Smooth The Path

JULY 30, 2020

What member feedback to keep and what to toss. Announcing an entirely new methodology of member research. Likely there is a mountain of rich qualitative data that is just waiting for you. Related: Board focus groups tend to be wildly inaccurate.

Member Research 78

Member Research Video Report Technology 78

Smooth The Path

JUNE 19, 2016

There’s an interesting dance that happens with member research. We ask the questions we think we want to know the answers to but members see those questions and find they would rather answer some other more important questions. Qualitative member research methods do.

Member Research 68

Member Research Survey Project Education 68

Smooth The Path

DECEMBER 21, 2015

As a member researcher I see some validity to this statement. Research, particularly qualitative research is very good at naming member problems but members themselves are often hard pressed to articulate the right solution. If they had the solution their problem would not be a problem any more.

Member Research 94

Member Research Survey Marketing Products 94

Smooth The Path

APRIL 3, 2016

When you have seemingly unanswerable questions about members it is slow data that holds the answer. Related posts: Please ask members. Before you go to your go-to member insight methodology. Data and association decision making. The post Slow Data vs. Fast Data appeared first on Smooth The Path.

Member Insights 60

Member Insights Conference Member Research Survey 60

Smooth The Path

AUGUST 2, 2016

A new way to think about why member join. Members leave associations without a sound. Curious about how to get back in sync with your members? This style of member research might be right for your association’s goals. The post How Often are We Out of Sync with Members?

Member Research 60

Member Research Survey Conference Strategy 60

Smooth The Path

JULY 26, 2018

One of the core staff values would be to be intensely member-focused. We would talk with members often, conduct listening tours, and interview them. We would use all the member insights we gain to develop our member communications, set our strategy, and create an innovation plan.

Innovation 74

Innovation Member Insights Member Experience Recruiting 74

Smooth The Path

JULY 31, 2017

While conducting member research new members and long-time members share why they engage with their association (and why they don’t). Because as they grow in their career or as their companies grow the association offers solutions to these new and advanced problems.

Member Engagement 68

Member Engagement Member Research Project Organization 68

Smooth The Path

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

The board also has the research results and they are currently developing the strategic plan based on these insights. In the meantime, I’ve been asked to conduct another round of interviews with a different group of members. Related: Slow data vs. fast data.

Case Study 104

Case Study Project Member Insights Association Value 104

Smooth The Path

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

In the old days of in-person events, the information exchanged in breakout groups was mostly effervescent. During breakout groups, great ideas bubble up, and the group creates understanding and excitement around the best ideas.

Conference 78

Conference Report Industry Content 78

Smooth The Path

OCTOBER 21, 2021

The Lolcats website has turned into a community. For over a decade, volunteer creators have made and still make memes for participants to read, enjoy, vote on, and pass around. Interestingly the creators and readers developed a language, acronyms, and even spelling unique to the community. Communities do this often.

Member Insights 78

Member Insights Member Research Innovation 78

Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Have you ever had someone say something that did not mesh with your perception? Maybe the comment was so jolting it stopped you in your tracks. Perhaps the statement created a little fissure that allowed self-doubt to creep in. Or maybe you placed a scrap of mental Kevlar between you and the idea. Who is right? You or them?

System 103

System Process Project Member Insights 103

Smooth The Path

NOVEMBER 15, 2018

The trouble with association boards is they tend to be populated with super-members. Super-members are members who are so engaged, so seasoned, so advanced in the profession or industry they are not like most members. They know everyone and everything.

How To 90

How To Industry Member Experience Team 90

Smooth The Path

APRIL 24, 2018

Our members are self-centered. Our members have… no time. Only organizations that solve our member’s problems, speak their language, and understand them will get their time and attention. Not in a bad way, we are all self-centered. and their attention is scattered.

