One of the best ways to engage members early is by ensuring they have contact with your Association’s Value Trigger Point.
How do you identify your Association’s Value Trigger Point?
Many times staff doesn’t know if their association has an Association Value Trigger Point (AVTP) or what it might be. So how do you get the answer to those two questions? In phone conversations, I ask 3-5 year members this question: when did you first realize the value of this association?
Ask 15 roughly homogeneous members this question and you will see distinct patterns. The answers will tell you if you have an AVTP or not and if you do, what it is.
Once you know what your AVTP is you can then leverage it and use it as a gateway to the rest of the association. Is your AVTP a chapter meeting, conference, webinar, guide book, brochure, new member orientation, etc.? Review all parts of that AVTP, knowing your AVTP is the first point at which new members find value is there anything you can do to make it even better? Once they have received their value what can you do to make them more knowledgeable about one or two other applicable benefits of the association?
What if we don’t have an Association Value Trigger Point?
We can create one! It is very common for associations not to have an Association Value Trigger Point but here again members can tell you how to create one for them. Ask fifteen 3-5 year members: what was your biggest professional challenge when you first joined? The patterns found in these answers will point you to the problem that needs to be solved. Solve that problem either by developing something new or by getting already existing resources into their hands.
Associations Now covered how the Construction Financial Management Association is creating their own AVTP in this article.
Can an association have more than one Association Value Trigger Point?
If your association serves members with very similar needs it is better to focus on just one AVTP. You want to allocate your limited resources for funneling members through the AVTP and into making your AVTP great. In this case less is more!
Usually new members are also new to the profession or industry and they are facing well known problems. Problems that many before them have faced already.
An exception arises when the association serves two highly individualized member segments like manufacturers and suppliers or distributors and manufacturers. Here you might find that you do have or should have more than one AVTP. But when resources are scarce and you have to pick and choose focus on the supporting the AVTP for the most critical member segment first.
Leveraging an Association Value Trigger Point is a great way to engage members early and when we engage members early we engage them for life! Curious about how to leverage your Association Value Trigger Point? Contact me.
Related posts: