HomeMeetings of Membership Minds Chat Transcripts

The following highlights are from chat discussions during the Meeting of Membership Minds live online meetings:

August 17, 2021

12:49:34            From  Pat White – ASNT : Something I hear being repeated is do you focus on the number of attendees or the engagement of those who attend? Quantity vs Quality

July 20, 2021

12:34:08            From  Leigh Maltby : First conference back is where I picked up this bug 🙁

12:35:04            From  Leigh Maltby : We’re seeing a huge uptick in new members and return of former members now that in-person events are happening again

12:37:31            From  Leigh Maltby : All of our events got pushed to Q3/Q4 this year; so half year rate for membership is a steal for new members this year!

12:41:03            From  Dan Ratner, TheBusinessofMembership.com : @Leigh yep, prorating membership dues is fully in play now

12:56:35            From  Leigh Maltby : None of our members have been in the office, so couldn’t do snail mail this year.  Usually do all three – phone, email, snail mail

June 15, 2021

12:58:35            From  Marjie George : It was nice chatting with you all! I have to run to another meeting.

12:59:44            From  Meagan Roloff : I have to hop to another meeting – thanks for ideas, everyone!

12:59:46            From  Alex Shivak : Hi everyone Steve Shivak (Alex).  I am out of the Cleveland, OH area now…definitely see a much smaller pool of association professional pool to pull from a full-time basis.  POSITIVE: it enables me to look deeper at outside experts to help bring tried and true strategies to help make a quicker impact 🙂

13:00:25            From  Kevin Whorton : This is why I find myself hiring bartenders and training them to become research assistants here in Vegas 🙂

May 18, 2021

12:41:17            From  Dan Ratner, TheBusinessofMembership.com : I hope orgs are reviewing their certification policies related to points earned for in-person events only.

12:55:11            From  Natalya Read : I love parade of homes!

12:59:10            From  Renée @ HAVAN : Here’s the link for this Parade event:

12:59:14            From  Renée @ HAVAN : https://havan.ca/parade-of-homes/

13:09:46            From  Barbara Armentrout : sounds similar to Qiqochat but Qiqochat is NOT free.

13:10:35            From  Renée @ HAVAN : wonder.me

April 20, 2021

12:40:20            From  Dan Ratner, TheBusinessofMembership.com : Today, one lucky participant will have the chance to choose from this list of 5 books for membership professionals:

199 Ideas – Membership Recruitment and Retention

Membership Development: 101 Ways to Get and Keep Your Members by: Mark Levin, CAE

Millennium Membership: How to Attract and Keep Members in the New Marketplace by: Mark Levin, CAE

Retention Point: The Single Biggest Secret to Membership and Subscription Growth by: Robert Skrob

The ROI of Membership: Today’s Missing Link for Explosive Growth by Ed Rigsbee, CAE

The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue by Robbie Kellman Baxter

12:41:27            From  Dan Ratner, TheBusinessofMembership.com : To be entered into the drawing, please send a private chat message to me with your full name, email address, and organization name. Just use the drop-down menu on the chat window to find my name and send me the message.

I’ll use that list to have a randomized drawing and the winner can choose one of the 5 publications for their library. Good luck!!

12:50:41            From  Scott Oser : With @Jamie’s permission I want to share that she is currently looking for her next senior level association position.  Her last position was in the membership arena but she is also looking upward for ED/CEO positions.  If you know of anything please let her know.

12:52:13            From  Barbara Armentrout : @Scott, thanks and remind folks she’ll be an amazing addition to lead a team.

12:52:50            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : Thanks @Barb! I knew I showed up at this meeting for a reason 🙂

12:57:23            From  Dan, TheBusinessofMembership.com : To be entered into the book drawing, please send a private chat message to me with your full name, email address, and organization name if you haven’t already. Just use the drop-down menu on the chat window to find my name and send me the message.

12:59:24            From  Michele Santiago : Thank you all for sharing your collective wisdom. I’m not currently working but really enjoy hearing your insights on what’s going on. I have another meeting so I need to leave. Thank you.

