Emerging Hybrid Membership ModelsGreg Melia, CAE

@gmeliacae

Traditional association model

• Individual or Company membership

• All members pay similar, annual dues

• Many “checkbook” members with limited usage

• Sponsors and advertising subsidize education, meetings, and publications

• Joining is the operative norm

Photo credit: Angusf on flickr

• Technological advances

• Demographic, gender and age diversity

• Globalization

• Mass customization

• Changing nature of work & careers

Changing world

Definitions Professional Society — represents individuals with a common

background in a subject or a profession such as law, medicine, and accounting.

Trade Association —represents a group of companies having a business or trade in common. Companies work together to accomplish goals that no single firm could reach by itself.

Hybrid membership model — serves a combination of individuals and organizations engaged in a cause, industry, or profession

How Prevalent are Hybrid Structures?

42%

27%

28%Professional SocietyTrade

Hybrid

Source: “What Makes High-Performing Boards” page 19

The Benefits GROWTH

Extend reach

Frame ROI in new ways

New lens for product development

New marketing options

Improved renewal rates

MEAN MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL RATE

Less than 80% renewal

80% renewal or higher

Individual Member

Trade Combination

Mean 64% 88% 76% 85% 80%

Median 70% 88% 80% 88% 82%

Source: Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

MEAN NEW MEMBER RENEWAL RATE

Less than 80% renewal

80% renewal or higher

Individual Member

Trade Combination

Mean 52% 78% 62% 79% 66%

Median 52% 82% 64% 85% 66%

Source: Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

For more information on Marketing General Incorporated. Visit www.marketinggeneral.com or contact Tony Rossell

Tony@marketinggeneral.com 703.706.0360

What are the trendsin hybrid

memberships for associations?

MEMBERSHIP TYPE BY STUDY YEAR

2014(n = 886)

2013 (n = 693)

2012 (n = 643)

2011 (n = 643)

2010 (n = 404)

Individual Member 44% 48% 54% 49% 54%Trade 28% 30% 28% 36% 28%Combination 26% 20% 15% 13% 17%Other 2% 2% 3% 2% 1%

Source: Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

The Challenges Bylaws and other legal considerations

Culture

Technology

Avoiding apathy

Not undercutting existing business model

Source: Marketing General Incorporated 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

Some Hybrid Strategies• Group sales• Tiered service levels• Hyper-bundling by adding benefits to membership• Focus on market creation/affinity program value• Specialized offers for segments within existing

membership or new markets• Differentiated value for individuals & organizations

Group Enrollment - Save Money, Simplify Enrollment, and Reduce Hassles Groups of five or more physicians:

100% participation, 30% discount 90% participation, 20% discount 80% participation, 10% discount 75% participation, 5% discount

Additional benefits include Valuable practice benefit to new-hire prospects by offering free MMS membership

American Society of Travel Agents Dual membership structure: Hi tech, and Hi touch

• Core membership - geared to provide a relevant and immediate response to members' most frequent questions through peer assistance and a sophisticated online knowledge system . $250

• Premium membership - access to an account management team which provides advanced business consulting, customized research, public relations consulting, peer assistance, and a professional e-journal. $2500

US Chamber Of Commerce

Tiers: Individual through Advisor Benefit bundles: Conference call updates, Access to committee service, Customized GR web portal

Friends

Members

National Defense Industry Association• Government members were an underserved segment –

changes grew membership from a handful to 21,000• Data-mining & Business Intelligence from AMS enabled

segmentation• Open membership & value engagement• Automation of join process removed barriers to joining

• Example: allow individuals to join, then sell upgrade to organizational membership

• Results: Doubled revenue with same staff

Institutional Membership 10 “personal membership groups” in specialty areas like

healthcare engineering, risk management, and human resource administration. Personal membership includes access to some (but not all) AHA benefits, such as members only website and hospital literature.

American Bankers Association too!

Individual ($50 - $90) Build Job Skills (development programs and networks) Manage Your Career (member logo, mentoring) Stay Informed (magazine, e-news) Save Money (registration discounts, fellowships) Make the Case for Museums (advocacy)

Museum Membership (Pay what you can - $8,000) Strive for Excellence (standards, resources) Distinguish Your Museum (directory listing) Stay Informed (magazine, e-news) Save Money (registration discounts, fellowships) Make the Case for Museums (advocacy)

What ASAE is doing Adding an organization focus to existing individual

membership Focusing on the 15,000 staffed member-based

professional c3s and c6s Developing persuasive offers for organization purchases –

from basic membership to Circle Club Adding a Career Portal to introduce ASAE to potential

members and foster engagement

All Approaches at a GlanceCareer - Freemium model, which promotes value of ASAE membership, programs, and services to help advance an association professional’s career.

Individual Membership – Gives access to all ASAE content, community and career resources.

Organizational Membership – Gives all employees at an association the option of accessing ASAE content, plus the option of participating in the ASAE community and career resources. Also, bundled pre-purchase savings options.

What An Organizational Bundle Might Include• ASAE University

• In person• Online

• On-site training• Content Licensing• Exclusive programming

Learning

• Benchmarking• Operating Ratios• Salary

• Co-sponsored projects

Research

• Associations Now• ASAEcenter.org• Publications Library• Reprint rights

Content

• Board Development resources

• Executive Team briefings• Exclusive invitations (e.g.,

Key Committee participation)

• Recruitment support

Executive Support

• Inroads newsletter• Coalition participation• Power of A awards entry

Advocacy

Do you have a hybrid opportunity? What membership structure changes can expand your organization

beyond its current focus? How will you identify membership prospects? Who funds membership, participation & content? What is the core portion of the market? Is there a high end subset or

lower part of the market? How can membership growth create new product and market

opportunities?

Potential Directions• Create a portfolio of engagement options – from customer to a

variety of membership opportunities

• Appeal to both individuals and organizations – maintain a connection to individuals, while providing economy of scale to organizations

• Leverage technology – to allow for targeted, customized information delivered quickly in cost-effective ways

• Serve many niches – create a model and systems that provide value to demographic and functional niches.

Council for Exceptional Children Membership OptionsIndividual Tiers: Premier, Full and Basic

School District Package: Includes 1 administrator and 5 professionals Incorporates professional development

Development Case Study

Process to Develop

Member WorkgroupFeedback sessionsPricing modelsRecommendation to Board

Motion Approved, then what?Business RulesDatabase programmingRenewal strategy – Upgrade!Recruitment strategySales strategy for packageCommunication timelineCollateral

Launched July 2014Members “upgraded”Strong communication still neededDeveloping champions among our

unitsIncredible energy around

organization's growth potential

In conclusion … Understand what your members want and need. Develop member benefits that solve the problems. Assess the costs to provide those benefits and get rid of anything

that does not provide a benefit. Put a membership model in place that both aligns with the way

your audience wants to pay and makes it easy for your offering to sell.

Test these offerings and revenue models with members and nonmembers. Adjust accordingly.

Source: The End of Membership as We Know It (ASAE Press)

Thank you!

Greg Melia, CAEgmelia@asaecenter.org

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