The American Neurological Association (ANA) is a new client to Association Headquarters. The ANA is a professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to advancing the goals of academic neurology; training and educating neurologists and other physicians in the neurologic sciences; and expanding the understanding of diseases of the nervous system and the ability to treat them. In the fall of 2013, staff knew it was time to begin the first membership renewal campaign for ANA (an organization that has been in existence since 1875). The membership campaign was kicked off after the New Year.
Now, you might think an organization established more than a century ago would not need to do a renewal campaign. Since the constituency is composed of academic neurologists and neuroscientists, the model designed was to wait until everyone returned from winter break and then send out a hard copy mailing. Then, a followup hard copy mailing was sent, with phone calls and committee meetings scheduled in the interim.
As a new team, we felt the pressure of some pretty hefty membership goals and it was important to get started on renewals as soon as possible. In November 2013 we began sending out email reminders to all current members. This allowed the ANA to establish a base membership for the coming year. The response was overwhelmingly positive. In previous years, approximately 6 percent of members renewed before the New Year, which was fine because these were the most engaged members and there was no expectation to renew at that point.
However, simply by engaging membership through a fairly low-impact, low-cost manner, we were able to increase the renewal rate before the New Year. It is important to make it easy for members to renew, join or volunteer when the time is right for them. You might be surprised at the outstanding results you see when you invite members in on their terms. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.
Jessica Smith, the director of education and membership for the American Neurological Association (ANA), works to ensure successful growth and development of education and membership offerings. Prior to ANA, she served as director of education and research for the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), where she designed and executed continuing medical education for certified hand therapists, including webinars, regional courses, and test preparatory publications. Her work on both strategic and tactical levels has positively impacted world-renowned organizations, such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jessica is a recipient of American Society of Association Executive’s (ASAE) Certificate Program in Association Management, a program which provides a means for association professionals to build the competencies they need to manage their organizations more effectively. She is also a recipient of the 2011 Web Health Award for her work with Living Well With Epilepsy. Jessica now judges the Web Health Awards and the Web Marketing Associations’ Web Awards annually. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Jessica also regularly speaks on the topics of Navigating Social Media and Epilepsy Awareness.
