08/24/2022

Communication Strategy Essential to Success of Membership Restructure

Here’s a deeper look at that strategy

Figuring how best to restructure our membership categories and pricing model was a huge undertaking for the International Association of Movers (IAM), but that was only half the battle. The other half was effectively communicating the new structure to members, so they embraced the changes rather than drop their membership. Here’s a deeper look at that strategy, which included using member committees and staff to spread the word, creating an online questionnaire that made change easier, and segmenting marketing efforts for different audiences.

Get the Word Out

IAM used its volunteer membership restructuring committee to help explain the new structure to the general membership. The committee charted its progress via LinkedIn posts. These posts showed that members of the committee had a significant role in driving the project, as well as in creating and approving the final recommendation that was then presented to the IAM Executive Committee for approval.

Along with telling people about the change, IAM had to figure out how the association would get its more than 2,000 member companies in over 170 countries to select their membership category before the January 1 renewal date. IAM issued press releases and various member communications announcing the dues increase, and staff held several webinars and Zoom town halls. These events allowed IAM to present the membership restructuring with assistance from key restructuring committee members who walked the membership through the new categories and offerings, as well as the factors that led IAM to the new structure. The sessions were also recorded and made available to members who were not able to attend the live events.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.