Member Engagement 95

Member Engagement Marketing Member Insights Member Research 95

Smooth The Path

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Whenever I started a new job, I would schedule one-hour meetings with my colleagues to learn about the organization, their job, their goals, and how I could help them. Rather than feeling like I was wasting time in meetings, I felt like this productively launched my time at the organization.

Review 76

Review Products Member Research Member Insights 76

Smooth The Path

APRIL 5, 2018

Our members may think membership is priced too high because of its impact on their budget or personal wallet. If members bought all the benefits a la carte, they would pay twice as much. We may think membership is economically priced. After all, look at the value and the comparative costs of membership for associations like ours.

Price 74

Price Cost Industry Member Research 74

Smooth The Path

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

Do you ever find yourself wondering why members make the decisions they make? Sometimes member’s decisions seem so irrational. Why are our members so irrational? Why join, but then not engage? Why go to an inferior conference put on by a competitor? Why don’t they participate in the benchmark study when they need the data?

Member Engagement 60

Member Engagement Conference Member Insights Member Research 60

Smooth The Path

MAY 23, 2017

Have you heard about Day 1 and Day 2? I had not until JP Guilbault CEO of YourMembership mentioned it at the company’s recent conference. A few days later my Dad mailed me the first pages of Amazon’s 2016 year-end annual report which is a letter from the company’s CEO to shareholders.

Project 89

Project Conference Strategy Member Engagement 89

Smooth The Path

APRIL 21, 2016

Should we look outside the association to talk to prospective young members? The post Don’t Ask for Feedback from Members Who Are Too New appeared first on Smooth The Path. Related: Data and association decision-making. Beware of one question surveys for associations.

Survey 60

Survey Member Research Member Insights 60

Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Two people were talking about the same data represented in a chart, but you wouldn’t know it. The data showed that the organization had a 96% satisfaction rating and that thrilled one professional. The other professional focused on how dissatisfied the remaining 4% were.

Survey 60

Survey Analysis Content Member Research 60

Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Members don’t take the time to understand their benefits. Those chapter leaders are not communicating well with new members. There are so many situations that pit association staff against members. The board president has us running after his pet project. The conference volunteer is not doing her job.

Survey 60

Survey Project Conference Content 60

Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 21, 2016

We feel better when we can say 75% of our members do this. When making a strategic decision on the basis of qualitative data (a member survey, our own data or third party data) ask these questions: Who responded and are these the members we most need insight from? Why do we want statistics so much? 45% want this.

Survey 60

Survey Member Research Member Insights Strategy 60

Smooth The Path

JUNE 30, 2016

Related: Members need association help when they face change or start something new. Did you know that member surveys can be risky? The award-winning process for association innovation. The post One Thing We can do to Prepare for Change appeared first on Smooth The Path.

Innovation 74

Innovation Survey Process Member Insights 74

Smooth The Path

MAY 12, 2016

Related: Don’t ask for feedback from members who are too new. Asking members to opt in after a bad member experience. The post Members Leave Associations Without a Sound appeared first on Smooth The Path. There are important things we may not know about the association.

Member Experience 60

Member Experience Member Research Member Insights Survey 60

Smooth The Path

APRIL 19, 2016

There are some things about the association we may not know unless we ask members. our long-time members are disengaging. we use different words than our members use. we are solving a problem members have already solved. We may not know: the website is buggy. registration is convoluted.

Survey 60

Survey Member Research Member Insights Member Experience 60

Smooth The Path

JULY 26, 2016

What do you do if you are coming to an association that has a recent messy history? Perhaps the CEO’s desk has been a revolving door. Or the board has been particularly dysfunctional. Or many strategic planning efforts have been started but never brought to completion.

Project 60

Project Association Management Member Insights Member Research 60

Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

When I talk to relatively new members there is almost always a 3-5 year gap between when the member started in the profession or industry and when they actually became a member of the association. When I see that many year gap I always go back and ask them about it. Why didn’t you join sooner?

Innovation 60

Innovation Content Products Industry 60