IEEE 2008 Membership Segmentation Study

IEEE Technical Activities MeetingAtlanta, GA 12 February 2010

Jamie MoeschDirector, Member Strategy

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Survey Methodology

A total of 2,224 interviews were completed among both student and non-student members. Of which:– 1,319 were among higher grade members– 905 were among student members

Interviewing occurred between November 10 and December 17, 2008.All interviewing was conducted online using IEEE supplied sample.Given the sample was comprised of current IEEE members, all respondents were qualified for the survey.Interviews averaged 26 minutes in length.All interviewing was conducted in English.

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Importance of IEEE Membership

BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS (Members, N=1,319/Students, N=905)Q815. How important to you is your membership in IEEE?

Overall, membership in IEEE is very important to its members. Nearly two thirds say their membership is very important.

Students place even greater importance on their IEEE membership with 65% saying it is very important versus 58% for non-student members.

= Statistically higher at the 95% confidence level (between Members and Students).

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Satisfaction with IEEE Membership

BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS (Members, N=1,319/Students, N=905)Q830. Overall how satisfied are you with your IEEE membership?

• Satisfaction with their IEEE membership is fair, with about one-quarter of HG members who said they are very satisfied with their IEEE membership and 45% say they are somewhat satisfied.

• No significant differences emerge between HG and student members.

Top 2 Box

69%

69%

HG

= Statistically higher at the 95% confidence level (between Members and Students).

Members Students

To remain technically current

To obtain IEEE publications

To enhance my career opportunities

To join IEEE societies

To enhance my stature within the profession

To network with others in the profession

For continuing education

To participate in local IEEE activities

A professor suggested it

To obtain a reduced registration fee at IEEE conferences

To have access to discounts on professional and personal services

To give back to my profession

To access insurance

To give back to the world community

To obtain an IEEE email alias with virus protection

To participate in standards development

To participate in student branch activities To participate in student contests

5BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS (Members, N=1,319/Students, N=905)Q915. Please indicate the major reasons you originally joined IEEE. Please choose all that apply.

Reasons Joined IEEE Originally The top reasons why members originally joined IEEE are to remain technically current, to obtain IEEE

publications, to access insurance and to enhance their career opportunities.

Students are more likely to mention career development and reduced rates for conferences and activities.

= Statistically higher at the 95% confidence level (between Members and Students).

Over 60% selected 4 or more reasons

13% selected just 1 reason

HG

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IEEE Technical Society Membership and Reasons For Membership Among Members

BASE: MEMBERS, N=1,319Q1005. Do you belong to any of the IEEE technical societies?BASE: MEMBERS WHO ARE CURRENT MEMBER OF IEEE TECHNICAL SOCIETY (Q1005/1), N=935Q1010. Which of the following reasons best describes why you belong to your primary IEEE technical society?

The top reasons for membership include keeping informed of advancements in the field, obtaining society publications, and obtaining technical information and resources.

To keep myself informed of the advancements in my field 68%

To obtain society publications (paper and/or electronic) 54%

To obtain technical information and resources 54%

To meet and interact with others who share my professional interests (networking) 25%

To contribute to my profession 12%

To get access to continuing education opportunities 12%

To serve as a volunteer (for example, write or review articles, speak at conferences or serve on committees)

10%

To attend local chapter activities 10%

To receive discounts on Society conference fees 8%

Other 1%

Which of the following reasons best describes why you belong to your primary IEEE technical society? You may select up to 3 responses.

More than 9 in 10 respondents consider their membership in the IEEE society to be at least marginally, if not very important.

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Importance of Membership in Primary IEEE Technical Society

BASE: CURRENT MEMBER OF IEEE TECHNICAL SOCIETY (Q1005/1) (Members, N=935/Students, N=468)Q1015. How important to you is your membership in your primary IEEE technical society?

HG

Top 3 Box

61%

65%

Satisfaction with primary IEEE technical society skews positive. 1 in 4 are ‘very satisfied,’ half are ‘somewhat satisfied.’ Less than 1 in 10 express dissatisfaction.

No significant difference emerge between HG and student members.

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Satisfaction with Primary IEEE Technical Society

BASE: CURRENT MEMBER OF IEEE TECHNICAL SOCIETY (Q1005/1) (Members, N=935/Students, N=468)Q1020. How satisfied are you with the primary IEEE technical society you belong to?

Top 2 Box

73%

72%

HG

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HG Member Reasons for Satisfaction with IEEE Technical Society

BASE: MEMBERS WHO ARE SOMEWHAT OR VERY SATISFIED (Q1020/4-5), N=684Q1025. Please tell me the reasons why you are satisfied with your IEEE technical society?

