GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX 2016proportion (3,611 interviews) from emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, South American and Eastern Europe. Developing economies, mainly in Africa,

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX

A Guide to Global Engagement Strategies

Part 1 – Global Index Results

2016

PART 1 – Global Index Results |2GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX 2016

FORWARD

The main reason for launching the Global Engagement Index was how little is understood about improving “engagement,” how little data exists on what is healthy engagement and what is not, and what precisely is needed to close the enthusiasm gap between customers/members and associations.

MCI along with its partner FairControl (a German-based global market research firm), launched the Global Engagement Index to measure the performance, relationship strength and outcome of engagement tactics as seen through the eyes of associations’ customers and members, allowing like-minded associations to benchmark their performance against that of 15 leading brands across multiple sectors.

MCI is grateful to these 15 associations for their desire to join us on this inaugural Index.American Concrete InstituteAmerican Institute of CPAs APICS American Society of Civil Engineers American Society for Clinical Pathology ASIS International American Society for Quality American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Facility Management Association International Society of Automation Information Systems Audit and Control Association Materials Research Society NACE International Society of Critical Care Medicine

Through an innovative crowd-funded model, the 15 participating associations have gained in-depth data and feedback as to how their global community perceives their value, relevance and engagement efforts and where they stand comparative to the Index. In addition, we are able to produce a public report on the findings (Part 1) and a set of recommendations (Part 2).

Together, we developed a sample size of more than 123,000 non-US contacts who were invited to respond to the survey in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese. Nearly 9,000 respondents from around the world ultimately completed the survey.

An initial presentation of the data was shared at an invitational summit meeting in early June 2016. Following that participating associations in GEI2016 received custom private reports and data sets for their own study.

For those associations who desire to join GEI2016 in the second round, you can participate as the other fifteen associations and receive the same benchmark data plus that from your own members and customers. Please follow the instructions at the end of the report to learn how to receive more information on the benefits of GEI 2016.

MCI and FairControl look forward to sharing the results of the GEI2016 and will continue to work together with associations to further study engagement, relationship strength and how to activate it. In 2017, we shall launch a domestic version (American Engagement Index) and in 2018, return with an update of the GEI to examine how associations are better activating member and customer relationships.

Nikki Walker

Global Vice President, Association Management & Consulting MCI Group


INTRODUCTION

In 2013 MCI Group released its Global Satisfaction Index, a tool to help associations answer critical questions about how they were perceived by their international members and customers. Did those members and customers see value in the products and services that associations offered? How did they rate their overall membership experience? What opportunities and events did they perceive as meaningful? The GSI surfaced important lessons for global organizations about the importance of relevant local content and the hunger for certifications and access to standards.

By definition, the GSI measured the emotional response members and customers had with their association. How satisfied did they feel about how an association’s value proposition met their needs? But “satisfaction” alone doesn’t produce engagement and relationship strength. Members and customers, to be engaged, must be moved to act proactively in a direction that derives value that members and the association perceive. To that point, the Global Engagement Index expands on the GSI and takes it further: What are members and customers outside of the United States actually doing to engage proactively with associations, and what are the factors that drive that engagement (See Figure 1)?

Fig. 1: Questions answered by the GEI

MCI along with its partner FairControl (a German-based global market research firm), launched the GEI to measure the performance, relationship strength and outcome of engagement tactics as seen through the eyes of associations’ customers and members, allowing like-minded associations to benchmark their performance against that of 15 leading brands across multiple sectors. The size of the GEI is substantial, more than 123,000 non-US contacts were invited to respond to the survey through contact lists, who were invited to respond to the survey in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese. Nearly 9,000 respondents from around the world ultimately completed the survey. Through an innovative crowd-funded model, the 15 participating associations will gain in-depth data and feedback as to how their global community perceives their value, relevance and engagement efforts and where they stand comparative to the Index.

This more granular understanding of actions and behaviors is critical for two reasons. First, it is clear that the “one size fits all” approach to global expansion is a dead end. Particular products and services may not be relevant to particular markets; translations may be necessary; marketing and promotional methods shift from country to country; so do the kinds of social media tools that are embraced; different education methods may be preferred; pricing needs may differ; attitudes toward meetings, membership, and employers’ level of interest in supporting a member or customer shift from region to region. And so on.


The second reason this understanding matters is that the members and customers who are most engaged with and who actively promote an association’s offerings---a group we call “multipliers1”, are the ones who will do the most to drive an association’s success in a region. Multipliers talk: They tell their colleagues about the work their associations’ do, the value they receive from it, and the products and services they receive the most value from. As the Index shows, word of mouth is one of the most important tools an association has. But word of mouth cuts both ways. Just as a multiplier can build enthusiasm around an association’s brand, detractors talk too. They can chill an association’s efforts, often by calling out a failure to deliver the relevant and localized services and benefits they demand.

