The New Sheriff in Town – An Update

Originally raised as a topic for discussion on the Membership Engagement Blog (under the blog headings The New Sheriff in Town: Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), we have kept a close eye on any updated information.

Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) released early January a downloadable resource with updates on the key changes to commercial electronic messages (or, CEMs) released relating to CASL.  The following is the updated changes, according to the resource available:

1. Family & Personal Relationships are exempt.  CEMs sent between people with either personal or family relationships are now considered exempt from CASL.  
2. NEW Exemptions:
• CEMs that have been sent within an organization (sent by employees, representatives and contractors) OR to an organization with a business relationship (as long as the content of the message is related to the recipient’s role, job function or duties).
• CEMs that are sent in response to a specific request or complaint, or that have otherwise been requested or “solicited”.
• CEMs that relate to foreign business activities that are received when the message’s recipient is visiting Canada at the time.
• CEMs required by law (such as bank statement, or product recalls).
3. Referral Marketing:  You no longer have to obtain consent for the first message sent to someone who has been referred to you by a third party, providing the third party has a pre-existing relationship.  The criteria that must be followed to ensure that exemption applies is to ascertain that this first CEM advises somewhere is the text of the message the full name of the person who made the referral.
4. Computer Programs:  Consent is assumed for programs installed by service providers to prevent security risks, or to advise of network updates, etc.

What did not change are the regulations dealing with third party consent.  CEMs sent by someone on behalf of a third party whose identity is “unknown” in the message are not acceptable.  The party (or, the sender) who obtained consent on behalf of the third party is responsible for ensuring the message’s recipient can unsubscribe from messages and quickly and that the recipient is able to contact the sender easily to ensure that it happens; should the feel it necessary.

For the full article, please click here.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Greenfield Services to attend CSAE Tête-à-Tête

On Thursday, January 31^st, 2013 leaders of Associations, Not-For-Profits, Professional Meeting Planners as well as Government Producers will be heading to the Ottawa Convention Centre to attend 2013’s installment of CSAE’s Tête-à-Tête – and Greenfield Services Inc is thrilled to be joining them!

As a platinum sponsor of the event, Doreen Ashton Wagner (Chief Strategist & Managing Director) & Meagan Rockett (Director, Client Solutions) are looking forward to re-connecting with old friends, and establishing new relationships.

Every year Tête-à-Tête continues to grow, and with Jamie Clark being the breakfast keynote speaker, 2013 is shaping up to be the best year yet!  For more information on the event, or to register, please click here.  Feel free to stop by our booth (#405), or contact us by email to pre-book an appointment.  We look forward to seeing you all at the show!

Five Ways to Waste Money on Strategic Planning

Meredith Low provided this guest post.  She is a management consultant, focusing on helping organizations and companies understand how, when, and where to grow in the context of fast-changing environments. Her work with associations includes leading strategic and tactical planning, performing assessments to position conferences and meetings for growth and durability, and assessing the needs of members and other stakeholders. 

If strategic planning is part of your to-do list for 2013, are you finding it hard to get enthusiastic about it? If so, you’re not alone.

Associations often struggle to get full value from strategic planning, and that can make it a frustrating experience. Here are five common ways that resources (cash, time, and goodwill) are frequently wasted on strategic planning – and how to avoid doing the same:

1. Pretend the elephant in the room doesn't exist. Is there an issue in your organization that everyone would prefer to pretend isn't really happening? Maybe your structure is an anachronistic mess – or you’re out of touch with your members’ needs – or there are strategic threats to your industry itself – or you rely on a source of funds that’s drying up.
   
   Some concerns feel so enormous that both staff and Board members are used to pushing them aside in order to get through the day. And then when strategic planning time rolls around, nobody has the energy to tackle it. But if not now, when?
   
   Any plan you come up with will be a work of fiction if you ignore significant concerns.
2. Don’t do any research. Without research, you are making decisions blind. This doesn't have to be a terrifically expensive proposition, especially if you have some kind of member needs assessment capability in place (if not, now is a great time to get a regular program started). Hopefully you also have a methodology of assessing the overall environment, including both non-members and other external groups.
   