Reasons For Satisfaction with IEEE technical society

“I keep myself updated on the last trends in the area.”

–Member

Reasons cited for satisfaction include providing updated and current info, good technical content, and relevant info – all top motivators shared for joining IEEE.

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HG Member Reasons for Dissatisfaction with IEEE Technical Society

BASE: MEMBERS WHO ARE NEITHER, SOMEWHAT OR VERY DISSATISFIED (Q1020/1-3), N=251Q1030. Please tell me the reasons why you are not satisfied with your IEEE technical society?

Reasons For Dissatisfaction with IEEE technical society

“Technical relevance is

sometimes lacking. ” –Member

Lack of relevance, cost, and not enough local activities are points of dissatisfaction.

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HG Member Reasons Do Not Currently Belong to an IEEE Technical Society

BASE: MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT A CURRENT MEMBER OF IEEE TECHNICAL SOCIETY (Q1005/2), N=384Q1045. Why are you currently not a member of an IEEE Society?

Reasons Do Not Currently Belong to an IEEE technical society

“Because it costs a lot! If it was for free or less expensive I would

like to be a member of the communications society.”

–Member

Cost is the biggest inhibitor to membership – about 1 in 5 cite it as a reason for not belonging to an IEEE society.

Other mentions include lack of relevance to current field and lack of time.

Satisfaction by Importance - Higher Grade Members

200812

More critical strengthsLess critical strengths

Lower priority improvementsTop improvement opportunity

% Importance (mean= 39)

% S

atis

fact

ion

(mea

n=41

)

Top 3 Box %

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Summary of SegmentsSegment 1 makes up the largest segment with a third of IEEE members.

Segment 1 (Swing 1)• Most graduate students• Most likely to have used IEEE Xplore Digital Library• Highest non-US memberships

Segment 2 (At Risk)• Focused on technical content• Younger non-students• No participation in insurance

Segment 3 (Swing 2)• Most undergraduate students•Least likely to be part of an IEEE tech society • 2 years or less of membership

Segment 5 (Base 2)• Insurance• 20 Years + of Membership

Segment 4 (Base 1)• Most satisfied• Volunteers• 20 Years+ of Membership

Most likely to renew

Likely to renew

At Risk

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Summary of SegmentsSegment descriptions are relative rather than absolute. Bear in mind that the individual statements for each segment are better understood if they are examined relative to one another.

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4 Segment 5

Swing At Risk Swing Base 1 Base 2

• More student members

• Shorter membership tenure (5 years)

• Younger

• Highest non-US membership

• Most likely to visit www.ieee.org

• Most likely to have used IEEE Xplore Digital Library

• Feel IEEE membership is a good value

• Least likely to maintain membership for access to insurance

• Mainly HG members

• Average membership tenure (8 years)

• Middle aged

• Higher non- US membership

• No participation in IEEE insurance programs

• Lowest awareness and usage of IEEE financial products and services

• Most student members

• Shortest membership tenure (2 years)

• Youngest

• Mix US/non US membership

• Least likely to contribute f inancially to IEEE

• Least likely to have purchased an IEEE product

• Least likely to be a part of an IEEE technical society

• Least satisf ied

• Mix members/senior members

• One of the longest membership tenure (21 years)

• Older

• Higher US membership

• Most likely to contribute f inancially

• Likely to purchase an IEEE product

• Most likely to remain member in next 5 yrs

• Most satisf ied with IEEE

• Mainly HG members

• One of the longest membership tenure (22 years)

• Older

• Highest US membership

• Least likely to join IEEE societies

• Most likely to be in IEEE insurance program

• Lowest f requency of visiting www.ieee.org

33% 19% 18% 14% 16%

n=730 n=428 n=405 n=320 n=357

Yellow Red Orange Dark Green Light Green

1 2

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Demographics of Segments

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4 Segment 5

Swing 1 At Risk Swing 2 Base 1 Base 2

GenderMale (89%) Male (94%) • Male (80%)

• Female (20%)Male (90%) Male (93%)

Average age 30 years old 47 years old 27 years old 50 years old 50 years old

Country of residence

• USA (28%)• Canada (6%)• India (8%) • Germany (4%)

• USA (38%)• Japan (8%)• UK (6%)• India (5%)

• USA (55%)• India (9%)

USA (69%) USA (85%)

Highest level of education

Grad/prof degree (45%)

Doctoral degree (36%) • Grad/prof degree (33%)• College (24%) • Some college (25%)

Doctoral degree (42%) • Grad/prof degree (44%)

• Bachelor’s (44%)

Current employment status

• Full-time student (36%)