12:59:55            From  Scott Oser : Thanks for coming @Michele.  Next time please share what you are looking for.  This group is always happy to help.

13:01:06            From  Carol Spencer : I’ve enjoyed this meeting but need to leave for an appointment. Thank you!

13:04:53            From  Nicole Mitchell   to   Dan, TheBusinessofMembership.com(Direct Message) : Nicole Mitchell- American Pet Products Association, nmitchell@americanpetproducts.org.  Thank you, this was great!

13:06:35            From  Barbara Armentrout : Lots of great discussion once again but I gotta pop off. See you all again soon!

March 16, 2021

12:38:37            From  Barbara Armentrout : Tony, can the assn capture the home address in the database for more than one-time use or limited to one-time?

12:39:10            From  Barbara Armentrout : meaning when you got it from append

12:40:56            From  Patricia White : We (ASNT) have found that many members still have not returned to their offices. The retention for individual members has stayed close to normal. The organizational memberships have nose-dived. So we will be starting to mail those invoices out.

12:43:01            From  Andrea Holovach : I feel like we were so quick to respond to creating virtual events, we did it in a non-integrated system that makes it near impossible to launch a recruitment campaign.

12:43:50            From  Dan Ratner : interesting Andrea. can you do a follow up with the reg. list?

12:44:16            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : In my last position, we went head strong into virtual programming that was “open” as well which produced a slew of new prospects. 2021 is a great opportunity to go after that list.

12:44:24            From  Andrea Holovach : @Dan – we do a follow-up, but it takes a while to dedupe the reg list against the member database

12:45:00            From  Dan Ratner : ah. would certainly be more efficient the other way Andrea

12:45:04            From  Andrea Holovach : So true, Cheryl…all the virtual is free and promoted everywhere, so why be a member?

12:45:18            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : @Cheryl – definitely! How are you articulating it? Testimonials?

12:45:26            From  Carolyn Hook : @Andrea Nice to see you. We are in the same position, I have a bunch of lists from events that need follow up.

12:46:26            From  Peter Magnuson, AIUM : One challenge we have is that we have moved to a fee structure (after making a lot of stuff free at the beginning of the pandemic), but many competitors are still offering materials for free.

12:49:29            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : I agree with all that is being said on recruitment. But it isn’t enough – you also need a good engagement strategy in place.

12:50:13            From  Cheryl Rothbart : We have free 1 hour webinars, but are charging for our 2-3 day conventions.  We are doing some testimonials and I have to say that as we go on we get more participation. I have promoted the fact that we have been able to have speakers that we could not afford at an on0site meeting as well as more people join us from around the world.

12:50:16            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : Additionally, @Dan, I think that an association needs to build itself to not just be the place you go for help, but your members’ professional home.

12:52:13            From  Monica Williams : I have started working with a scientific organization that has been using “Free membership” for acquisition. With very little too offer for benefits, conversions are a problem!

12:52:28            From  Darryl Walter : My renewal email open rates have taken a hit since October. Is anyone else seeing this?

12:52:36            From  Carolyn Hook : My org has a tradition of doing things for free for “the good of the profession.” I’ve been here two years and want to build a stronger member value proposition but I’m pushing up against “it should be free.”

12:53:49            From  Monica Williams : We had some issues with postal delivery of our invoices in November.

12:53:50            From  Patricia White : @Darryl our open rates are high for the first email and lower significantly with each subsequent email.

12:54:28            From  Andrea Holovach : For us, the association waited so long to innovate for the next generation, all 2020 did was put a spotlight on an issue we already had. But also fuels my ability to put focus to it.

12:55:35            From  Cindy Simpson, CAE : @Darryl our situation is the same as Patricia’s. We also had good results with our initial mailing of invoices but did experience problems with the USPS . Subsequent emails and mailing of invoices saw lower results.

12:57:01            From  Patricia White : Sorry – have to jump into another meeting. @Tony I look forward to reading the book 🙂

12:57:48            From  Darryl Walter : We are doing well with postal renewals but mail delivery is slow. I mailed a BRE two weeks ago, it took six days for a BRE to go from Bethesda to Silver Spring (six miles in six days).