   At a minimum, however, you will have to take a systematic approach to the research that goes into a strategic planning process; which stakeholders (members; others), which trends, which issues do you need to have a handle on, and don’t have the knowledge already accessible? Invest there. Otherwise you will make decisions that aren't grounded in reality – or you may feel unable to make certain decisions at all.
3. Ignore tradeoffs. From a good strategic planning process, the Board and staff should have clarity both on what is going to happen in the next 5 or so years – and, likewise, what is not. It should feel like a true choice. If you don’t have these conversations explicitly at the Board level, you risk staff making tradeoffs at the operational level that may not be aligned with the strategic vision the Board set out. Be clear about what you do - and don’t - expect to achieve. Outline the tactical level of the plan, more explicit than the strategies, but not as granular as the annual operational plan. Don’t pretend it’s not going to involve tradeoffs on a daily basis – make sure they’re made wisely.
4. Don’t tell anyone what happened. If you've gone out and consulted with your stakeholders, they will be curious what you did with their input. Tell them, and keep doing so throughout the life of the plan, including reporting results.
5. Just stick to business as usual afterwards. Why did you do a plan if you aren't changing anything as a result? Here are some of the things that should be altered after every strategic plan:
• Board reports – They should be framed by the strategic plan. Anything else should be an afterthought, because it’s either business as usual, or it’s not a priority. 
• Staff meeting and Board agendas – If you don’t make time for your strategic priorities at both levels, they are guaranteed to fail. 
• Staff and Board workplans. 
• Metrics – You should be measuring achievement of your strategic priorities, which means they should affect how you measure employee performance as well. Metrics are an integral part of any strategic plan. 
• Communications - the language, and sometimes the form, should be driven by the strategic priorities set by the organization, both internally and externally. 

Done right, strategic planning can and should result in an association that is different – more focused, more grounded in the needs of its members and the realities of its environment, and better able to set priorities and achieve results. However, the process has to be thorough, purposeful, and a little bit brave to maximize value for the association and its members.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You’re Using Social Media. Have Your Members Noticed?

Everyone’s doing it. It’s hard to find a Canadian association that doesn't have some kind of presence on social media.

But there’s a big difference between using the tools and having an impact, and it may not be long before some organizations start approaching new media with a very old question:

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, did it make a sound?

The problem isn't hard to diagnose. Over the last few years, social media has emerged as the next big thing, and everyone has been under pressure to leap onboard. New technologies and platforms are rising and falling far too fast to keep track, so it’s hardly surprising that there’s been no time to ask the two most important questions:

• Why are we going online?
• How can we adapt this fantastic new platform to serve our organization’s unique agenda?

The disconnect came through loud and clear in Greenfield Services’ 2012 Pulse Report. The survey results confirmed that all but about 3% of associations have some degree of interest in social media—79.3% are already active on social platforms, and another 18% will be getting online in the next year. A large proportion of respondents saw social media as a valuable tool for building general and public awareness and boosting member engagement.

But it’ll take some time to get from here to there. Less than 5% of organizations treat social media management as a full-time role for a dedicated staff member. Most of the rest rely on “accidental” or “occasional” managers who are still finding their way on social media while they juggle competing job priorities. Just under 10% of respondents said their social media management had been assigned to members or staff-volunteer committees.

So this should be no surprise: The majority of associations reported that no more than one in 10 of their members participate in their social media sites.

When an organization uses social media wisely and well, the experience can transform its relationship with members. In contrast to the transactional dealings that flow out of a traditional marketing model, social platforms are an opportunity to:

• Listen to your members
• Respond with the information and resources they need
• Build a wider community where your members can participate and support each other’s professional or organizational growth
• Deliver greater value than they ever hoped to receive from their association, and
• Position your organization as a thought leader.

In the end, everyone wins. Members are delighted with the great benefits they've received. The association builds a higher profile and a more robust member retention program. And the profession, trade, or industry sector is better and stronger as a result.

