108 - Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals - Market Segmentation Existing Member Segment

In this series, Rotary refers to the enterprise of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.

Please review Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals 107 and this Marketing Rotary Schematic.

Rotary and its member clubs have two market segments from which to sustain membership - existing members and potential members.  Similarities exist, but each segment must be treated differently.  Two issues of prime importance in doing so is recognizing that:

1.  Rotary membership is a niche market; it is not for everyone.

2.  Both segments are motivated by personal desires.

   For marketing purposes, each primary segment must be separated into four secondary segments - Behavioral, Demographic, Psychographic, and Geographic. 

www.thehomeofknowledge.com

   To improve retention rates, it is vital that Rotary and its member clubs understand that existing Rotarians, particularly those who have been members for three or more years, are loyal Rotarians.  Loyalty is a Behavioral characteristic and is gained, not because of what Rotary or clubs do, but because of the satisfaction Rotarians receive by being members of local clubs.  Data indicates that Rotary and its member clubs have between one and three years for new Rotarians to evolve into loyal Rotarians.  Issues like the time Rotary takes and how being a Rotarian affects their family, business, and/or personal activities are important.  The recognition, prestige, honors, and other benefits accorded them, particularly in their local settings, helps them justify to themselves and others the reasons for their loyalty.

  Demographic segmentation addresses members' age, race, religion, gender, political affiliation, family size, ethnicity, income, and education, all of which closely tie to members' wants and needs.  When clubs center on members' wants and needs, it is easier to retain them.  It is a serious marketing breach to believe that each demographic has the same Psychographic profile.  They don't.  Demographic differences often affect members' Behavior.

   Psychographic segmentation addresses members' personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles.  This is perhaps the most difficult of all segments for Rotary to address. Rotarians (and clubs) participate in activities and attributes according to their interests and attitudes.  Conflicts frequently arise within clubs because members have different specific interests, attitudes, traits, and understandings but almost always want to improve their lives in general.

   Geographic segmentation addresses land masses and transportation distances.  Geographic issues are of minimal importance in retaining Rotarians, but are quite important in creating new Rotarians.

The characteristics of each secondary segment continually interact to some degree in all Rotarians.  Rotary and its member clubs should tailor their attributes and activities to deliver value satisfactory to all Rotarians regardless of their years in Rotary.  And the only accurate measure of whether or not clubs are effective at doing so is their ability to retain and create loyal members!

109 - Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals - Market Segmentation

Potential Member Segment

RIPE Ravi's 1% - Visionary? How will it be applied and calculated? Posting Membership Information.

     Readers have voiced opinions about RIPE Ravi's goal to increase retention rates by 1% and my repeated comments about Rotary posting membership retention information.  Posting membership information is the simplest to address.  Yes - this Rotatorialist is aware that Rotary publishes membership reports.  Membership and many other reports can be viewed and downloaded by going to the Rotary website and log onto My Rotary.  Scroll down and click on Rotary Club Central - View Goals.  A page ultimately appears.  On the left menu, select Reports.  This Rotatorial references Club Reports - Member Viability and Growth.

  The second more frequent and important topic related to the Presidential Citation's 1% retention increase, and it being visionary.  It is visionary because it communicates the importance of creating Rotarians, without whom Rotary has no future.  Actions now affect Rotary's future, and RIPE Ravi is communicating that by prioritizing membership.  That, for Rotary, is visionary.

   About the 1% - how it will be calculated and applied was a common concern and has been answered.  See Every Measure is described on the Presidential Citation FAQ page: bit.ly/1RiQepW

 
One district's past governor sent me copies of his district's July, 2011 - June 2014 Member Viability and Growth report.  On July 1, 2011, District XXXX had 3,010 members. During the three-year period, its clubs inducted 1,059 new members.  On June 30, 2014, the district had 2,822* members. Its new member three-year retention percentage was 67.52% and its existing member retention percentage was 70%.  *Under the regressive 'net gain' system, this district's three-year loss would be reported as 188 members when was actual 1,247 members. 

Calculated as demonstrated in the labeled graphic, its three-year combined retention was, 58.57%; growth was, -6.25%; and its RG Index, 52.33%.

  Converting this to combined annual information, its one-year (annual) average percentages are: retention, 86%; growth, - 2.2%; RG Index, 83.8%.

  To return to a growth state at its present rate of new members inducted, its estimated combined retention percentage should be 88.31%. 

     

Rotary is beginning to center on creating Rotarians and realistically addressing its future.  Many new, more difficult questions will arise as Rotary, regions, zones, districts, and clubs more clearly identify their markets and create Membership Development and Retention Strategic Plans.  Two universal questions likely to surface rather quickly will no doubt be:

·       "What are realistic annual retention and growth rates?"

·       "What retention rates are needed to return to a growth state?"

The pictured Excel spreadsheets are available upon request.  Email jrhjr@jimhenrybooks.com.  Be sure to put Retention Rate Index in the subject line or your email will get lost in my SPAM filter.  In the spreadsheet, the user can change the aqua cell values and dates.  All calculations are built in.

Thoughts on Engagments

Are Clubs Engaged to their Members?

