Member Recruiting: A Focus on Marketing

Purpose Help improve IUCRC member recruitment by highlighting marketing “best practices” Summary of a recent survey of center marketing practices Highlight some specific best practices Stimulate discussion about what works and what doesn’t work when trying to recruit member companies

Who will join and who will decline? An analysis of factors predicting a firm’s decision to join a university-based industrial consortia Denis O.Gray, Ph.D & Drew Rivers, M.S. Psychology in the Public Interest Program NC State University

Motivation Why Important Recruitment of new members is one of the most, if not the most, important challenges a center directors confronts Affects technology transfer Joiners: Sustain these centers Get to influence the research agenda Get technology transfer and other benefits (e.g. recruitment) Decliners Do not … Factors affecting participation/non-participation in CRCs is an important scholarly issue Very small literature

Study Plan Center marketing practices Web-based survey of IUCRC Directors Complete Factors within the firm affect decision to join/not join Qualitative interviews Underway Quantify the importance of various factors to membership decision Questionnaire Next Year

Center Marketing Study- Overview Motivation It is the part of the membership process that Center Directors have the most control over No literature! Purposes Identify which advertising, marketing and recruiting strategies directors use Perceived effectiveness (best practices) Explore empirical relationship of practices to “success”: leads; new members Perceived facilitators and barriers to membership Web-based survey of IUCRC directors & site directors Response rate: 55% (n=47), 41 different centers Analyses: Descriptive, predictive Note: 41 different IUCRC centers, plus 1 STC (CERSP)

Background: Effort and Results

Center Marketing Overview New member marketing is modest ad hoc activity Annual budget (without staff time): $7,000; Std Dev: $10k 18 hours/month or 4.5/week on recruitment 9% report a formal, written marketing plan 34% set formal recruitment goals Use of marketing plans and recruitment goals correlates negatively with membership counts

Multi-site center recruiting [If your site is part of a multi-site center, please answer item 9] 9) Which of the following best describes how your multi-site center handles recruiting? (n=32) 50%: Each site handles recruiting independently of other sites 25%: Each site establishes their own leads, but other sites help 'sell' the center 25%: Sites work closely together throughout the recruitment process Variation in recruitment strategies across multi-university centers

Recruiting Success Rates Lead generation On average, centers generate about 11 new leads over a 12 month period New member commitments On average, for every 10 firms actively pursued by centers for membership: 3 will join 2 will decline 5 will be undecided Note: large variation across centers in the different success measures

Descriptive Findings: Marketing Activities and Perceived Effectiveness

From leads to prospect Many methods used to identify prospects Relationship networking viewed as most effective 1) Consider how your center/site identifies potential industry members. How effective have you found the following activities in generating leads for new members? Effectiveness Percent reporting use Personal contacts/ IAB contacts, Presentations at mtgs/ conferences, and website used most frequently Personal contacts deemed most effective, followed by IAB contacts Presentations at tradeshows used far less frequently, though it appears to be effective. Website rated low on effectiveness– most use it but not necessarily for generating call-in business Centers using tradeshows (n=18 unique centers): Ceramic and Composite Materials Dielectric Studies Particulate Materials Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center Biological Surface Centers Coatings Research Management of Information Precision Metrology Virtual Proving Ground Simulation Water Quality Advanced Vehicle Electronics Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules Built Environment Fuel Cell Center Fundamentals and Applications of Photopolymerizations Identification Technology Research Intelligent Maintenance Systems Center For Friction Stir Processing

Recruiting responsibilities Directors bear most of the recruitment burden Consultants also contribute 7) To what degree are the following individuals or groups actively involved in the recruitment of industry members? Degree of involvement Percent reporting involvement Note: Means based on those who rated 1 or higher. For example, of the 50% who report using a consultant, involvement levels tend to be about moderate. Percents based on percent of ‘not at all/ DNA=0’ subtracted from valid responses (100%).

Recruiting responsibilities Dedicated marketing visits appear to be superior 6) For those organizations interested in learning more about your center/site, how effective have you found the following approaches at securing new members? Level of effectiveness Percent reporting use Note: Means based on those who rated 1 or higher. Percents based on percent of ‘not at all/ DNA=0’ subtracted from valid responses (100%).

Predictive Findings: What Factors Correlate with Memberships

Predictive Findings Leads Memberships Total center funding Larger recruiting budget Director administration time & past industry experience Memberships Presenting at trade shows and scientific meetings Networking through other stakeholders (IAB, faculty PIs) Director with industry experience Industry experience director relationships More leads Higher percentage of rejections Higher networking for leads through other center staff Get other stakeholders involved in recruiting (IAB)

What else works? Director comments on effective practices To generate leads… Organizing workshops and conferences Respond to industry need for consulting Marketing materials… Website Re-prints of publications PowerPoint presentations, videos Changes to membership structure… Tiered structure, associate membership Guaranteed research project to new sponsor

Perceived Acceptance and Rejection

Acceptance and Rejection Factors Factors that directors believe account for joining: Factors that directors believe account for NOT joining Selected as a Top 3 reason Cost of membership fee 51.1% Lack of relevance of research to organization needs 38.3% Concerns about IP and licensing rights Organization had short-term research priorities 34.0% Organization rep did not have access to real decision makers 29.8% Selected as a Top 3 reason Relevance of research to organization needs 78.7% High probability of future knowledge and technology transfer benefits 61.7% Success of past Center/PI research accomplishments 40.4% Quantity and/or quality of graduate students to recruit 21.3% High financial leveraging provided by your center/site

Relationship development model Marketing Model Relationship development model Initiation Establishment Development Maintenance Dormant Termination Traditional marketing: Marketing Mix, also known as the 4 P's of Marketing, is the combination of product, price, place (distribution), and promotion. Used by large companies. Market-/ group- level approach. Relationship marketing: Used by small firms, individual level approach. States model- non-linear, dynamic relationships Growth model- progressive, hierarchical, linear Literature suggests that a combination of traditional and relationship marketing is optimal for success in small companies. Most literature is case study/ qualitative Rao, S. & Perry, C. (2002). Thinking about relationship marketing: Where are we now? The Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 17 (7), pp 598 –614.

General marketing model application Summary General marketing model application Initiate & establish relationships Develop relationships Secure new members TT Key Factors Relationship networking Conference & tradeshow presentations Involving other site stakeholders Recruitment strategy Involving other site stakeholders (consultant) Face time Visiting the organization Hosting visits to the center Demonstrating technical relevance Future technology transfer Justifying benefits relative to costs Neutralizing IP concerns Facilitating within firm decision making Director Ind. experience Recruiting budget

Conclusions A modified “relationship development marketing model” appears to do a good job of representing how directors market memberships Technical issues dominate when membership is really decided Understand “consultative sales” Our early peek into how decisions are made within a firm is very intriguing Need to move focus from doing the right thing to doing things right

Acknowledgements Support for this project provided by the NSF IUCRC and the NSF STC programs