In terms of word of mouth, associations have work to do: Few associations can claim a substantial proportion of multipliers in their member and customer ranks. But there is plenty of promise as well. Overall engagement is solid, and there are many highly rated products that associations have chosen to lead with. The next challenge for the global association is to gain more impact and engagement from the products that are successful, and find the champions who will lead the charge.

MCI introduced the GEI at the first Global Engagement Summit near Washington, DC, on June 8-9, 2016. During those two days, an invited group of 70 association executives (including executives from the 15 associations participating in the 2016 Index) discussed the GEI’s findings and brainstormed ways to leverage them to improve associations’ global impact. Highlights from those discussions are included in the Index.

This is just the first chapter in the GEI story. Later in 2016, FairControl will deliver custom reports and data sets to the 15 participating GEI associations and review the results with each privately. Future editions of the GEI will be conducted every two years with the next planned for 2018. Also, based on the success of GEI 2016, MCI will be inviting associations to participate in an engagement index targeting the US domestic market exclusively in 2017.

These efforts, taken together, are designed to benchmark engagement over time, uncovering what works around the world and help associations “activate” their value proposition in ways that are efficient, profitable, and increasingly relevant to members and customers around the world.

1 “Multipliers” are the most engaged and valuable of the five member/customer types defined in the Index from the nearly 9,000 member and customer responses. This is explained in detail in Section IV under member and customer typology.


METHODOLOGY

The Global Engagement Index is based on a survey of non-U.S. members and customers of 15 associations, conducted online in April 2016. The survey was conducted in consultation with MCI by FairControl, an independent market research agency specializing in brand and customer experience research, which invited more than 123,000 members and customers to participate. A total of 8,584 surveys were completed (8,108 members and 476 customers), representing a response rate of 7 percent.

Respondents came from 150 countries; 62 countries claim more than 20 respondents. Countries with mature economies (including Canada, Western Europe, and Australia) accounted for 3,293 interviews, with a slightly higher proportion (3,611 interviews) from emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, South American and Eastern Europe. Developing economies, mainly in Africa, accounted for 362 interviews (See Figure 2).

Fig. 2: Distribution of interviews by countries and maturity of markets

Participating associations in GEI2016 included:

American Concrete Institute

American Institute of CPAs

APICS

American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society for Clinical Pathology

ASIS International

American Society for Quality

American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

International Facility Management Association

International Society of Automation

Information Systems Audit and Control Association

Materials Research Society

NACE International

Society of Critical Care Medicine


KEY FINDINGS

1. Relationship Strength & Engagement

The GEI is based on member and customer responses to a battery of questions. But three basic ones are at its core and establish the actual Index scoring: How do members and customers rate the association’s overall performance? How do members and customers rate the benefit/value provided by the association’s membership or its products and services? And to what degree do members and customers prefer the association’s offerings versus comparable providers in their region? This moves beyond questions of mere satisfaction. As FairControl managing director Jakov Cavar pointed out during the Global Engagement Summit, a satisfied customer may still find value elsewhere. “Satisfaction alone is not enough to bond people, to create a strong relationship,” he said.

Fig. 3: Construction of the Global Engagement Index

The GEI scores this relationship strength on a 200-point scale, from -50 (very weak) to 150 (very strong) (See Figure 3). So how are associations doing? Based on the GEI, moderately well: The average score for all associations is 86. The mean is close to the median here: The top association in the survey received a score of 98, while the weakest scored a 75 (See Figure 4).That puts associations, even the successful ones, firmly in the “moderate” category. Bluntly speaking, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Fig. 4: Range of Engagement Index scores across associations


Looking more closely at the data, there is softness in particular areas: Members who have not purchased/used an association’s product in the past eighteen months, for instance, have a weak relationship score of 69. That gap closes as a member purchases more products, but the most engaged individuals are customers---those who do not pay membership fees to the association but who purchase products or attend events (even though those products are often sold at a discount to members). Members who have used an association’s product in the past 18 months report a moderate relationship (87), while customers have a higher (if still moderate) score of 92 (See Figure 5).

Fig. 5: Engagement Index scores across member / customer types

Customers appear to be often more comfortable using associations for a la carte needs, while membership introduces those customers to a suite of services that they may not need---or, more to the point, are not tailored or marketed to their needs by the association. Membership can breed deeper demands that the association may not be equipped to fulfill, and ensuring that member benefits are locally relevant is critical. “The customers want our stuff,” as one participant at the Summit put it, highlighting the distinction. “The members expect things.”

There is a similar engagement gap between members in mature regions (a borderline-weak 78) and those in emerging (94) and developing (98) regions.2 This makes sense considering that more mature markets have more associations, nonprofits, and for-profits competing for professionals’ attention and funds for education, networking, and other traditional association services---as well as higher expectations based on that competition. Less mature regions (with less indigenous competition) are more readily drawn to an association’s offerings, particularly if it’s education or certification. That conclusion is supported by the fact that engagement is slightly higher in the healthcare sector (93), where certifications and accreditations are common, than other industries. Higher engagement is a product of the profession’s requirement for the credential. (“We actually require our members to be more engaged,” as one Summit attendee from a healthcare association said.)

