the

Of Chapter ROI

Unicorns are impossible to find. Chapter ROI doesn’t have to be.

Why Are You Here??

You’re not sure chapters are worth the effort

Chapters require a lot of time, money and resources to support

I’m sick of fighting with my chapters!

Members had a poor chapter experience

Not sure if membership structure & chapter model is working

HQ colleagues question if you even need chapters!

05

One of the fundamental problems that associations have when it comes to this value assessment and performance evaluation process is that, in the majority of the cases with associations with chapters, the data sets are fragmented. They don’t have a unified data set.Peter Houstle, Mariner Management

Are Chapters Worth The Effort?

CALCULATE ROI5%

NO PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 1/3

THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

03

04

What Are We Discussing Today?

01 02 03StrategyComponent Challenges

ROIHow to drive & track chapter ROI

ResourcesShare resources

Kyle BazzyDirector of Growth

Proud Detroiter

BillhighwayTechnology that solves real

problems exclusively for component-based

organizations

Founded in 1999

Why Are We Doing This?

05

The Challenge Is Real…International Association of Administrative Professionals Surveyed members

Found poor member experience at chapter level resulting in members not renewing

Air Conditioning Contractors of America Membership increasing in states WITHOUT chapters

Declining in states WITH chapters

Source: http://associationsnow.com/2016/09/state-association-chapters/

Organization: CoSN• CoSN Membership CoSN State Chapters

Told to Grow Chapters with no budget and one staff person

Education Technology: CTOs

Create 501c3

Institutional Membership

Umbrellas under existing 501c3

Component Model: 12 Chapters

Run by Volunteers or Employers

Doubled component model to 26

2 Inactive Chapters

What makes a good component?• Provide good member experience• Willingness to build brand awareness• Deliver products and services of national

and will they invest in other offerings• Sustainability of the organization• Shared revenue model

Bob Harris, CAE – Association ConsultantStructure + Strength + Sustainability = Strong Component

Stronger Chapters =Stronger Associations• Increased members by 38%• Increased sponsorship revenue by over 300k• Increased products and sale by over 70k• Doubled membership in 4 states• Increased retention by 24%

Chapter Challenges

Communication Challenges

Governance Challenges

Staffing Challenges

Obstacles to ROI

01

02

03

04

ChapterChallenges

LeaderSuffer from a dysfunctional leader

MisalignmentVolunteer, Staff & Board Misalignment

National OppositionActive opposition to national strategic initiative

BurnoutVolunteer burnout

RecruitmentInability to recruit new members

Staffing Challenges

Chapter Volunteer Leadership

65%

Full-Time HQ Employees

3.3

Mariner Management’s 2016 Chapter Benchmarking Study

05

How Does This Stand In The Way Of ROI?Meet Eugene the Unicorn! Component Relations Professional (CRP) @ Federation of Mythical Creatures (FMC)

FMC has seen high turnover due to recent demographic changes; it’s been hard to get new volunteers…

The Result Some chapters have become

unresponsive and less structured Inconsistency and lack of transition to

new volunteers

CommunicationChallenges

Alignment 37% of associations indicated that their

chapters are somewhat or rarely aligned.

Cadence Do you have regular communication with chapters?

Do you have portals or knowledge bases, etc. for

volunteers to get information?

Are there set expectations for volunteers?

Do you have a process for volunteer transition/training?

Quality control Are chapters just hitting quota (number of events, etc.)?

Or do they consistently deliver the professional

experience members need and expect?

05

Meet Eunice the Unicorn! Eugen’s coworker at FMC

Eunice is the new Director of Membership Services

In the past, members received different messages and had different onboarding experiences, plus they didn’t have a place online to renew their membership

The Result Value props get lost in translation. It’s like a game of

telephone from national to the chapters to the members.

Members find it too hard to renew, buy products or register for events – so they stop trying to

How Does This Stand In The Way Of ROI?

GovernanceChallenges

Chapter ResponsibilityRisk ManagementLimited EffectivenessUniqueness Between Chapters

Member retention/renewals

Event upselling

New memberships

Product sales

What Drives ROI?

aka ROI

What Should You Measure?