12:58:26            From  Carolyn Hook : Yes, we’ve made lots of great changes for our upcoming conference. As we talk about next year, I’m already hearing “let’s go back to the old format.” Hoping the innovations will get great feedback so we don’t “go back!”

12:59:51            From  Peter Magnuson, AIUM : Same–we had record attendance at a recent event, but it didn’t translate directly into membership.

12:59:52            From  Sondra : @Darryl, write Post Master General DeJoy and copy your elected officials providing your experience and how it effects your livelihood.

13:00:12            From  Cindy Simpson, CAE : Same here – education brings in significantly more revenuew than membership.

13:00:21            From  Lynn Zalokar : I have to hop on another call. Good discussion. Thank you Dan and Tony.

13:00:48            From  Peter Magnuson, AIUM : Thanks all–have to jump to another call. Another good conversation!

13:00:51            From  Andrea Holovach : I have to hop too. So great to see these faces! I will be back!

13:01:30            From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE : I have a 1:00 – thanks for pulling this together, Dan. Great job on the book, Tony. I’m really enjoying the read!

13:01:58            From  Scott Oser : @Tony where can those who haven’t gotten the book get the book?

13:04:47            From  Carolyn Hook : Tony’s book

13:06:27            From  Carolyn Hook : We raised our dues. Anyone else?

13:06:31            From  Barbara Armentrout : Such a fun conversation, great to see everyone, but gotta pop off. See you again soon.

13:07:48            From  Michele Santiago : Very informative. Thank you all!

13:08:18            From  Sondra : Late for my next appointment. Thanks for the chat.

13:12:04            From  Darryl Walter : Thank you, good discussion!

13:12:19            From  Sara Miller : Thank you!  Congrats Tony!

13:12:22            From  Carolyn Hook : Thanks all!

13:12:23            From  Cindy Simpson, CAE : Great time – thanks!

February 16, 2021

12:34:05 From  David Falchek  to  Everyone : David Falchek, American Wine Society, out of PA

12:34:37 From  OMPA account  to  Everyone : Lisa Cicala, Oregon Media Production Association (www.ompa.org)

12:34:51 From  Barbara Armentrout  to  Everyone : Barb in Boca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-j-armentrout-cae-3058a24/

12:34:55 From  Monica Williams  to  Everyone : Monica Williams, Association for Psychological Science

12:35:14 From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE  to  Everyone : Hey – I’m Jamie Beaulieu from the DC area. I’m currently in transition, and was most previously heading up membership and professional development with the Society for Neuroscience.

12:35:16 From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE  to  Everyone : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebeaulieu/

12:35:27 From  Tracy Vann  to  Everyone : Hi Tracy Vann, American Case Management Association – trying to multitask and attend two meetings at the same time but looking forward to listening to the conversation!

12:35:31 From  Peter Magnuson  to  Everyone : Pete Magnuson, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

12:35:32 From  Cheryl Rothbart  to  Everyone : Hi, Cheryl Rothbart from the International Propeller Club.  We said, we don’t fly!

12:35:46 From  Lynn Zalokar  to  Everyone : I’m an association management professional (membership marketing and administration, mentoring programs, meetings/events) in Fort Lee, NJ. I’m happy to connect on LinkedIn and be of help if possible: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnzalokar/

12:36:22 From  Cheryl Rothbart  to  Everyone : Trying to engage our international members with our US members, especially doing things virtually has been a challenge.

12:36:23 From  Sharon Ruckdeschel  to  Everyone : Sharon Ruckdeschel from the American Medical Writers Association in MD

12:36:27 From  Lisa Samuels  to  Everyone : Lisa Samuels, Tax Executives Institute. I just took over membership responsibilities after 3 years of poor oversight. Talk about a mess to clean up!

12:37:43 From  David Falchek  to  Everyone : We are an IMO, with about 15 % people in, or marginally connected to, the industry. We are looking at Corporate level membership.

12:41:19 From  Peter Magnuson  to  Everyone : I think we all have Frankenpositions!!