But only if your social media program is built on a deliberate strategy that ties every blog, tweet, and LinkedIn post back to your organization’s broader objectives and branding. From the 2012 Pulse Report, associations clearly know they have to do something about their social presence. The bigger challenge is to turn those great intentions into lasting impact and results.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Member Engagement: Are You Doing All That You Can? (And Should?)

Every association executive is constantly on the lookout for new, improved ways to build and sustain member engagement. (If they aren’t, they should be.) But the results of Greenfield Services’ 2012 Pulse Report show that only a few organizations are making best use of their most powerful engagement tools.

There’s no shortage of good intentions. Nearly two-thirds of associations (63.2%) cited member engagement as one of their top three priorities for the next year. But the research revealed that associations face a tough road if they hope to build a strong, enduring connection with a large share of their membership base.  The report shows low levels of volunteer commitment, along with low participation from members on social media networks and small levels of non-dues purchases.

The Pulse Report held a glimmer of good news for one type of association: About a quarter of organizations reported that at least three-quarters of their members were involved with certification programs, roughly the same proportion of respondents—27.2%—who said affiliation was mandatory for some or all of their members. That means mandatory certification is a good enough lifeline for associations that offer it, even though one-fifth of survey respondents said members joined their associations because they had to, not because they wanted to.

In an uncertain economy, nobody should second-guess a reliable source of membership and revenue, and there are very good reasons for the mandatory certifications that many professions require. But we’re only doing part of our job if people affiliate with their associations because they have no choice, not because it’s where they want to be. And that goes back to the community-building tools that most associations are still learning how to use.

• With the right engagement and outreach strategy, members build their own networks and find their own ways to maximize the value they get back for their annual dues.
• An effective social media program creates a steady flow of valuable news, information, and education, while creating pathways for members to pick the content that is most useful to them.
• Associations already know that volunteering is a virtuous circle—the more actively members engage, the more likely they are to stay involved. By placing members themselves at the centre of your membership strategy, you can give them many more reasons to volunteer.

The 2012 Pulse Report showed that there’s a lot of work ahead for associations that want to re-envision and recreate their member relationships. But unless you’re delighted with your member engagement and revenue, this might be the right time to get started.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Top 12 Blogs of 2012

I thought I would start to wrap up the year with my favorite blogs of 2012.  These bloggers engage the association community, inform, and suggest new ways for association executives to take a look at their current processes.  They offer tips and best practices on changing the landscape of associations for the future:

1. Sarah Sladek’s blog “5 steps for continued association growth in a changing market”:  Passionate about changing demographics, Sarah blogs about what is affecting the association world in general.  This blog walks you through focusing on goals, and the steps to achieve the same status associations had with Baby Boomers as the primary membership base.
2. I came across this blog by accident one day a few weeks ago, and love it!  Andrea Pellegrino’s “Engagement, Value, and Blaming the Member” post does not beat around the bush – it speaks directly to those who believe Engagement is the fix-all solution.  “Engagement does not drive value, value drives engagement.”  Demonstrating value to your members through various outreach and programs is the key to engaging your membership.
3. Another blog I came across by accident, Shelly Alcorn, CAE blogged “Is Your Mission Bigger than What You Can Measure?” – which drives home the point that statistics, or “quantitative” metrics can only be used to a certain point in most organizations.  She believes that “qualitative” metrics need to be looked at more often.
4. Jeff Hurt posted a two-part blog, focusing on learning styles & education opportunities – Part 1 focused on Learning from 1957-2004, and Part 2 focused on learning 2004-present day and the future.  Two key questions came out of this series that I believe are very important to take a look at:  what barriers exist that keep your education/learning opportunities from transitioning to newer models? And, how can organizations transition to being more learning-centric? 
5. Jay S. Daughtry posted “The Greatest of Great Ideas in Less than 180 Seconds”.  Jay uses these 180 seconds of reading to showcase the top ideas, thoughts and feedback from the conferences he attends – this one being the ASAE Great Ideas Conference.
6. Yes, I am repeating a few bloggers, but their content is worth it!  Sarah Sladek posted asking the question “Is your association’s culture helping or hurting member recruitment and retention?”, which addresses some red flags to look out for.
7. Jamie Notter posted “Strategy Means Change” – when you are strategizing, prepare for change.  Need I say more?
8. How could I have a top 12 list without including one of my own?!  I looked at the number of readers on each of my posts this year, and by far the most popular was “The World Is Changing.  Are Associations Falling Behind?” which was created as a result of our 2012 Pulse Report on Membership Marketing in Canada.
9. Bernie Colterman’s “Social Marketing and Sponsorship Marketing – Are they really that far apart?”  discusses some trends that were discovered while attending an International Conference.
10. Jeff Hurt (another blog I follow religiously, as you can see) published a post relating to Generational Differences and Conference Planning.  What barriers do generational differences have on traditional conference planning, and what are you doing to change it?
11. The Association Management Blog posted a great reminder about mid-year – it is a great time to check in and review your goals and operation to make sure you are on track.  If you see a disconnect, it may be time to Tune-up Your Association.
12. Affiniscape’s Blog posted a guest post from Shelley Alcorn, CAE earlier this year – talking about the END of Associations.  END meaning Education, Networking and Democracy.  Shelley’s belief is associations did not lose their relevance, they have lost their way.  Great post!

