By Michael Copp, Executive Vice President
As the PHCC National team enters into its renewal efforts, membership value needs to be front and center for the upcoming year. While it’s been a major focus area within the PHCC strategic plan, the federation is not growing sufficiently to outpace members who’ve left, in addition to recruiting new members. So how do we stack up overall? PHCC National saw an incredible 89% retention rate despite the ongoing pandemic as compared to “85% for trade associations…” (Retrieved on the World Wide Web on August 19, 2021, at https://www.modernmarketingpartners.com/5-ways-increase-association-membership-recruitment-retention/). Members indicated in a recent survey that COVID-19 Resources were highly valuable and therefore, could explain the higher retention rate.
Modern Marketing Partners in their article, “5 Ways to Increase Association Membership Recruitment and Retention,” outlines five tips for retaining and recruiting members that include: Retrieved on the World Wide Web on August 19, 2021, at https://www.modernmarketingpartners.com/5-ways-increase-association-membership-recruitment-retention/ ).
- Provide Sought-After Benefits- “[and] throughout your forms of communication – from your emails to your website – emphasize what you provide that no other organization can.”
- Encourage Current Members to Recruit New Members- “Offering referral programs and member drives can be great ways to convince current members to recruit new members [and think about attractive incentives].”
- Ask for Feedback- “Feedback is also especially valuable from new members; they’re the ones most at risk for non-renewal. Consider a loyalty assessment to determine your new members’ feelings about the association.”
- Get personal- “Offering a personalized experience is another great way to keep current members engaged. Just consider the statistic that emails are 22.2% more likely to be opened with a personalized subject line. Using the member’s first name in both the subject line and body of the email will make the member more likely to pay attention to it.”
- Promote Renewal Early- “Set up reminders early and frequently, pointing out the benefits they’ll miss out on if they allow their membership to lapse. Preventing lapses in renewals entirely will greatly improve your retention rate.”
I wrote back in 2019 that as we embark on new ways to recruit members, PHCC’s industry partners can be strong allies. Our industry sponsors are very proud of their association with PHCC and truly believe in our collective mission. Many of them indicate that when they are in contact with non-member contractors through their rep network, they would have ideal opportunities to share co-branded collateral that talks about their association and success with PHCC– with instructions about how to join. Additionally, as we consider that the PHCC leadership has observed that not everyone is aware of the various benefits across the federation, a “bundle” of offerings that could be presented to members and prospects would be seen as having great value to the contractor.
I still believe there is a need for greater clarity about what each level offers and recognition that all levels of the Federation have a shared responsibility for communicating tangible value of membership at all three levels.’” Some stratified examples of PHCC offerings are shown below: (not a complete list)
So, our job is to not only to communicate what we collectively offer, but also show our members (and prospective members) how to access and use the resources to help address their specific professional and business needs. Below is a partial list of specific resources that I think illustrate the “tangible” value of PHCC membership.
| I Need To... | Find it Here… |
|---|---|
| Stay informed and connect to how-to resources during the COVID-19 pandemic | phccweb.org/preparedness/ |
| Save money on services | phccweb.org/discounts |
| Attract, hire and retain skilled workers. | phccweb.org/workforcephccweb.org/careercenterphccareers.com |
| Participate in educational programs. | www.phccweb.org/training-education/ |
| Improve my business management knowledge and skills. | phccweb.org/webinarsphccweb.org/connect |
| Learn more about specific government affairs and legislative efforts. | phccweb.org/government |
| Access my PHCC benefits and resources in one place. | phccweb.org/resourcecenter |
| Learn about the latest PHCC and industry news. | phccweb.org/news |
| Connect directly with PHCC chapters in my area. | phccweb.org/chapters |
| Find national and local events that cater to my business. | phccweb.org/events |
| Grow and increase my service and repair business. | phccweb.org/qsc |
| Get help for a new construction company of my size. | phccweb.org/cca |
| Get help for union contractors like me. | phccweb.org/uac |
| Get technical help with a code question. | community.phccweb.org/resourcecenter/member-benefits/tech-line |
| Find HVAC resources. | phccweb.org/hvac |
| Access plumbing resources. | phccweb.org/plumbing |
| Find technology interest group. | phccweb.org/technology |
A list of benefits from PHCC National can be found here and if you’d like to learn more about PHCC benefits, please email us at customercare@naphcc.org or call (800)533-7694.
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