12:43:58 From  Peter Magnuson  to  Everyone : Where you put time and energy, you see results

12:50:59 From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE  to  Everyone : Hear what they mean, not what they say 🙂

12:56:26 From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE  to  Everyone : I like the mirror

12:59:29 From  Lisa Samuels  to  Everyone : Need to jump to my next meeting – nice to meet everyone!

12:59:41 From  Dan Ratner  to  Everyone : Thanks Lisa.

12:59:44 From  Peter Magnuson  to  Everyone : Great conversation as always. I need to hop on another call. Cheers

12:59:53 From  Kristine Metter  to  Everyone : I have to go to my next call. Great conversation today! thanks for hosting this, Dan.

13:00:07 From  Dan Ratner  to  Everyone : Thanks Kristine

13:00:51 From  Barbara Armentrout  to  Everyone : Also have to hop to next meeting but this was great, so glad I finally joined this session. see you again soon.

13:01:50 From  Jamie Beaulieu, CAE  to  Everyone : Great to see everyone! Need to get going. Thanks, Dan!

13:02:02 From  Kevin Whorton  to  Everyone : Thx also for hosting us, Dan! Nice to see everyone

July 28, 2020

12:35:25            From  Leigh Maltby : Has anyone done virtual booths, either as a participant/sponsor or as part of your conference?

12:35:49            From  Peter Magnuson : We haven’t yet, but would be looking at it for our Annual in April

12:37:05            From  Dan Ratner : Good question Leigh. We did a quick virtual event we hadn’t planned on earlier this month and we did get sponsors like we had at our big event in January. It worked well. It was a test balloon for our 2021 January event.

12:39:04            From  Sharon Ruckdeschel : Since virtual conferences are more accessible than in-person, are people finding the number of their virtual conf are increasing over their in-person?

12:39:13            From  Leigh Maltby : Yes!

12:39:22            From  Leigh Maltby : We’re still free

12:39:34            From  Dan Ratner : absolutely

12:39:43            From  Dan Ratner : free for members and for fee for nonmembers

12:40:40            From  Leigh Maltby : re:  Sharon – We’ve seen an over 500% increase in our digital offerings

12:40:40            From  Scott Oser : @Leigh I have had some success with virtual booths but it is not easy.

12:41:32            From  Leigh Maltby : Thanks Scott and Dan

12:42:04            From  Dan Ratner : we did charge for the recent event but it was a different type of event. more individualized private meetings between execs. the education sessions were low participation

12:42:31            From  Sharon Ruckdeschel : We are charging for our virtual conf in October.  but less than our in-person.  $360-$399 for members.  3 days.  No real incentive as far as gaining CE for a certification.  Our leadership is expecting 1,000 people to attend (our normal in-person annual conf is about 800 people)

12:43:04            From  nicole ratner : sharon have you opened reg yet and if so are you  noticing any trend at the moment?

12:44:37            From  nicole ratner : Leigh: in my past we did 2 annuals (fall and summer) and then did regionals 2-3 times a year. I believe they are still planning to do those and usually held in Jan and late April/May time frame but regionals tended to do better in general with the group I was with before.

12:46:51            From  nicole ratner : I think meetings in the fall will be challenge in person given that most schools may be virtual as well and so I think parents will be thinking more about their travel as well and whether it’s absolutely necessary versus just a fun time to be there for.

12:48:25            From  Sharon Ruckdeschel : Nicole – we have not opened reg yet.  We will in mid-Aug.  All registrants get access to all the content thru the end of the year.

13:00:20            From  Renee-HAVAN : Unfortunately, I have to leave the meeting for a sales call. Nice to see everyone. Take care and be safe.

13:00:53            From  Leigh Maltby : For those of us with associations who are not federated, do you have ambassador programs to help regionally?  I’d love to connect with anyone who does, as we are starting ours

13:07:51            From  Peter Magnuson : That’s a really good thought and reminder

13:09:12            From  Peter Magnuson : We managed to stop that theft–at least for now 🙂

13:09:32            From  Dan Ratner : that’s good to hear.

13:14:47            From  Peter Magnuson : Hey all: Always a great discussion. Thanks, but I need to jump off.

13:14:53            From  Leigh Maltby : Thanks all!

