I had the opportunity to present Membership Marketing on a Shoestring Budget for the National Association of Home Builders’ Association Leadership Institute earlier this week. As usual, when I deliver this session, I solicit great inexpensive marketing ideas from the participants as well. Here’s what the chapter leader smarties at NAHB came up with:
Barter!
- Swap a trade show booth for an association need (like decorating or landscaping for your new office)
- Trade a membership for ad space, or a service (like with your local Better Business Bureau to handle conflict mediation for your members)
- Give a firm a sponsorship in exchange for reduced rent, or for providing incentive prizes for a membership contes
Email!
- Automate your blog content posting into an e-newsletter – for bonus points, let your members set their preferences for topics they’d like to hear about, and send PERSONALIZED e-newsletters
- Run email contests to inculcate a culture of paying attention (like old radio contests – everyone who responds by a certain time will get a certain prize) – this one led to a 45% open rate on all association blast emails, which is damn impressive
- Pay attention to your open rates, and send emails when your members are receptive to them
WOM!
- If you have a great member program that saves them a significant amount of money (maybe even more than their dues?), ask members to share their stories
- Create member discount reminder cards like you get for becoming a member of your local public radio or TV station
- Create your association’s TV channel on YouTube, and interview members (short, sweet, interesting) for it – they’ll tell their friends
- Generate some excitement around your Member Get a Member campaign with outstanding prizes and public recognition (nothing like a little competition/peer pressure)
Customer Service!
- Educate and train your staff
- No passing the buck – if you don’t know the answer, find out
- Remind people that the best thing to do if the problem is your fault is admit it, and move to solutions
- Educate your members to share information
- Show appreciation for them
Your Tips!
- Use YouTube creatively – do member on-site visits, get them to provide short how-to videos
- Engage students in your field – they might have a service they can provide in exchange for a free membership
- Engage students NOT in your field – could you work with a marketing student on new collateral, save money by paying her at a lower rate, and help her get experience in the process?
- Visit your members, ask for their feedback ALL THE TIME (and do something with it) – create a REAL relationship
- Educate yourself about your members’ operating environments