Great Marketing Starts with the Member

I hear questions like this once a month:

• “Why do members only complain? They don’t recognize what we do well?”
• "I'd like to create this printed brochure, can you give me your comments?"
• "We started posting all our news to Facebook. What should we expect?"
• "I am thinking about going back to advertising in this publication."

Marketing is more than an activity or two.  Most businesses that have marketing problems that could make so much progress if they had a marketing – and communications process across the organization.

When they don’t, they do things like realize an event is planned, and they rush at the last minute to report the news about it.

Could this be you?

Great marketing starts at the beginning.  And the beginning is the same as the end - your member.

Marketing is the process that establishes your value and commitment to your member, manages the process of member satisfaction, and keeps those members coming back (or coming) to your events and classes in the first place.  So the focus of great marketing is on the members, not just on the marketing tactic.

This means that to develop more effective marketing plan, think closely about your members (or prospects). What should you think about?  Try something along the lines of:

What are their daily problems in their industry?  What would they like you to provide that they could turn to you for help?

What news and information is important to them?
What other services would they like from you that you don’t offer today?
How satisfied are they with your high-value services (list them out)?
How can you help them, and in turn get them to recognize that you are there to help them?

The answers to these questions will help guide you to a sensible choice of creating your marketing tactics, and give you a better idea of what you need to include in your messages.

Great Marketing Starts with the Member

A Letter to An Association Executive

Good morning Association Executive, Executive Director, and/or EVP,

I hope this note finds you well.

I'm in the middle of a 2 -day webinar with all of the Real Estate Associations of Hawaii and Guam! It's the most interesting workshop I've ever done - as you can imagine. Not only the technology link, but the challenges that these associations have living in the same small geography and all wanting to deliver value through their communications.

I was working on today's "part II" and thought of you.

There is a step in this workshop where the group learns about key messages. That includes a combination the BENEFITS and the potential BARRIERS to your members responding to a call to action - whatever it is you want members to do (or to overcome).

As I think about your communications director and the work he/she has to do to really OWN your communications - I believe it begins with a common promise - one that your staff and your board creates together. A promise (or brand) that you can live, and communicate in both live and written interactions with members.

If identifying and communicating your "value proposition" is important enough to your association, it might be something you want to incorporate into your new board's planning early next year. You can do it yourself, or bring someone in from the outside if you need some help to keep you on track.

I think this is a way you can take your staff to the next level of unity and presenting a consistent voice of value to your members...and setting the expectation of what the staff will deliver and what the member can expect from you.

I know this is a little bit "out of right field", but sometimes these ideas just jump in my mind. Today, I decided to stop what I'm doing to tell you about it.

All the best,

Melynn

P.S. Just FYI, if your communications director or YOU would benefit from attending a communications plan workshop (to develop your communications plan for the upcoming year); The next one is a one-day workshop in Dallas in January...I'll link here in the event you want to learn more.

A Letter to An Association Executive