Going up in a down economy
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report July 2010
STLE membership grew in the past year. What happens next depends on you!
Consider becoming a ‘brand champion’ in the coming year by encouraging your colleagues, suppliers or customers to join STLE. (Photograph by Robert Erck)
Champagne corks were not popping at STLE headquarters this spring when the annual membership comparison report showed a 2.4% net increase from the prior year.
But given the state of the world economy and the general outlook among associations, even a modest increase such as this might have justified a beverage of one sort or another.
Total membership rose to 3,309 in May 2010 from 3,232 in May 2009. Individual membership went up about 1%, corporate membership grew by 6%, and student membership jumped more than 30%.
This performance was contrary to what most associations were reporting in the past year. In one study of 350 association executives, more than half of those responding were experiencing flat or lower membership totals. In another study, nearly two-thirds of the respondents saw membership decline.
Expectations for the coming year point to continuing focus on membership recruiting and retention. Association executives in this poll identified recruiting and retention as their top two priorities/concerns for the coming year.
So what did STLE do right when so many other worthwhile groups were struggling to keep and attract members? Much credit goes to a combined volunteer-staff Membership Development team that began work in the spring of 2009 and will continue in the 2010-11 business year. Heading up the 14-person team are Chicago-area STLE members Paul Hartsuch (ICL-IP America) and Ken Pelczarski (Pelichem Associates).
At the most recent STLE Board of Directors meeting, Paul and Ken reported on the success of the past year and laid out some ambitious short and mid-term goals. The team is targeting a 5% overall membership increase in 2010-11 and a 10-15% increase in the next 3-5 years.
There is not enough space in this report to outline the team’s entire work plan, but there is room to emphasize a key piece of data that’s contributing to the group’s past and future success. The strategy is based on member survey research conducted for STLE by McKinley Marketing, a consultancy that specializes in membership research for associations. The McKinley study emphasized that word of mouth is the most powerful marketing channel that STLE can utilize.
As the report explains, “When asked how they first became involved with STLE, a large number of survey participants credited a colleague, supervisor or another industry professional with introducing them to the organization and influencing them to join.”
If you are a current STLE member, and this comment reflects your experience, consider becoming a “brand champion” in the coming year by encouraging your colleagues, suppliers or customers to join STLE and begin reaping the benefits that all of our members enjoy.
With enough brand champions on our side, next year may be the moment when the sound of champagne corks will be heard echoing through the halls of STLE’s Park Ridge headquarters!
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.