Average relationship strength can be deceptive, however. Even associations at the higher end of the scale have plenty of disengaged members and customers. Overall, 36 percent of respondents report a weak or very weak relationship with the association, and 25 percent of those at the top-ranked association reported similar disappointment (See Figure 6). For a substantial proportion of associations, the value proposition simply isn’t hitting home. On the flipside, the percentage of respondents claiming a very strong relationship is small---18 percent.

2 Mature economies include western Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada; emerging markets include China, Russia, India, Middle East and North African countries, South Africa, South America, Mexico, and Eastern Europe; developing countries are largely in central Africa, central America, and parts of Asia.


Fig. 6: Distribution of Engagement Index level categories across associations, markets and industry sectors

The value of this loyalty reveals itself in another important way: People are more likely to engage with an association when it’s endorsed by a satisfied member or customer. While members and customers with a weak relationship are typically vocal detractors, the majority of those with a strong relationship will be active promoters and are more likely to recommend the association. As Figure 7 shows, such actions tend toward the far ends of the engagement scale.

Fig. 7: Correlation of relationship strength (Engagement Index level) and share of promoters / detractors

Why is this important? Because word of mouth is by far the most effective source of information about an association---46 percent reported becoming aware of the association via a colleague, friend, manager, or mentor. (See Figure 8)


Fig. 8: How members / customers first became aware of the association – sources of awareness

High engagement also correlates to an eagerness to continue a relationship with the association. Those whose relationship strength is very strong are highly likely to become members if they are not currently, and very likely to renew their membership if they already are. And the stronger the relationship, the more likely customers are to purchase products and services (See Figure 9). Highly engaged members and customers are also more alert to the association’s value proposition: Those with a very strong relationship with the association claim very good familiarity with member benefits and products and services.

Fig. 9: Correlation between relationship strength (Engagement Index level) and likelihood to join, re-join & re-purchase products and services


2. What Drives Engagement?

So a stronger relationship generates engagement, and stronger engagement generates multipliers, which in turn generates more customers and members. But what are the specific drivers of this engagement? For associations overall, what are the services, products, and membership benefits that can increase the GEI score?

To answer those questions, the GEI looks at correlations between relationship strength (expressed through the engagement index score) and how participants rated a host of member and customer experience attributes. The attributes studied break down into five categories:

1. Overall Perception, including member/customer focus, reputation, relevance, and local presence.

2. Benefits/Value, including whether an offering provides a competitive advantage, helps achieve professional goals, corresponds to my needs

3. Offering and Customer Service, including quality of service in my region, availability and responsiveness, quality of products, locally relevant content, and serving local needs.

4. Communication and Information, including effectiveness of digital and personal communication, quality and usability of website, and social media content

5. Products and Services, including face-to-face training, home study courses, online education, publications, research, meetings, networking, standards, and certification/accreditation.

When we plot these “relationship attributes” against performance, effective engagement drivers---and opportunities for improvement---come into clearer view. For instance, Figure 10 shows, Member/ Customer Focus scores high on impact (to the respondent), but only moderately in terms of performance (ability of association to deliver desired performance with a product or member offering).

Fig. 10: Impact-Performance-Matrix for overall perception attributes based on a driver analysis (correlation analysis)

If we know that member and customer focus has a strong influence, the value of investing in improving the performance of a product or member offering becomes clear. Other drivers---reputation, relevance, subject-matter expertise, and reliability---do well on the performance axis but are of low-impact to the respondents. “Local presence” performed poorly both in terms of performance and impact, but it’s important to note that many respondents do not expect a local presence in their country to be of significant impact. This should not lead associations to assume that local activities are not meaningful, as explored in Section III.


Overall, value propositions fall short of their goals. Though some aspects of them have a strong impact to respondents (such as helping with personal and professional goals), the association’s performance to deliver is generally seen as mediocre. Offerings and customer service present an even greater challenge---across the board, impact is mediocre and performance is low. Communications perform somewhat better but their impact is equally middling, and markedly low when it comes to personal and local-language contact. And while products and services perform well, most of them are not impactful enough to strengthen relationships and increase engagement.

These findings challenge one reflex among associations: To respond to mediocre performance by introducing more and more products to members and customers. But associations that pump out products and services globally without a focus on how they impact members and customers generally see only an average impact on their ability to improve engagement that leads to renewal, purchases, or other forms of engagement. For customers and members who are relatively disengaged to start with, more offerings may not appear on their radar, and may even serve to bolster the impression that the association is not focused on their professional needs.

3. A Paradox: When Producing Products Well Isn’t Sufficient for Engagement

In general, members and customers recognize products as high-performing association elements of an association’s global value proposition: members and customers are aware of the suite of meetings, education (both face to face and online), and publications. These offerings only deliver an average impact, though, suggesting that associations that rely on them as the core of their value proposition will experience lower engagement from members and customers.

