109 - Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals - Market Segmentation - Potential 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, 108 and this Marketing Rotary Schematic.  This Rotatorial discusses attracting members to existing clubs.

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Rotary membership is a niche market; it is not for everyone.  To believe that a Rotary club can be all things to all people within their local social fabric is ludicrous.  Please examine the graphic.  Is it even realistic for Rotary to expect clubs to strive to get people with different demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics; all with different needs and wants in one local organization that meets weekly?

   It is no secret that most people join civic organizations to network i.e. to meet the type of people with whom they want to connect and associate.  It is the organization's responsibility to let potential members know its primary objective, the type people with whom they will be connecting, and what the organization expects of them prior to them filling out an application for membership.  A popular Rotary urban legend is that half of the members inducted leave in their first year.  No doubt this has happened in some clubs and/or districts because of past recruiting/recognition-at-interim-cutoff-date practices and in some start-up clubs, but I suspect accurate data would not lend this legend broad-based authenticity.

   Many clubs during the recruiting drive years eliminated Information Meetings (Fireside chats, Orientations) prior to members joining.  When asked why, one club president replied, quote, "If we told them what we expected, they might not join!" unquote.  Another club, at the last club meeting before the interim cutoff date, speedily inducted eight new members so it would qualify for the Governor's Award and Presidential Citation.  None of the eight ever attended another meeting.  It is a serious mistake for clubs not to require prospective members to attend an Information Meeting, after which they may or may not fill out a membership application.  And that's okay.  Membership in a Rotary club is not for everybody.  Some clubs are choosing to return to a more restrictive classification system.

    After examining a limited amount of data, I am of the opinion that clubs should expect to have an annual new-member retention rate of 97% or better.  Official new-member annual retention rates less than 97% indicate that new members' expectations are not being met. This rate can only be accurately measured and recognized by utilizing official semi-annual report data.  To be fair to all concerned, and to have reliable recognition information available during a given Rotary year, membership achievements should be based solely on Semi-Annual Invoices.  

  

110 - Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals - Market Segmentation

Creating New Clubs

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. 

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   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.

107 - Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals - Rotary's Prime Target Audience.

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

Please review Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals 101, 102A, 102B, 103, 104, 105, & 106

ROTARY'S PRIME TARGET AUDIENCE - EXISTING MEMBERS!

RIPE RAVI'S PRESIDENTIAL CITATION GOAL TO INCREASE THE ANNUAL RETENTION RATE BY ONE PERCENTAGE POINT IS A VISIONARY STEP IN IMPROVING MEMBERSHIP.

    Meaningful data pointed Rotary's leaders to why membership had stagnated - declining retention rates throughout the world.  Data cannot determine solutions - only people can.  And that requires critical, objective inward examination because Rotary's greatest challenge is internal.  Rotary has encouraged its customers - member clubs - to look internally, but it must also; it must be proactive at finding solutions or membership will continue its present trend.  The Siegel+Gale Research Report was a step up the ladder to solving membership issues, but Rotary must continue climbing.  The next logical step would be for Rotary to acknowledge that its prime target market is existing Rotarians and prioritize helping clubs improve retention rates.

    Rotary must understand that Rotarians' needs haven't changed since 1905, but Rotary and the world have. Please refer to Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs.  Rotarians' needs reside primarily in the lightly shaded area.  All Rotarians want better qualities of life for themselves, their families, and everyone else.  They aspire to live to their full potential, to make themselves better: better persons, better members of their social fabrics, better at helping others climb Maslow's hierarchy.  The Rotarians who founded Rotary International; who were involved in starting the United Nations and UNICEF; who originated Easter Seals; and who led the initiative to eliminate polio were all motivated by the desire to satisfy these personal needs.

   Few Rotarians are inspired or motivated to do things almost all of the world's 7.6 billion people can do, like picking up trash, but all aspire to live in cleaner, healthier, and safer communities and to help others do the same.  Most Rotary clubs are small.  Very few have the desire or resources to maintain routine data and/or pioneer solutions.  Rotary could and should be proactive in producing and delivering services its customers - clubs -  need.  To do so, it has to ask introspective questions, critically examine its hierarchy, and improve the support to and education of all associates - staff, directors, coordinators, governors, etc.  Creating Rotarians should be EVERYBODY'S top priority!

THE CHALLENGE

In 2009, the Membership Coordinators of Zones 33 and 34, using data furnished by Rotary International, calculated that if annual retention rates improved by less than two percentage points, the Zones would return to the growth state.  I challenge Rotary to calculate realistic annual retention rate increases that each District, Zone, and Region should have to sustain a steady growth state.  After doing so, Rotary should publish, promote, and pioneer ways and means to help each reach these targeted retention rates. 

Marketing Rotary for Non-Professionals 108 - Market Segmentation