13:15:04            From  Sharon Ruckdeschel : thanks everyone – nice to see you!

June 30, 2020

12:47:29            From  Nicole Ratner, CAE, CMP : how was turnout of the members?

12:49:57            From  Scott Oser : @amanda are you talking about TSAE?

12:50:06            From  Jennifer Richards : just pulled the reg and it was 563

12:50:06            From  amandafeil : YES

12:50:58            From  Nicole Ratner, CAE, CMP : same here for us we’re scheduled for vasae in sept and it’s up in the air with no language in our contract for covid cancellations though they did say it will be dependent and could be online.

12:52:01            From  Nicole Ratner, CAE, CMP : and wonder if members too won’t travel based on what occurs with schools.

13:03:08            From  Jennifer Richards : https://membersuite.wistia.com/medias/oawc493obg

June 16, 2020

12:53:17            From  Peter Magnuson : We are piloting 2 new hybrid offerings in September. New for us as well

12:53:32            From  Leigh Maltby : When are you moving to hybrids?  Are you already hosting them?

12:56:04            From  Nicole Ratner, CAE, CMP : how many are asking members what they are comfortable with moving forward to gauge interest? and then whether or not you need to relook at value proposition to see if it’s aligned with new normal.

12:56:39            From  AAAE Member Services : We are already hosting hybrids. it was a quick pivot and now our marketing department is deploying a new virtual meeting software where the bigger meetings can be better produced.

12:59:00            From  Peter Magnuson : We are sensing Zoom fatigue from our members. It’s because all work AND personal stuff is online–no breaks

13:01:01            From  Leigh Maltby : Kevin – can you share that Collaborate link or the name of the thread?

13:04:01            From  Leigh Maltby : I’ll second Kevin’s point about the creativity – we have more than tripled our education offerings and are seeing amazing attendance growth (also more prospects).

13:05:10            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @Leigh that sounds like a great opportunity.

13:07:40            From  Leigh Maltby : re: budgets – We’re getting concerned about renewals because memberships that were approved already, even invoices that were in the payment pipeline have been frozen.

13:08:46            From  AAAE Member Services : we actually met our original budget in April and May for membership, but our new member rate has seriously slumped.  I guess it says a lot about how our current renewing members feel about the value of our association.

13:16:54            From  Nicole Ratner, CAE, CMP : traditional surveys aren’t helpful if you do it too much but one off ones with just a questions via Instagram or fb even work well for engagement.

June 2, 2020

12:36:20            From  Jeanne Metzger : Is there a message you can use that can show you can save the company money to counter act the budget cut argument?

12:54:23            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @Jeanne, maybe a message something like, “pay now and we’ll take care of you through all of this mess.”

May 19, 2020

12:38:38            From  nicole ratner : I think many are also taking time now with companies figuring out what their plans are such as going back to offices or how to open so they may be a little more distracted now.

12:51:52            From  nicole ratner : more work seems to  be happening..

12:53:39            From  Ryan Zimmerman : I’m looking forward to the in person interactions again though. Membership is only going to grow if we can have those one on one interactions with our members and support them from a personal standpoint.

13:04:12            From  Jeanne Metzger : Question:  is there any data about what are realistic projections of expansion of audiences by offering virtual events?

13:04:40            From  Scott Oser : @Jeanne not that I have seen.

May 5, 2020

12:39:53            From  nicole ratner : Nikki I have noticed that many local pediatricians have started doing more on their social media accounts to have engagement so since it’s mothers day soon asking for photos of moms and their kids and doing drawing for gift card to a local small biz restaurant. so helping the local areas around them but keeping in touch with their current clients and possible future ones. they have not done this before in the past.

12:43:33            From  Scott Oser : Never heard of “badger.”  Need to check that out.

12:44:01            From  nicole ratner : john have you seen an increase in sales for your members from the general public? wanting to buy from local farmers?

12:44:21            From  John Torres : Huge increases in on farm and farm market sales right now!

12:45:54            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @Scott I thought the same thing. Need to look into Badger

12:46:14            From  Patricia White : John, glad to hear someone is using Badgr – as an association we are working with using them shortly

2:46:32 From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @Patricia so that’s how you spell it

12:46:41            From  nicole ratner : john do you also use  the badges on FB or social media platforms when they contribute?