• Edu institution (27%)

Private industry (50%) Full-time student (60%)

Private industry (47%) Private industry (64%)

Income Less than $25K (42%) $100K – less than $200K (30%)

Less than $25K (52%) $100K – less than $200K (45%)

$100K – less than $200K (41%)

Title use to describe themselves (besides Engineer)

• Student (14%)• Researcher (9%)

• Professor (11%)• Scientist (9%)

Student (25%) Professor (10%) Manager (10%)

Membership grade• Grad student (47%)• Student (25%)

Member (83%) Student (58%) • Member (52%) • Sr Member (36%)

Member (78%)

Membership in IEEE technical societies

Yes (66%) Yes (71%) • No (63%)• Not aware of (16%)•Cost/too expensive (16%)• Field undecided (11%)

Yes (87%) Yes (56%)

(n=730) (n=428) (n=405) (n=320) (n=357)

Light GreenYellow Red Orange Dark Green

So what does all of this data mean to TA?Key takeaways

The more we can get members involved with societies, the more engaged and satisfied with IEEE membership our members will be, but they need to feel the society is valuable to them.

How can the value be improved? – While satisfaction is high with the technical content of societies. Improvements

that would improve the value in they eyes of society members include: Improving the relevant content for industry practitioners Improving opportunities for professional networking Improving continuing education (especially for Segment 1, GSM’s) Lower pricing could also be considered

Apr 20, 202316

So what does all of this data mean to TA?Key takeaways Page 2

Segment 1 (“Yellow”/Graduate students) and Segment 2 (“Red”/At Risk) are extremely fertile soil for society membership, but they are value conscious and will want to see return on their investment in the form of good content and networking opportunities.

Undergraduate student membership (“Orange”/Segment 3) has a lot of churn so it might not be fertile soil for long term society member retention

There is a segment of IEEE membership who is primarily here for the insurance discounts. Many of these people join societies. However their other IEEE participation is extremely limited by choice. If it was not for the Insurance discounts, they would likely leave IEEE.

Apr 20, 202317

Members in Developing CountriesAt the conclusion of the 2009 membership year (members/approximate 2009 dues revenue):– Total Higher Grade Paying: 25,546 members / $2.55M

Full Dues Paying: 14,352 members / $1.85M Special Circumstances: 11,194 members / $0.7M

– Top 10 Developing Countries by total paying Higher Grade members

Full List of Countries and Counts in Appendix

Country Region GDP/Capita Special Circumstances Full PayingPaying Higher Grade Member

TotalIndia R10 $ 976 3,506 2,691 6,197China R10 $ 2,604 1,705 1,914 3,619Mexico R9 $ 8,386 481 919 1,400Brazil R9 $ 6,852 231 1,063 1,294Malaysia R10 $ 7,027 240 809 1,049Romania R8 $ 7,523 405 360 765Turkey R8 $ 6,511 254 437 691Russia R8 $ 9,050 375 289 664Poland R8 $ 11,008 96 496 592South Africa R8 $ 5,826 53 516 569

Comparison of “Electronic IEEE Membership” vs. Standard IEEE Membership

Electronic Membership

Standard Membership

Base Membership Price $50 or $55 $134 (in 2010)

Publications • Digital Spectrum• Digital The Institute

• Print Spectrum• Print The Institute – (when available)

Membership Card Downloadable PDF Paper

Special Circumstances Not Available on base e-membership*

No Changes

Grade Elevation (Senior Mbr, Fellow) No Change

IEEE Elections No Change

Access to online products (myIEEE, IEEEtv, Jobsite, etc.)

No Change

Access to member discounts No Change

Region Assessment No Change

Ability to join IEEE Societies No Change

Other Benefits & Opportunities No Change* Special circumstances will still be applied to Society Memberships if the member qualifies

New IEEE + NPSS

MembersNPSS

Add ons

Total new NPSS

members Total Cost to

NPSS

Total member

cost

NPSS cost to IEEE

ConferencePAC 246 3 249 15,302.03$ Free 1/2 yr

RT 39 2 41 2,002.23$ Free 1/2 yrICOPS/SOFE 119 2 121 9,525.73$ Free 1/2 yr

ANIMMA 16 0 16 966.00$ Free 1/2 yrPPC 105 1 106 7,475.00$ Free 1/2 yr

NSREC 21 5 26 1,869.96$ Free 1/2 yrNSS/MIC 101 60 161 9,903.50$ 1 yr - $50 $50

Totals 647 73 720 47,044.45$ 2009 Pre-Arrears 676

NPSS members not renewed for 2010 992(as of 2/16/10)

NPSS Recruitment Summary 2009