Any other favorites that you did not see here?  Submit your feedback below.  Have a great holiday, and I look forward to an engaging 2013!


Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Five Ways for Small Associations to Reach Critical Mass

The last few years have been challenging for most non-profit organizations. But in many ways, the smallest associations have had the toughest road.

These are the organizations that lack the staff and resources to mount the consistent, relentless membership programs that will bring them the next wave of resources to build and maintain critical mass. It’s a Catch-22 that is familiar to too many of the associations that participated in Greenfield Services’ 2012 Pulse Report.
A large proportion of survey participants were scrambling to cope with serious limitations in financial and human resources.

• More than two in five respondents (42.2%) identified limited funding as one of their top three concerns, and one-third (32%) listed limited staffing.
• Associations with annual budgets under $1.0 million accounted for 56.5% of survey respondents, but 72.5% of the group that listed limited funding as a top concern.  
• Associations with five or fewer staff constituted 47.6% of the survey group, but 59.7% of the respondents with funding concerns.
• Nearly half of survey respondents (47.1%) reported that their organizations had no membership marketing plans in place.

It’s a well-worn platitude that you have to spend money to make money—and the platitude is cold comfort when money is limited. But now the good news: targeted membership strategies that build communities and relationships can be a good deal more affordable than an all-out advertising blitz. And by generating fierce loyalty among new recruits and established members alike, they can boost retention rates and build a foundation for a more stable organization.

Here are five tips to get started:

1. Identify, understand, and micro-target the specific audiences that have the most to gain by joining your association. You might need a different set of facts and arguments to catch each group’s attention, sign them up, and keep them engaged.
2. Get your audience’s permission to communicate. The law may require it, but even if it doesn’t, why would you waste resources and generate ill will by sending repeat messages to people who don’t want to hear from you?
3. Keep the messages flowing, before and after they sign up. Marketing theory says it takes eight to 10 touchpoints to reach a target audience with a message that requires a decision and action, but the 2012 Pulse Report found that only 8.5% of associations followed up seven to 10 times as members’ renewal deadlines approached.
4. Vary the format and sourcing of your membership messages. A single touchpoint might be an email, a phone call, a text message, a direct mail letter or post card, a survey, a contest, a magazine ad, or social media messages, and you can alternate the contact members receive from staff, board members, volunteers, or other opinion leaders.
5. Maximize your use of social media to build communities, establish your organization as a thought leader, and keep tabs on the issues that are most important to different audience segments.

These community-based strategies take more thought and planning than a single, one-size-fits-all marketing campaign. But they can be surprisingly affordable—and, more important in the long run, they work. If you haven’t been building critical mass with the same old approach to membership development and retention, maybe it’s time to shift gears.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net