Fig. 11: Impact-Performance-Matrix for product & services offering attributes

There is one important exception, though: Certifications and accreditations are a unique case of a high-performing, high-impact offering (See Figure 11). The urge to receive a credential that is recognized and respected globally is a strong influence on membership: It is a top motivation for becoming a member, along with gaining knowledge of global industry practices and joining a community of like-minded professionals.

There is a financial barrier on enthusiasm for membership, however. Customers say that they are unlikely to become members because they cannot afford to attend events far from home (often held in the United States) or pay for membership. Respondents also cite a lack of employer support for either of those products. Because employers are involved in their staff’s relationship with an association. They pay for face-to-face-training or meetings a majority of the time, and because employers provide significant support for them, associations should recognize that the effective pitch for their value proposition is sometimes best delivered to the employer, not just the customer or member.


And when it comes to remaining or becoming a member, those local benefits and events are crucial: More than 40 percent of respondents cite them as one of the top three reasons for retaining their relationship with the association, and 63 percent say they are “most likely” or definitely likely to attend a local event accessible via local train or car transport---while only 39 percent are similarly likely to attend an event that’s accessible via a two-to-five-hour plane flight (See Figure 12).

Fig. 12: Intention to travel to activities or conferences of association in the coming year

Ultimately, what the GEI suggests is that members want local ways to feel part of a global professional community. As one Dutch respondent put it, “being international and not so American.” That was the strategy the American Society for Clinical Pathology used in 2005, when it decided to internationalize its certification program. ASCP began in the Philippines and Korea, as international operations director Jennifer Young told Summit attendees: “We knew that there was a market, that people were definitely interested in our U.S.-based credentials.” Today, ASCP has certified 6,500 people outside of the United States, and people in 92 countries have applied for the certification. It is important to note, Young says, that the growth of the certification depends on the support of its highly engaged local members to promote the certification. “I attribute a lot of our growth to date to our local champions,” she says.

Other Summit panelists stressed that point of ground support for credential programs. The Society of Critical Care Medicine sells licensed courses in Saudi Arabia, Japan, and China, in each case partnering with local societies for train-the-trainer programs and course implementation. As a goodwill gesture, it also helps to identify speakers for their local meetings. “You turn a potential competitor into an ally,” as SCCM hospital relations manager Ken Klarich says.

4. Market Development & Engagement Models

For the first time, GEI2016 introduces a five-level engagement model categorizing members and customers:

• Passive—a prospect or potential customer, or a “pure member” who pays dues but is otherwise uninvolved or disengaged3 with the association.

• Open—a person who has interest in the association’s products, services, and member benefits, but has purchased or participated only in a limited fashion4.

• Active---someone who is engaging with the association in some way, such as attending a meeting or purchasing a product5.

3 Only 15 percent of passives are familiar with the association’s top products and services.4 Only 26 percent of opens are familiar with the association’s top products and services.5 44 percent of actives are familiar with the association’s top products and services.


• Loyal---someone who repeatedly interacts with the association and purchases/uses its products and services on a regular basis6.

• Multiplier---a strong promoter and supporter of the association who eagerly brings others into the fold7.

As explained in Section II, word of mouth is the main way people begin their involvement with the association, and multipliers are by definition word-of-mouth advocates. But they are rare, accounting for just 8 percent of the total GEI survey participants (See Figure 13). And they are outnumbered by the passive members (10 percent)---who, despite the name may in fact be active detractors of the association and its offerings.

Fig. 13: Share of members & customers by engagement level segments

The GEI identifies the chief opportunities for moving members and customers from level to level toward becoming multipliers: the association’s offerings that generate high engagement but which perform only at an average level. That is, offerings with a proven impact but which can be in terms of customization, quality, and promotion (See Figure 14). Among those identified in the GEI are:

1. Provides a competitive advantage

2. Value for money

3. Services that correspond to needs

4. Services that are locally relevant

Fig. 14: Top improvement opportunities across all attributes according to the Impact-Performance-Matrix

6 67 percent of loyals are familiar with the association’s top products and services.7 76 percent of multipliers are familiar with the association’s top products and services.


Indeed, multiple categories of locally tailored products emerge in this “low performance, medium impact” category----local needs, local benefits, and local content. This points to the need for a level of customization that is perhaps more comprehensive than many associations have considered. What events do members in a region need? What kind of customization is available for the website and email publications? Are translations for certifications and publications available, and for the products that are most likely to drive engagement among members and customers?

Participants at the Summit shared ideas for improving those particular areas, including local events that allow participants to interact with the wider organization; real-time benefits such as webinars and other events developed by local partners; opportunities to give participants a competitive advantage, such as higher rankings on a job board, and connecting emerging chapters with strong chapters to help generate support outside of the U.S. headquarters.

