When thinking about membership strategy, it’s time to include “fun” as a legitimate objective. The nature of membership is evolving beyond a transactional relationship and into an engagement model instead. By continuing to view members as people to be “served” rather than people to play and co-create with we are cheating ourselves out of getting to know them on a much deeper and more meaningful level. Many members are no longer satisfied with superficial connections, but creating the kind of safe environment it takes to truly accept them as whole human beings requires both skill and intention. Come explore how we can embrace authenticity and create the kind of ultra-vibrant communities members crave and our organizations need.

1. Beer and BBQ IS a Membership
Strategy

2. Associations Are Unique

3. Maslow

4. Joining vs Affiliating
• Affiliation – seeking
shared identity
• They want the WORLD
TO KNOW they share an
important characteristic
with the group they
publicly affiliate with

5. Members Are NOT Customers

6. Trends in Membership
• Individualism
• Personal identities more complex
• Wicked problems driving single focus
• Forming groups no longer requires mediator
• Wealth of free info online
• Membership is more fluid

7. Questions?

8. Poll
Most of our membership challenges are with:
Recruitment
Retention
Attrition
All of the Above

9. “Myth” of ROI

10. Relationship Stages
• A – acquaintance – (indefinitely)
• B – buildup – (trust/compatibility)
• C – continuation - (long term/stable)
• D – deterioration - (signs of trouble)
• E – end – (death/separation)

11. Authenticity

12. Shift Our Focus

13. Membership in 3-D

14. Questions?

15. Poll Question
What is the most important goal?
Making Connections
Deepening Connections
Leveraging Connections

16. Beer and BBQ

17. “Breaking B-re-ad”
• Primitive “lizard brain”
• Comfort
• Social interaction
• Cultural heritage
• The Pizza Effect
• Dopamine/reward

18. Innovation

19. Trust and Talk
• Authenticity
• Intellectual Confidence
• Integrity
• Elephant Spotters
• Creative “Boil”

20. Pop Culture

21. Deeper Connections
• Icebreakers
• Desert Island “insert
activity here”
• Member profiles
• Member groups
• Shared values

22. Game Dynamics

23. Simplicity
• Appointment
• Levels and Status
• Progression
• Communal

24. Virtual Components
• Ustream
• Skype
• Google Hangouts
• Livecast glocal

25. Chapters – Urban 20 Minute Walk

26. Summing Up……

27. Questions