12:46:58            From  John Torres : It’s our first entry into digital badging. We are crossing our fingers that it is a quick and easy way to recognize our volunteers online.

12:48:00            From  nicole ratner : critical to make sure you try to capture their home addresses!

12:48:42            From  John Torres : We just launched our campaign on Monday. Our goal is to issue badges through Badger’s ability to connect to the major social media platforms including Facebook once volunteers hit specific levels of monetary or food donations. The challenge, of course, will be getting people to connect their social media accounts with Badger. We will see how willing and able volunteers can do that.

12:49:03            From  Patricia White : @Nicole home addresses are the #1 data point missing as most of our members have all of their information sent to their work address.

12:49:22            From  sabrina : NABL is going to have a live, virtual conference in June using Zoom. It will be a four-day event and members will get more CLE because of the new format.

12:50:01            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @sabrina will it be open to nonmembers?

12:50:54            From  sabrina : @dan yes. It will be open to members and non-members. There’s a price difference, but they can definitely attend.

12:51:10            From  Kelly Verberg : @sabrina, what are you charging for this virtual conference?

12:51:47            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : @sabrina that’s good. may find some good prospects you don’t see or can’t take advantage at the in-person events

12:51:59            From  nicole ratner : as for a conf I was planning to attend and the meeting side of our company for anyone that registered prior to the pandemic they will receive the same items they would have gotten minus ribbons and badges.

12:52:58            From  Darryl Walter : We are moving our meeting to virtual and one of the things that we are doing is creating easter eggs that will provide additional content after they view an exhibitor message.

12:53:26            From  sabrina : @Kelly $725 for member and $1375 for non-members. Since it was supposed to be in-person, we decided to include two resources to them instead of them having to pay. One was included and the other is a $200 value, which is included in the registration fee.

12:53:49            From  nicole ratner : as for meetings I know many that have meetings in summer and technically can’t be cancelled for some states since governors haven’t extended dates beyond theirs however I think we all know having a meeting even for 200+ may not happen this summer and have seen many properties book future years out.

12:53:52            From  Nikki Mendez : Re: renewals – I did read an article recently that one association is still sending out renewals, just much sooner than when they’re do. We’re annual, so we did get our dues but our ED said that we’re not going to increase the dues.

12:54:51            From  Scott Oser : I have been looking into exhibitor/sponsor value a lot.  We have discussed sending an actual reg bag to people with samples, etc like you would at a face to face event.  I did see someone that offered a physical reg bag to the first 50 people that registered.

12:54:58            From  amandafeil : We’re still sending paper renewal invoices, but we had a buck slip to acknowledge the situation. No grace period yet but it continues to come up in conversations.

12:56:01            From  Allen Hepner : Like the idea of offering the physical reg bag to 1st 50 people.

12:58:09            From  Allen Hepner : One thing to stress regardless of which channel you use,  create a landing page and either request via email or direct mail to gather home address information.  Mail is such a vital part of communicating in a digital world.  It’s all about the data.

12:58:14            From  John Torres : We are going to do a membership renewal promotion in which if people renew by a certain time they will receive 4 free branded cloth face masks. Limited supply.

12:59:01            From  nicole ratner : john that’s great we all need them and it’s also a great way to partner too with a local person who can make them too.

12:59:15            From  nicole ratner : i personally can’t wait to get back to farmers markets

13:00:01            From  John Torres : Our farmers markets are open in Maryland. We are also providing guidance to our members who operate and who sell at farmers markets what they need to do to be safe and operate a market with best social distancing practices.

13:00:37            From  nicole ratner : have to ask for what you want. ask for the home address. worse case they don’t give it to you but the ones who do when they get something will be happy and share it and then you’ll get more.

13:00:42            From  John Torres : A lot of farmers markets are now leveraging online sales platforms to take orders that people can drive up in their cars to the farmers markets and get their order delivered pre-packaged.

