By Guest Blogger:

Jenny Parsons, COO

ProTech

 

According to  membership professionals  surveyed for the MemberWise Digital Excellence (2017/18) – The Report , the perception of member value has not kept pace with rising membership levels and member engagement.

This is a serious issue for membership organisations and associations, especially as 2025 approaches. 2025 is when ‘millennials’ (those born between the early 1980s to early 2000s) will make up the majority of our workforce.

Having grown up in an interconnected world, with easy and instant access to what they want to know, when they want to know it, millennials’ demands and expectations around member value will be higher than preceding generations.

Delivering value for all of your members, regardless of their generation, is key. Members’ perception of your value proposition is why they join your organisation in the first place and maintaining this relevance is what makes them stay.

Understanding what matters to your members – a demand analysis

What matters to your members should drive your organisation in everything it does. Essentially, what matters to your members defines your purpose and therefore your value proposition.

When was the last time you conducted a ‘demand analysis’ so that you have a clear understanding of what matters to your members, and importantly, whether your products and services are delivering the value they expect? Member demand evolves over time, expectations rise, needs diversify and become more complex.

Technology is not the answer

The temptation for many organisations will be to invest in technology to keep pace with millennials’ expectations. Whilst this may deliver an improvement in the perception of member value, previous iterations of the Memberwise Report show that despite investment, many NFPs indicate that members’ perception of value does not increase commensurately. Why is this?

I think this is because until we truly understand what matters to members we cannot even begin to think about what the right technology solutions might be.

Working with NFPs to help them understand what matters to their members, has frequently revealed that the products and services members value are not offered. You can invest extensively in technology but if the products members want and the ways in which they want to consume your services are not aligned with what matters, then what is the point?

What we do know from experience is that having conducted a ‘demand analysis’, so you understand what matters to your members, will almost certainly lead to significant changes in your business strategy, commercial proposition, internal processes, people capability and systems.

So, to ensure you design a value proposition, which aligns with what matters to your members, you should be looking for a partner with extensive change management experience that is not just a ‘technologist’. A provider who does not suggest a technology solution just for technology’s sake, but who will work through the process of choosing a solution so you completely understand how and why it will meet your specific, and often unique, requirements around delivering member value.

The right CRM solution – personalisation is key

An integrated web and CRM solution provides the features and functionality to help plug the gap between the value your members expect and the value you deliver.

An integrated solution has the capability to capture data, entered or provided by members each time they interact with you via your website or talk to your membership team. This data is then automatically stored in the CRM system.

The member data captured can then be analysed and segmented so that members view, via their personalised member portal or are sent, content that exactly matches their profile and preferences. They have access to content that matters to them.

The ability to personalise content is key to delivering member value.

Personalised subscription packages

The ability to analyse data provides the opportunity to understand exactly what matters to individual members: receiving regular eShots, attending webinars, attending conferences/seminars, joining member forums, accessing research, engaging in Continuous Professional Development (CPD), enrolling for professional qualifications, etc.

This insight will allow you to move away from ‘standard’ subscription models and offer personalised packages. This enhances member value as members pay for products and services that matter to them rather than paying for a standard subscription covering what you think matters to them!

Understanding what matters to your members to increase the value you deliver should be a key objective for your organisation. Not just to ensure you’re ahead of the game in providing value for millennials, but importantly to retain your existing members and acquire new members.

To help membership organisations and associations focus on enhancing member value, the MemberWise network is launching The Member Value 2025 project at its Membership Excellence 2018 Conference – MEMX 2018. The Member Value 2025 project is an initiative which ProTech is very pleased to support.

Visit ProTech at MEMX 2018, Stand 21 to learn more about the importance of partnering with a CRM provider who is not just a technologist, who understands demand analysis and change management and who delivers a flexible, integrated web and CRM solution. Or contact: [email protected]

Our 20+ years’ experience in the NFP sector really does make the difference.

For more than 20 years ProTech has been delivering specialist CRM software and change management services to the Not for Profit (NFP) and public sectors. By adding ProWeb, (secure digital platform) and ProCloud (a fully managed Cloud CRM offering) to its specialist CRM and change management solution portfolio, ProTech delivers a Government security accredited fully integrated web and CRM platform.

For more details visit: www.protech.co.uk