That last suggestion is valuable because chapters are keepers of the association’s reputation, according to Marie Gilbert, director of consumer insights and market planning at ISACA. “Many of our members don’t have contact with headquarters,” she says. “What they know about us is very much local---it’s what they see in their local chapter.” And dissatisfaction with the chapter, she says, correlates with dissatisfaction with the association overall.

Gilbert also emphasizes the importance of market segmentation to building global markets: ISACA analyzes distinctions between countries, job types, and particular products, and measures levels of satisfaction. “If there’s a gap, we need to understand it,” she says. It develops a granular understanding of behaviors, knowing which emails people open, and using those actions to customize what people see when they visit the ISACA homepage. It also takes care to understand which translations are essential, and developed a process for identifying which ones require official translations and which ones can be licensed.

The GEI identifies a disconnect between production of products and successful marketing and promotion of them. “Effectiveness of personal communication” and “availability and accessibility of local language communication,” for instance, ranked as low performing, low impact drivers (See Figure 15). Proof of this failure to successfully engage is in the fact that nearly half of members who’ve used an association’s product say they have only a good, fair, or poor familiarity with the association’s benefits or products and services. Such people reside on the “active” sector of the engagement range---and well away from becoming the multipliers that associations need to grow. By contrast, more than 70 percent of multipliers reported high familiarity with those offerings.

Fig. 15: Impact-Performance-Matrix for communication & information attributes


So what helps to make a multiplier? Summit panelists and participants shared a number of suggestions and best practices.

Consider the case of the Society for Petroleum Engineers, which has 130,000 members---20 percent of whom have indicated a willingness to volunteer. That’s a pool of 25,200 untapped members available to fill 800 formal volunteer openings. SPE responded in part by announcing a call for volunteer translators---a job that is relatively undemanding on the individual level, with no long-term or meeting commitments, but which serves local needs and provides engagement opportunities. In addition to providing an immediate benefit, it helped SPE identify emerging leaders and provided deeper insight into its membership.

The American Society for Quality took a different approach to making use of a sizable pool of potential members. Rather than individual appeals---which have a hard time succeeding in countries where there’s a lack of connection with a professional membership---ASQ focused on organizational memberships in growth regions. Renata Lerch, deputy managing director of ASQ Global, explains that accessing members “in bulk” allows ASQ to introduce them with tools to advance their careers, networking opportunities, and access to a body of knowledge. That gives the association a connection to more than 56,000 individuals linked to the association.

Such a B2B approach can help accelerate the multiplier effect, because the employer is actively creating an expectation for training and certification. The company enjoys a competitive advantage, which in turn stimulates an interest in the association’s products. Remember, though, that the multiplier may not necessarily be a member. Customers have a higher performance score than members, and regular customers can serve as multipliers, ambassadors who generate enthusiasm around the association.

Participants at the Summit shared additional ideas about moving individuals toward multiplier status:

• Sell the career benefits of a certification: If you want a better job where you’re at, or a better job, the association is the next step.

• Put the right opportunity in front of them. Associations can acquire granular behavior about members and customers’ activities online---emails opened, web pages visited, past purchases. Use this data to present them with opportunities that match previous actions.

• For student members, or those in emerging markets, create opportunities to trade volunteer activities for membership.

• Invite sponsors, exhibitors, and vendors to advise the association on developing content through webinars, career fairs, etc.

• Reach out directly to loyal customers and members to ask them about their local environment. Create award and recognition opportunities for customers and members alike to acknowledge their loyalty.

• Create testimonials from employers discussing the benefits they enjoy from their relationship with the association.

• Reward loyal members with early access to research data.

• Provide “Taste Of” opportunities in new markets that introduce potential members and customers to a sampling of the association’s offerings.


TO LEARN MORE, JOIN THE GEI COMMUNITY

Please be sure to read “Part 2 – Index Recommendations” to gain actionable insights from this data.The conversation around the results from the GEI 2016 and the Summit is ongoing: More findings from the study and discussions around them are available by logging into our Global Engagement Community at: http://www.engagementindex.org/.

Engagement Index Creators & Producers

About MCI

MCI is a global market development company helping associations engage and activate target audiences while building strong relationships within client communities to strengthen brands and boost performance. We offer strategy, marketing, business development, conference and education program management and full back office capability. An independent, privately held company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, MCI has offices with WOFE business licenses in over 31 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa and deliver projects for clients all over the world.

http://association.mci-group.com/

About FairControl

FairControl is a global market research and advisory firm based in Munich, Germany, designing and delivering multi-layered survey instruments used to reveal individual opinions, attitudes, needs or current trends. Annually conducting over 30,000 face-to-face surveys, FairControl can design survey methods based on unique investigative goals and the target group to be surveyed. Our performance spectrum encompasses the following survey methods:

• Face-to-face surveys / CAPI• Telephone surveys / CATI• Online surveys• Interviewer teamhttp://www.faircontrol.com/

Published by MCI Group

Research & Analysis by FairControl, Gmbh

Rapporteur – Special thanks to Mark Athitakis

For more information on the GEI2016 or future Engagement Index studies, please contact:

Theresa DeConinck, Director of External Relations [email protected]

Peter Turner, Senior Advisor Global Development Strategy [email protected]

Nikki Walker, Global Vice President, Association Management & Consulting [email protected]

http://www.engagementindex.org/



http://www.faircontrol.com/

mailto:[email protected]



PART 2 – Engagement & Relationship Recommentations |1GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX 2016

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX

A Guide to Global Engagement Strategies

Part 2 – Engagement & Relationship Recommendations

2016

(Please first read “Part 1 – Index Global Index Results” to become familiar with the Global Engagement Index data.)


