Director’s Training “Road to Recovery” Presentation by: Peter Byrne MSc Business Mgnt (Organisational Behaviour) BSc, Dip Mkt, Dip Finance. Chief Executive Officer South Dublin Chamber Session 2 : Seeking New & Innovative Ideas for Member Recruitment & Retention 4 th April 2011 London City Airport, Aviation House

Objectives of the Seminar In this seminar we will:  Assess the impact of the current economic conditions  Assess your Chamber’s USPs (unique selling points)  Look at how we recruit and retain members  How can we use innovation in this area

Tour de Table 1 minute on your country’s Economic Environment

Reactive Or Proactive Response by your Chamber

What Impact has your economy had on your Chamber? Finance Strategy Staff Board/President/Executive Members External relationships e.g. Local Government

Exercise One List your Chamber’s Unique Selling Points

 Recruitment Material  Newsletters/Annual Report – Brochures  Website  Social Media  Press/PR  Events  Member Recommendation Recruitment Tools

Integrate into on-going operations Use existing staff and volunteers Launch Recruitment drive - Use existing staff and volunteers - Hire Recruitment Professional (full-time or on a contract-commission) - Executive loaned from a member company Recruitment Strategies

Variable Subscription Rates - Corporate members - Full Members - Associate members Phased Increase in Subscriptions years Subscriptions based on Turnover (not number of employees)

Direct MailDirect Mail New Member EveningNew Member Evening ReferralsReferrals Offer IncentivesOffer Incentives Target InvitationsTarget Invitations Advertising & Public RelationsAdvertising & Public Relations WebsiteWebsite Winning New Members – Making Contact

Winning New Members – The First Impression Response to application should be fast, personal & warmResponse to application should be fast, personal & warm New Members should receive an information packNew Members should receive an information pack Letter of welcome - identifying upcoming eventsLetter of welcome - identifying upcoming events Invitation to call to Chamber offices, meet staff, officersInvitation to call to Chamber offices, meet staff, officers Invitation to go and meet extender

Present your best recruitment idea Exercise 2

Chamber is relevant to their needsChamber is relevant to their needs Good service – good contactsGood service – good contacts Value for money – discount schemesValue for money – discount schemes Feel appreciatedFeel appreciated Feel involved in what is happeningFeel involved in what is happening Feel consulted about what is plannedFeel consulted about what is planned Feel Proud of their ChamberFeel Proud of their Chamber Why Do Members Stay?

7 Steps to Membership Retention 1.Product Clear Goals and Objectives and a Programme of Work 2. Credibility Delivering the Programme of Work 3. Communication Announcing benefits, celebrating success

7 Steps to Membership Retention 4. Relevance Spending money on what members Spending money on what members see as important see as important 5. Staff Attitudes 6. Volunteer Leadership and Commitment 7. Good Management Practices

Membership Records (MIS-CRM-Database) Record every contact with the member, phone, personal, letter, Record attendance at all events Identify members who have not been in contact with the chamber for 6 months call them and say hello! Keeping Members - Information

Keeping Members - Appreciation Thank members for attending eventsfor attending events for sending in their subscriptionsfor sending in their subscriptions for giving their opinionsfor giving their opinions for replying to queriesfor replying to queries for giving their time to committeesfor giving their time to committees for supporting their Chamberfor supporting their Chamber

Keeping Members – Feel Good Factor Identifying with successIdentifying with success Chambers gets good media coverageChambers gets good media coverage Chamber projects a professional imageChamber projects a professional image Chamber runs efficient, well organised eventsChamber runs efficient, well organised events Chamber has important people at its functionsChamber has important people at its functions

Keeping Members – Involvement Consulted through regular surveysConsulted through regular surveys Involved in electronic response groupsInvolved in electronic response groups Involved in CommitteesInvolved in Committees Met and spoken to by staff/officers at Chamber eventsMet and spoken to by staff/officers at Chamber events

Recruiting SMEs  Speak their language  Understand their needs  Focus your recruitment, make it sector specific

Retaining SMEs  Provide services/information/supports they need. (Have you surveyed this group?)  Real and meaningful involvement  Places on your Governing Board  Good two way communication  Advice / Funding / Import / Export  Political lobby / Voice in the press

Exercise 3 Present your best recruitment idea

All Chamber activities involving members are network opportunities

Start with people with whom you are most comfortable Develop relationships, find things in common Keep a database of contacts, set goals and measure results Act like a host, not like a guest Be opportunistic: every interaction is a networking opportunity Follow up regularly Continuously build new relationship and maintain the ones you have Pick referral sources that are useful to your business Ask for feedback on your networking skills Effective Networking

Exercise 4 Why are they members? Discuss

A Chamber’s role Provide opportunity and added value Be innovative Be strategic – ensure suitable groupings and develop appropriate partnerships Facilitate, stimulate, inspire, entertain Coach/mentor – provide training

Be creative Find out what members want/need Provide a range of events – something for everyone Sell the benefits of each event clearly Get member feedback on the success of the events Chamber’s role contd

What is innovation?

Innovation in Recruiting

Innovation in Retention

Innovation in selling your Chamber

Today we have looked at the further development of our retention and recruitment, building on knowledge and experiences of others and trusting our own judgement

Presentation by: Peter Byrne MSc Business Mgnt (Organisational Behaviour) BSc, Dip Mkt, Dip Finance. Chief Executive Officer South Dublin Chamber Thank you for your attention…..