13:00:54            From  Allen Hepner : We are testing a “freemium” example

April 21, 2020

12:40:45            From  Nicole Ratner : I’ve seen a lot of this locally where we are here Allen with small print shops helping to acknowledge birthdays and graduations and more.

12:42:45            From  Scott Oser : @Allen makes a very good point.  I think the key is to hyper target right now to get the lowest hanging fruit.

12:45:59            From  Allen Hepner : Keep your marketing efforts and engagement with your members and prospects.  I’d also recommend to send targeted messaging to capture more data (if possible) enabling you to connect with them during unusual times like these.

12:56:50            From  spyles_ERC   to   Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC(Privately) : Hi Dan, If time permits, is it appropriate to ask if anyone is adding any additional member benefits to their package (for the same, or a slightly higher, investment) to increase the help to members and value of the membership? Thank you! And, thanks for inviting us to this networking series! -Susan Pyles, ERC (NE Ohio)

April 7, 2020

12:35:00            From  Nicole Ratner : What are some challenges you all are facing right now with your membership during the crisis?

12:35:34            From  SILA Staff : Determining whether to cancel an October conference?

12:35:39            From  Nikki Mendez : We’re a county medical association in California. All of our members are physicians, so it’s been a challenge!

12:36:10            From  Nicole Ratner : @sila staff yes I have many colleagues discussing the same now though waiting. And that’s difficult.

12:36:53            From  Nicole Ratner : @Nikki are you all able to stay on top for your members? Working longer hours?

12:37:19            From  Nikki Mendez : Hi @Nicole, we’re more reactive with requests because we don’t know who is on the front line and who isn’t.

12:37:52            From  Scott Oser : Totally understand @Nikki.  I would suggest you try and communicate the resources that will benefit thie most at this time.  I am sure they are incredibly busy but they do need help.

12:38:00            From  Nikki Mendez : But we were able to secure 900 N95 masks for one of our hospitals that had just been purchased by the state without any PPE supplies!

12:38:02            From  Nikki Mendez : 🙂

12:38:31            From  Nikki Mendez : Thanks, @Scott. We have sent out a lot of resources, and established a dedicated web

12:39:02            From  Nikki Mendez : The add’l chjallenge is that there is SO much info, but we’re making sure it’s all in one sp;ot for our members and non-member county healthcare professionals.

12:39:10            From  Nicole Ratner : @brian our county here had a 6 phase program to implement distance learning within the next five years and they are having to do it within months.

12:40:30            From  Tonya : On this webinar to learn and listen.  With a non-profit organization and we are reaching out to our members via email blasts and webinars

12:40:49            From  Nicole Ratner   to   Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC(Privately) : question may have been overlooked: As a supplier in the supply chain how can I help both customers and prospects in a genuine, empathetic way?

12:40:49            From  Brian Calvary : @Nicole, Yeah, a lot of districts have had a plan, but this has totally put many on a fast track.

12:41:25            From  Tonya : Renewals are being sent out through our website system management database

12:41:58            From  Jennifer Edse : We also work with schools/school districts. We haven’t stopped renewals yet, but also only sent them via email rather than mailed invoices. We also changed the message.

12:42:34            From  Serenity Greenfield : Our biggest concern is that we saw an extreme drop off of renewals the last two weeks of March and are wondering if we will financially recover from that and how to even project numbers moving forward.

12:43:03            From  Nikki Mendez : Hi @Serenity, what industry does your association serve?

12:43:18            From  Patricia White : What edits are you making to your renewal emails?

12:44:22            From  Serenity Greenfield : Philanthropy (funders)… they are sending their funds and focusing on critical needs, not writing checks for membership (nor should they be worrying about that right now)

12:44:57            From  Nikki Mendez : I saw this happen when I worked at Habitat for Humanity right after a national disaster.

12:45:09            From  Nikki Mendez : It was tough and we had to tighten up an already lean budget.

12:45:13            From  Nicole Ratner : We used to have home address as well. We used it on a meeting side to invite the spouse or significant others to events so would be able to send them something to their home. brings up a great point to make sure check the data.

12:45:26            From  Nicole Ratner   to   Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC(Privately) : From Patricia White to Everyone: (12:43 PM)

What edits are you making to your renewal emails?