WHAT THE GEI2016 DATA SAYS – Recommendations for Improving Engagement & Growth

Since an increasing number of US associations are diversifying their business into international markets or improving their existing business penetration as domestic business slows, there is general agreement that developing strong international customer and member relationships are essential for growth. It is loyalty or even customer or member “advocacy” that are the essential ingredients to secure today‘s business, increase member and customer spend, and attract more prospects into the association community as future customers and members.

The GEI 2016 has provided the first benchmark on global engagement. How strong is the relationship with members and customers outside of the US? What is impacting for good or bad the quality of these relationships? What resources deliver the most value and impact engagement the most? How relevant is the value proposition to the needs of local members and customers? What levels of engagement are there and how do members and customers fit into this model? With GEI, dedicated data and measures exist that can be utilized to answer these questions and help association executives adapt existing strategy and operational resources to be more effective at building and nurturing relationships that convert financially and sustainably.

Eight Lessons from GEI2016

1. Association relationship strength today with members and customers isn’t strong enough to sustain growth

The Index proves that while associations have a pretty good relationship in general with non US members and customers they are not sufficiently strong to support positive and sustainable growth. Engagement is weakest in mature markets and somewhat stronger in emerging and developing markets. Overall, 37% of respondents can be classified as their relationship with their association to be weak or very weak. That number jumps to 44% among respondents from mature markets (See Figure 1).

Fig. 1: Distribution of Engagement Index level categories across markets – top and bottom performing countries

Relationship strength is essential for engagement. It can significantly impact new member growth, retention and product sales. Therefore, the Index suggests that member and customer insight is no longer a luxury to have when developing value proposition, business strategy or product portfolios. Associations must collect, interpret,


and adapt to the views expressed by members and customers in markets where an association seeks to compete. Participation in future GEI studies are examples of making such commitments as well as conducting one’s own member and customer research.

If membership is the sole or overarching goal with an international strategy, think differently. “Members only” in the Index (those who only join but do not buy or become active) are leading candidates for having weaker relationships with their association and significantly less likely to renew. Therefore, associations must adopt a robust product, service and engagement strategy where membership is only part of the value proposition and offering to the markets entered.

2. Increased member and customer loyalty and familiarity with products and services require more from associations.

The difference between respondents that had a very weak versus a very strong relationship with their association was a magnitude order change in their likelihood to renew or their understanding of products and services available to them. The Index shows that weak relationships can be more than just unhappy neutrals who say nothing, stay to themselves, and ultimately leave the organization. The very weak can be toxic vocal detractors that can undermine efforts as the Index shows that 88% of respondents with very weak relationship represent “detractors” of their association.

It is therefore incumbent especially given that 46% of respondents became acquainted with the association through positive word of mouth that these weak relationships are addressed through better activation strategies. Such strategies will need to be tailored to different member or customer types as introduced in this Index, because each must be understood for the strength or weakness of the relationship and what possible solutions might better improve it.

3. Brand, expertise, value proposition and offering do not alone build or sustain strong member and customer relationships.

The Index identifies the following components of a business strategy that must improve for engagement (and relationships) among members and customers and the association to flourish:

1. Locally relevant benefits of product and member offerings.

2. Offering and customer service relative to the local member or customer.

3. Marketing and communication that responds to how local members and customers prefer to receive and respond to information.

4. Products and services and the degree to which they are designed to local member and customer needs (e.g. content, means of delivery, preference to consume).

The Index data shows that associations run the risk of hurting their member and customer relationship strength if they ignore the need to adapt them to members and customers in regions where they seek to serve. It is inadvisable to rest on a strong brand reputation and subject matter expertise. Consider how corporations adapt. The ubiquitous Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in cities like Shanghai or Mumbai will surely adjust the products offered, promotions, and the service offering.

Being member and customer focused as an association is more strongly rated by members and customers then an association’s reputation, subject matter expertise, reliability or need for local presence.

When reassessing what is a relevant value proposition, the data shows overwhelmingly that offering concrete practical utility that aligns with local needs is more important that becoming active as a volunteer leader, attending major meetings far from home, or even publishing papers.


One area where ratings were the most poor was in the area of customer service. Associations must find a customer service solution that is more relevant to members and customers in terms of providing improved quality, availability, and responsiveness.

