Question for reflection

It's not by accident that reflection, action, and change are often the result of first asking a great question. One such example: "What one word do we want to own in the minds of our members, employees, and strategic partners?" A deceptively simple query that is not so easy to answer due to the wide diversity of your programs. Go ahead, ask your colleagues!

The challenging questions we ask ourselves as an organization are the ones that tend to be the most transformative, especially during these times of rapid change and massive disruption.

Here are a few more examples:

Q: Would we rather develop knowledgeable and informed long-term members who join for the right reason, or sell to uninformed, easy to get short-term members? Do our incentives match the goal?

Before you assume you have a retention problem, consider whether you have an acquisition problem instead. As they say, easy come, easy go! If more than 10 percent of your new members proactively reach out to you to join, i.e., call-ins or web inquiries, your future may sit on shaky ground.

Q: What product or services have we recently pulled the plug on? If nothing, are we truly innovating?

You can't innovate without the risk of a few mistakes or the need for adjustments. Constantly experimenting with new programs, ideas, techniques, and methods will keep your chamber fresh and relevant - and therefore, more attractive to your member and prospects alike.

Q: What counts that we are not counting?

As an organization you likely count number of members, revenue, cash flow, retention rates, and other key metrics; however, there are other metrics to consider that may shed light on your virtues and assets. How about measuring member engagement, brand recognition, member satisfaction, attendance fluctuations, etc.? For full time membership professionals, do you measure the sales cycle, the ROI of your time/result/effectiveness and other key performance indicators? © 2019 Membership Monday / Jim Durland

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