Research and consultation
Background
Our client: A relatively small Trade Association working in a niche sector.
The challenge: To undertake member research as part of an initiative to develop a 5-year post-Covid business and membership strategy. This encompassed a membership survey as well as a review of all aspects of the membership equation including structure, the benefit offering and value proposition, plus membership categories and subscription levels.
Project
The overall scope of both the survey and associated research encompassed:
Quantitative online surveys and qualitative telephone-based interviews
A thorough review of internal and external membership processes
Benchmarking and peer group comparisons
An assessment of the business case for any proposed changes and potential impacts
The duration of the project was 8 weeks.
Outcome
Circa 50% of the current membership completed the online survey. This was a high return, and we carried out a profiling exercise which confirmed the participants were representative of the overall membership make up.
In our experience, it is usually the more engaged population who participate online, so in addition, we contacted members by telephone and spoke with approximately 25% of the membership in depth regarding:
their views of membership
industry concerns and challenges
the focus of the association
what they want from their trade body moving forward
We also contacted a sample of non-members or “prospective” members to gain their insight into the value of membership. Although this was not a recruitment campaign, some of those we spoke to expressed an interest in joining and were passed to our client for contact.
To compliment the survey research, we:
conducted a thorough review of membership processes and procedures
established key areas for enhanced engagement techniques
benchmarked processes, the membership structure, and the benefit offering
quantified the potential for membership growth
produced a business case for change and an implementation route map