41%

Membership Retention

40%

Member Recruitment

27%

EventParticipation

When done right, the chapter experience can be one of the

biggest drivers of member retention. ARMA members named

their chapter engagement as their top benefit on member-

satisfaction surveys, [Trevor] Mitchell said. “If we’re investing in

them, it increases our national retention rate and growth rate.”

When done right, the chapter experience can be one of the

biggest drivers of member retention. ARMA members named

their chapter engagement as their top benefit on member-

satisfaction surveys, [Trevor] Mitchell said. “If we’re investing in

them, it increases our national retention rate and growth rate.”

http://associationsnow.com/2015/05/members-win-association-chapters-get-along/

Where Do You Start?Measuring and tracking ROI is impossible without data…

Member Retention = ROIMember Turnover

Renewal rates? Engagement rates?

What data do you have to support this?

Quality of chapter data?

Is it a manual or automated process?

(think of the volunteers and your staff!)

What are your plans for the future to get this data?

The ROI Increase in renewals or maintaining a high percentage = ROI To measure you need accurate chapter member and financial data

38%

Membership Renewals

38% of members cite lack

of engagement with an

association as the number

one reason for not

renewing their membership

20%

MemberAttendance

In one sector, associations

reported only about 20% of

all members attended

chapter-hosted events

Conference & Events = ROI

Consolidate the Process Technology tools or standards provided by parent

Event turnout? Incoming dollars? Member experience? Chapter spend on tools?

The ROI Costs of tools are easy to measure Compare against engagement/participation and retention

1. Member Engagement Member Value Member retention2. Member acquisition3. Registration Fees

New MembersHow many new members do your chapters bring on each month? Year?

New Membership = ROISharing Data is Key Chapters and parents need to share data – regardless of level of

affiliation Support chapters need What is working and share with other chapters

The ROI # of new members per chapter and the costs of membership Understanding how majority of members are acquired

Categorize and determine an average cost per type of acquisition

Dues $$How much are those members paying to the parent? The chapter?

TypesWhat types of products and service are chapters providing?

Product & Service Sales = ROIStandardization Can Help Too much variation makes ROI more complex Standard fees for specific types of products and services Consistent process to share volumes and revenues with parent

The ROI – What You Need Categories of products and services and identify cost associated

with each Time, promotion, etc.

Product and service feeds – how much? Volumes

PaymentHow much are they charging?

PromotionHow are they promoting the product/service?

Strategy

1. Form a working group of locals2. Identify chapter PAIN3. Get HQ on board4. Give a little to get a little

Keep It Simple

#1

Know What Matters

#2

Know Your Obstacles & Challenges

#3

Collect The Data

#4

Interpret The Data

#5

Learn From Other CRPs

#6

Components as Drivers of Recruitment, Retention, and EngagementDate: Tuesday, October 4th

Time: 12:00 pm E.S.T

Speaker: Dresden Farrand, MPA, MPP, CAESenior Director of Membership and Chapters, CoSN

Stronger Chapters = Stronger Associations. Understand how to strengthen and acquire new chapters.

Find out how CoSN increased membership by 38%

What’s Up Next?

ASAE/Associations Now Component Relations Governance Structure The State of Association Chapters

Mariner Management http://marinermanagement.com/resources Chapter Performance Dashboards Tech Tools for Chapters

Marketing General Inc. http://www.marketinggeneral.com/knowledge-b

ank/

People Power Unlimited http://www.peoplepowerunlimited.com/ Active Chapter Video Series

Association Success Transform Culture

Books Transformational Governance: How Boards Achieve

Extraordinary Change Component Relations Handbook: A Guide to Succe

ssfully Managing and Motivating Chapters, Affiliates, and other Member Groups

Membership Essentials: Recruitment, Retention, Roles, Responsibilities, and Resources, 2nd Edition

What Makes High-Performing Boards

Whitepapers The Association EXEC's Guide to Improving Organi

zational Performance

Additional Resources

Kyle Bazzy586.480.6419 (cell)

Kbazzy@billhighway.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kylebazzy

AMA: Ask Me Anything