Taken together, a regional strategy must offer consistent local relevance regardless of brand perception and the size of the product portfolio. That will require activating strategies and services that are able to address local need and if that market is sizable to establish a regular presence. This will likely require partners with the proper and aligned business capacity that complements what the association is unable to provide itself.

4. Marketing, communication and customer service must be locally relevant in markets that associations desire to serve.

Effectiveness, availability, and accessibility of local language communication was rated poor to average by respondents for performance and impact. This is a major problem which associations must address if improved relationship strength or engagement is desired. Associations must value more the importance of the ability to engage in normal member or customer communication where English is not the primary language or for audiences who are less likely to have good English skills (See Figure 2).

Fig. 2: Impact-Performance-Matrix for communication & information attributes - comparison of driver analysis across countries

Are communications channels equally robust for the domestic audience versus the foreign audience? If no, then investing in resources who can provide a local language capability to complement these channels whether done internally or through partners would help. If these channels are less robust beyond the domestic market, deeper consideration for the types of channels these members and customer prefer to communication should be explored.

Social media availability and accessibility was rated a little better but still offered very average value to local audiences. Besides the language issue, another misunderstood issue is knowing which platforms are the most popular in certain markets. While Facebook has developed an increasingly stronger adoption globally, it would be unfortunate not to maintain an understanding of platforms that are the most popular in certain markets. In China, many of western social media platforms are not permitted. Therefore, since social media is as important in China and elsewhere, it is wise to focus on platforms like WeChat.

Quality, availability and accessibility of digital marketing and information as well as website usability received better performance scores from respondents, but these assets continued to lag in impact desired local members and customers. Often this can be attributed to associations who expect people to locate their main website


operating and located on servers in the USA rather than to create regional sites1 from servers that can be found more easily by regional search engines. Remember, while Google is virtually ubiquitous, there are almost as many local versions of the search engine as there are countries.

5. Robust product portfolios that are not relevant to local audiences can detract from building strong and resilient relationships.

A key message coming out of this year’s Global Engagement Index is that the focus of building a product portfolio alone that is deep and wide with product offerings does not lead to higher engagement (stronger relationships) on average with members and customers.

Product offerings need to become more relevant. They need to provide members with real benefit, with added value. That could include the product content, how the product is delivered, or how it is serviced to customers and members. The point is that volume and variety doesn’t necessarily create strong affinities that can deliver sustainable business.

Interestingly, the stronger the relationship (engagement) the higher the ratings of members and customers to an association’s product portfolio and value proposition. The difference between “actives2” and “loyals or multipliers” in the Index to this point is on a magnitude order. Active types have much weaker perceptions on the benefits of an association than loyal or multiplier member or customer types (See Figure 3). This suggests how critical moving actives to loyals is so important.

Fig. 3: Impact-Performance-Matrix for benefit attributes - comparison of driver analysis across engagement model segments with the strongest relationships to associations

Another important finding from the Index was that respondents identified where associations could focus their marketing and sales efforts. Forty five percent of members and 56% of customers felt employers would pay for them to attend Meetings while those numbers grew when it came to face to face training 51% and 82% respectively. Therefore, having an enterprise marketing and sales strategy in select countries could be wise investments for growth.

1 In a separate research project sponsored by MCI with the ASAE Foundation in 2015, we discovered that over 60% of association respondents operating in China had never developed and run local marketing and communication campaigns to support the business they desired in China. 2 As a reminder, actives are people who are customers or members who have purchased on average 2.7 products in the last 18 months but are only moderately engaged with their associations whereas loyals and multipliers have the same or more purchases, a higher familiarity with the product and services offering and are by far more engaged with the association.


6. Tie value to improving member/customer competitive advantage, achieving personal/professional goals, or offering better value for money or convenience.

Keep the following in mind when considering ways to improve value proposition and offerings:

• The main motivation of members identified in the Index is to obtain best practices to emulate followed by certification which were the top two choices by respondents. Practical and usable content that can improve member or customer experience and expertise is the most prized. Find partners who can help with such offerings.

• Having more local benefits and events are named as relevant triggers to retain membership. For instance, introduce a regional meeting or organize trainings where member and/or customer size warrants.

• Members and customer express the intention to participate in local activities or events at distinctly higher rates (e.g. they prefer activities under 2 hours travel time (63%) vs 2-5 hours or +5 hours travel time).

7. Improving engagement requires understanding how relationships move through distinct stages and the importance of using activation strategies to improve relationship strength.

Just like a classic marketing adoption curve the member/customer typology introduced in the Index reflects that associations in general have between 8-10% at both the highest and lowest ends of the engagement spectrum while loyals (31%) actives (29%) and opens (22%) make up the bulk of the relationships ranging in intensity. Results strongly vary across industry sector, regions and associations (See Figure 4).

