payment How might we have more conversations with members? Identify communications preferences Adapt renewal cycle – don’t be fixed on set dates Personalised messages based on member profile Go outside of traditional renewal pack Survey as part of win-back Forums Webinars Chat room Views 12 months for the price of 10 etc. Create opportunities Mentoring opinions Try every channel Events Share Incentives Culture barriers Option to downgrade – stay in but pay less Workshops Dynamic content Stalking online Mail merge Website visits Engage with competitors Finding like-minded user s Talking Asking questions Appeal Blog posts Peer reviews Editorials Buzz words Speaking native language Interactive Photos/images/Videos Tailoring Offering a more personal service Referrals Experiences Social media Peer groups Surveys Common interests Keeping up to date with technology Give a year to change your mind – prove value Rewarding long term members Not let rigid processes get in way – be flexible Telemarketing before and after for likely to leave/ lapse Recognising length of membership Acknowledge of use/ engagement Lifetime membership for higher fee Segmenting “make me an offer” This group’s favourite ideas were: • Chat room • Stalking online • Insights into online use • Photos/images/videos Note ‘stalking online’ is a bit of a wild idea but would suggest all sorts of strategies that might be employed to find out how members interact online and then tap into that knowledge. www.associationsnetwork.org Early bird offers Engagement with nonmembers Demographics Make sure talking all year round – not just renewal time Flexibility on ways to pay Quantify financial benefit of membership – total value statement Face to face Incentivise – gift at renewal – recommend a friend and get discount combine renewal and joining Different rates for selfpaying v. company paying Tie renewals in with another campaign and something else they really want Multiple methods for renewal Satisfaction survey prerenewal Use database to remind – automated Make sure all online Pop up reminders that renewal is soon due Points for engagement changes renewal price This group’s favourite ideas were: •Q  uantify financial benefit of membership – total value statement • Lifetime membership for higher fee • Try every channel • Points for engagement - changes renewal price • Incentivise renewal – gift/recommend a friend Actually the wilder ideas here include things like enabling members to renew whilst downgrading their membership, to give a year free in which to prove the value of the membership, or to ask members to pay what they think membership is worth. These slightly unusual solutions might also be worth a try. © Associations Network 2015 | 37