           

Can Rotary clubs become Bigger, Better, Bolder, and more effective at retaining members without becoming engaged to existing members?  To continue reading, please click here. . . . 

Has R.I. Developed the TDS?

Has the TDS contributed to North America's Membership Spiral and Rotary International's Membership Stabilization?

To read Jim Henry's Rotatorial on the TDS and its effect on the Membership Spiral, click here.

Value Rotarians and use Attributes

Happy New Year.  

This time of year, many people take a bit of time to review, and sometimes reestablish, where they place their values.  

Perhaps it is time for Rotary to do the same.

To read Jim Henry's Rotatorial on how where Rotary places value has a critical affect on membership, click here.

Are Rotary's Actions Hindering Diversity?

Proposition:  

Rotary's addiction to the elixir served up in Rotary's Diversity Grande has actually hindered diverse representation and contributed to our overall membership stabilization.   

To gain a greater understanding of this proposition click here:

Joining a Rotary Club May Threaten a Person's Security?

Why won't generation X or Millennial business, professional, and community leaders join local Rotary clubs? Rotarians frequently do not realize that, to many of them, joining something like a Rotary club threatens their security!  Why?

An April, 2009 Rotatorial discussed this issue, so I thought that heading into the Rotary Training Season would be a good time to resurrect it.  

To read this slightly modified rerun, click here.  

Are Rotary Clubs Connected to their Members?

A Rotary Club should be interconnected with the gravitational pull of its STAR like our Earth is interconnected with the gravitational pull of its STAR.Is your club interconnected with its STAR?




To read why interconnection is necessary to have a strong local identity, and how a club and STAR could interconnect, please click here . . .

If you are afraid to think about present and future Rotarians, do not click here! 

Or here if you are afraid to improve your club's MEMBERSHIP RETENTION HEALTH!

Rotary in North America - Part IV

For eighteen years, Rotary In North America has been mired in the captivating ruts of declining membership!  

Other Rotary regions should be wary and steer clear or they, too, will be captured by similar travails.  

Together We IN NORTH AMERICA Can GET OUT AND STAY OUT!

           

To get out, and to stay out, Rotary clubs must be on roads paved with leaders 
. . .to read the final Rotatorial of Jim Henry's Rotary in North America series . . . click here

Who Knew How Many Rotarians Were Walking Out?

Annually, More Than 157,000 

Rotarians Have Been Walking Out Clubs’ Doors Taking With Them Over

US$7,500,000 

Of Rotary International's Dues Revenue.
To read about what could and is being done about it, please click here.

FOUR STEPS. . .

Who is Rotary?  RI Director John Smarge
If anyone can become a Rotarian, there is no reason for anyone to become a Rotarian.  Four Steps . . .

Click here to read Four Steps . . . Jim Henry's final Rotatorial as Zone 34's Rotary Coordinator

ROTANOMICS II

WHY?

R.I. Director John Smarge Nailed it! 

TWICE!

To read Jim Henry's "WHY" Rotatorial, click here.

Inactive Rotarians - A Hidden Resource

Would you write off 20% of your newer clients or customers every year without discovering why they were leaving?  Read Zone 34 Jim Henry's latest Rotatorial.

The Only True Measure of an Effective Club is its ability to Attract and Retain Members!

Why isn’t our worldwide membership increasing? Could our Presidential Citation and Governor’s Award practices be part of the problem? To read an easy to implement solution, click here.

Why Wait to Improve Membership Retention?

“The Only Pillars of an Effective Club are the Members who Advance the Object of Rotary" discusses a simple method clubs and/or districts can use to track membership retention and recruitment while emphasizing that the essence of an effective club is its members. The Excel spreadsheet used in the article’s examples is readily available and easy to use. -'Click here to read and download 'The Only Pillars - - -'

Take Branding to the Clubs!

What are Rotary clubs and What do Rotary clubs do?

Zone 34 RC Jim Henry tailored a Branding presentation for the District 6900 Assembly, and prepared a handout for all session attendees. The handout was prepared from the PowerPoint notes pages, and had a few written exercises. These are available for download should Rotarians want to do so.

Click here for the PowerPoint.

Click here for the handout.

Is your Rotary club really a Rotary club?

Can your club's board of directors affirm that your club is really a Rotary club and have confidence that their affirmation adheres to the Four-Way Test? To read more thoughts about this from Zone 34 Coordinator Jim Henry,click here. . .

Reversing A Membership Freefall

Last year RC Jim Henry published a series of eight articles on Reversing our Membership Freefall. After this year's Zone 34 Seminars, both regional and local, we believe that the thoughts and concepts discussed can shed light on steps clubs and districts should take. The easy-to-read articles could be most useful to all levels of 2011-12 Rotary leaders.

Click here to view or download the complete booklet.

So the question should be "WHO IS ROTARY?"

"What is Rotary?" We frequently ask ourselves this question as we attempt to explain our commitment to Rotary. But the question to which we should determine the answer is "Who is Rotary?"

Click here to read or download Zone 34 Director John Smarge's groundbreaking Membership speech delivered to over 1,200 District Governors-Elect, spouses, and Rotary International leaders from around the world.