Fig. 4: Share of members & customers by engagement level segments across associations, markets and industry sectors

• Mature markets have not only the highest amount of passives/detractors but also have the lowest number of multipliers/advocates and loyal members and customers. Conversely, emerging and developing markets are stronger where mature markets are week in relationships and engagement types.

• Multiplier and loyal types are twice as likely to renew their membership then passive or open types.

• The differences in product purchase and usage by members and customers is significant across the five Index engagement types suggesting that efforts must be made to improve relationships at the lower ends of where the least engaged are.

• The Index also measures the likely intent of each engagement type to use a different product such as conferences, training, webinars, chapter meetings, journals, social media, etc. Again, dramatic differences show that the less engaged are less likely to consume products in the future suggesting that unless things change they will remain disconnected and disaffected (See Figure 5).


Fig. 5: Share of respondents planning to use products / services versus engagement level segments

To make improvements in relationship strength (engagement), associations will need to develop activation strategies. Here are some suggestions based on the results from the Index that would be useful as such strategies are developed.

1. Treat members who are not buying products or actively involved as “leads and prospects” and design a strategy that doesn’t assume they read anything members usually receive. The Index data shows they have a poor understanding of all aspects of the association to which they belong and have a very limited appreciation of the value proposition or offering.

2. Members and customers who tend to renew and purchase or use some products should be activated through programs designed to build their loyalty.

3. Loyal members who purchase products relatively frequently should be activated to become multipliers or advocates.

4. “Multipliers” or advocates are to be treated with special care. Programs should be custom designed to maintain their passion and to identify ways to channel desire in support of the association.

8. Managing based on measurement must become more important

Associations need to analyze their own customer research findings to align these findings with their international business strategy, internal processes and organizational limitations. Member and customer experience must become a key focus and then measures need to be defined and action to be taken to improve, for example by following this approach:

Step 1: Insight generation & needs assessment – interpreting and validating research results.

• Identify focus areas by doing a results based SWOT analysis:

» Where are the strengths of the association from a customer/member perspective? Find ways to leverage those areas.

» What are the weak points with the most urgent need for improvement? Remove dangerous weaknesses.

» What are the most promising areas for engagement increase and differentiation? Focus on opportunity areas that offer the best potential.

» Where are latent risks? Explore ways to minimize risk.

• Prioritize focus areas matching existing member/customer service processes and offering then discuss implications for the future member/customer service strategy.


Step 2: Root cause analysis – mapping member/customer service processes and product portfolio with customer experiences.

• Discuss internal processes and workflows in the focus areas according to step 1 which will result in a “business mapping.”

• Assess processes and portfolio by three perspectives:

» Impact from people / internal organization

» Impact from processes & tools

» Impact from communication

Step 3: Develop improvement measures – define action plans, set performance targets and manage change.

• Develop action plans for each focus area with desired outcome

• Plan implementation with responsibilities, timeline, milestones, performance targets and action monitoring


TO LEARN MORE, JOIN THE GEI COMMUNITYThe conversation around the results from the GEI 2016 and the Summit is ongoing: More findings from the study and discussions around them are available by logging into our Global Engagement Community at: http://www.engagementindex.org/.

Stay tuned for the official announcement of an Engagement Index for the American domestic market (AEI) and another for international associations based in Europe (EEI) for launch in early 2017. This will give participating associations the opportunity to apply the same research methodology to members and customers in the market here in the USA.

Visit the website for updates on any of the Engagement Index programs as they are made available.

We welcome your feedback on the GEI2016 as it continues. Contact Peter Turner by phone at +1.571.275.1516 or by email [email protected] to share your questions and experiences.

Engagement Index Creators & Producers

About MCI

MCI is a global market development company helping associations engage and activate target audiences while building strong relationships within client communities to strengthen brands and boost performance. We offer strategy, marketing, business development, conference and education program management and full back office capability. An independent, privately held company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, MCI has offices with WOFE business licenses in over 31 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa and deliver projects for clients all over the world.


About FairControl

FairControl is a global market research and advisory firm based in Munich, Germany, designing and delivering multi-layered survey instruments used to reveal individual opinions, attitudes, needs or current trends. Annually conducting over 30,000 face-to-face surveys, FairControl can design survey methods based on unique investigative goals and the target group to be surveyed. Our performance spectrum encompasses the following survey methods:

• Face-to-face surveys / CAPI• Telephone surveys / CATI• Online surveys• Interviewer teamhttp://www.faircontrol.com/

Published by MCI Group

Research & Analysis by FairControl, Gmbh

Rapporteur – Special thanks to Mark Athitakis

For more information on the GEI2016 or future Engagement Index studies, please contact:

Theresa DeConinck, Director of External Relations [email protected]

Peter Turner, Senior Advisor Global Development Strategy [email protected]

Nikki Walker, Global Vice President, Association Management & Consulting [email protected]




http://www.faircontrol.com/




Documents

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INDEX 2016proportion (3,611 interviews) from emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, South American and Eastern Europe. Developing economies, mainly in Africa,