As promised, the next few instalments of the ARC Listen Up!Series on Member Needs & Satisfaction will look more closely at some of the different benchmarks we use here at the Association Resource Centre to help clients evaluate member satisfaction and determine needs.

Today’s focus will be on Programs and Services.

The average rating given by members in this particular area is 72%.  This is one of the strongest benchmarks based on the results from 47 member needs studies for 37 Canadian associations.  This number suggests that overall, members of Canadian associations who use programs and services are very satisfied with them. 

Despite the strong ratings among those using programs and services, members tend to vote with their feet.  Accordingly, many associations suffer from low penetration rates, particularly with services that are offered to the entire membership – Despite a programming staff or committee’s best intentions, members simply aren’t using the programs and services being offered.

Why?  Here are some of the more common reasons:

Misalignment with Member Needs & Priorities

Time after time, members fail to use their association’s programs and services because they feel that what is on offer isn’t relevant to them.  In some cases, this makes perfect sense as some programs are only designed to meet a specific member segment’s needs...But what about those services that should be relevant to 80% or more of the membership?

Often, the issue is simply that the association leadership assumes it knows what is best for the members and fails to consult those that will actually be using the services about what types of things they might want before they start planning. 

Talking to and/or surveying members about what types of programs and services they want, how they would like them delivered, what topics they would like covered in education etc. is a simple but often overlooked way to avoid making this mistake.

Trying to be All Things to All People

To varying degrees, most associations represent different types of members.  Differences in experience levels, professional focus, or where they are located in the production chain (like manufacturers and distributors, for example), inevitably means that all of an association’s programs and services will not be relevant to all of the members.

So before you discard a program because only 10% of your members are using it, it is important to remember that low usage - particularly in this type of situation - does not necessarily mean failure.  Looking at other elements like the value members are getting from the service, the economic and social costs and benefits of keeping the program, and the consequences of scrapping it should be taken under careful consideration.

Lack of Awareness

It has come as a surprise to many of our clients that a significant reason why members aren’t participating in their programs and services is simply because they are not aware of what’s available to them. 

While in some cases, this problem is linked to issues with relevance and alignment (discussed above), the root of this problem often has to do with effective communication - and by effective I don’t necessarily mean ‘more.’   I’ll look into more detail at communication in the next instalment of this series but we have seen many cases where increasing awareness of a service offering has made the difference between a program that is both profitable and beneficial and one that is a real dud.

Getting Satisfaction from Somebody Else

Let’s face it:  There are more associations than ever before battling it out for a shrinking number of members.  In addition, the information, resources and networking opportunities now available through the internet has made it even harder for many associations to get and keep members invested in the organization and what it has to offer.  Some of the situations we’ve seen more recently include:

• Members using one association’s affinity program found the same program with more features elsewhere for less
• One association has had to revamp its education program to recapture the growing number of members who are turning to internet-based providers to supplement or replace what they offer
• Many associations are feeling the crunch as members feel less need to attend social networking events because of their increased ability to meet, talk and develop relationships by using social media tools.

In some cases, such as when an association finds itself competing for members to buy into their affinity program, an effective positioning, pricing, and communication strategy may be all that is needed to boost uptake. 

But in areas where resources like the internet present free and convenient alternatives to what members have to pay for as part of their membership, the water is a lot murkier.  Associations have to fight harder than ever to stand out from the crowd and sell their value proposition.  As Jeff Hurt asks in a great post he recently wrote on this, the main question facing today’s associations is:  “What are your providing to your customers, members and event attendees: cheap cola or fine wine?”

Because it is relatively new, there aren’t too many ‘best practices’ to draw from in addressing this increasingly prevalent issue.  But as I outline in a post I wrote earlier this fall for CSAE Connect, I think that using the disruptive technology of the internet to their advantage by engaging members and providing them with opportunities to roll up their sleeves and contribute in all areas of the organization will be a real key to success for associations as they battle to stand out from the crowd in this new era. 

 Scheduling and Location

While this issue applies mostly to in-person programs and services like education, networking and conferences, this is also a common issue.  You already know that your members are busy people - They simply can’t participate in everything their association offers and what they do choose has to be pretty compelling if they are going to invest time (and money) to participate.

Location (as in location, location, location!) is also a barrier to participation for some members.  In many cases, programs and services are offered in urban centers, which is great if you live in the city...but not so great if you don’t.

While the specifics of this issue tend to differ for each organization we have worked with, some of our clients improved satisfaction in this are by:

• Offering programs on evenings and weekends
• Offering more ‘compact’ programs so that members could block of one day instead of, say, three half days to attend the same number of sessions.
• Holding sessions over breakfast or lunch, instead of in the middle of the day
• Utilising podcasting, webinars, teleconference options to those who can’t get away from the office or who are located out-of-town
• Varying location of events to ensure remote members don’t always have to travel into the city

While the individual solutions varied, the common denominator among the organizations that dealt successfully with this issue was that they first surveyed their members to ensure their plans were in-line with what was actually going to work for these key stakeholders.

Stay Tuned...

...For the next instalment of the ARC Listen Up!Series on Member Needs & Satisfaction where we will take a closer look at some of the trends, issues and challenges associations today are dealing with in the all-important area of Communication.