12:45:42            From  Nicole Ratner   to   Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC(Privately) : From Serenity Greenfield to Everyone: (12:42 PM)

Our biggest concern is that we saw an extreme drop off of renewals the last two weeks of March and are wondering if we will financially recover from that and how to even project numbers moving forward. she’s philanthropy

12:46:44            From  Nikki Mendez : @Serenity We continued to ask for donations through personal stories and that every dollar helped. We did see donations come back, but this is an entirely different situation since it’s so on-going and there isn’t a good model to show where the country is in terms of the “curve.”

12:47:04            From  Scott Oser : @Patricia, the messaging I have seen that appear to be effective are doing a softer message that focuses on resources that members REALLY need right now.

12:49:02            From  Scott Oser : Multichannel multi-touch is very effective if you have the resources to do it.

12:52:14            From  Pamela Flynn : Yes, VSAE created a “We Miss You” video comprised of pictures from past events to let them know we miss them. It’s on our YouTube channel and it was emailed to members with a message from VSAE leadership.

12:53:00            From  E. Moris : Our association is reaching out to our members to see if they are interested in doing a 5 minute “interview” or share tips for our other members to use. Our members are mainly faculty of colleges and universities who are trying to change to teaching online.

12:53:02            From  Dan & Nicole Ratner The Next Steps, LLC : that’s awesome Pamela.

12:53:04            From  Nicole Ratner : @Pamela that’s great….You all do a great job!

12:53:40            From  Jennifer Edse : We are holding very well attended virtual office hours and weekly webinars for members and non-member and discussing adding slides about membership or renewal during these.

12:54:07            From  Tonya : That’s exactly what Maryland Farm Bureau is doing to contact our renewals via email.  Sending an invoice to a Landing page to renew

12:54:32            From  Donna Davis : My organization has an online chat which is part of their benefits package. Many members are using this to bounce ideas off of each other re: how to cope during this crisis.

12:55:21            From  E. Moris : We are really pushing out and utilizing social media right now.

12:56:47            From  Lisa Cicala : Anyone creating/leveraging an online community during this time of virtual interactions? We don’t have one set up yet but exploring…

12:58:14            From  Scott Oser : @Lisa I think you need to know if your members want it.  Online communities have a cost to implement in time, money and people.  If you can do a quick and dirty member survey (maybe one question) that might help you decide whether or not to implement.

12:58:34            From  mariaabero : To Donna Davis, what platform do you use for your online chat?

12:59:00            From  Serenity Greenfield : @Lisa, our online community is busier than ever. We have found them to be a great resource for sharing samples, “gut checking”, and just asking questions of each other

13:01:47            From  Heather Cowles : I’ve heard of other associations hosting Virtual Town Halls for their members and it looks one or two of your are holding similar event via webinar. Did you as staff try and script part of that gathering just in case it’s crickets or goes down the drain with just negative feedback?

13:02:58            From  Serenity Greenfield : @Heather, we’ve had 4 so far. We try to have 2 or 3 members share what they are doing and answer Q/A from the staff and the chat. We have a backup staff facilitator and the chat is very robust.

13:03:05            From  Carolyn Hook : We have a low-tech job board. Job postings have been free but we haven’t marketed or focused on this benefit in the past. We plan to upgrade the job board when we implement a new AMS and charge — but for now we are promoting  free job postings for the next six months both to serve our members and give exposure to the job board.

13:03:13            From  Donna Davis : How are folks coping with cancelling meetings? Are You refunding, offering webinars in place of live meetings, etc.?

13:03:28            From  Nicole Ratner : donna chat with me offline I can tell you a little bit from what I know in the industry!

13:03:32            From  Nicole Ratner : send me an email.

13:03:45            From  Jennifer Edse : We had members facilitate our town halls/office hours and share virtual tools/resources for educators

13:04:05            From  Darryl Walter : We refunded anyone who requested a refund (which is not a huge percentage). We are looking at rescheduling for JUly.

13:04:30            From  Scott Oser : CalSAE has been having them.  No script but did have facilitator and staff online I guess to make sure everyone behaved.