To keep my mind active, I spend time reading in three interest areas, economics, history and sports. So here is a chart that incorporates two of them — history and economics. We have had and will continue to have some challenging economic times. But this table highlights why it will…
December 22nd, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | ContinuedArchive for Tony Rossell
Tony Rossell serves as the senior vice president of Marketing General, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia. A frequent writer and speaker on marketing topics, he is a contributing author to two books, Membership Marketing (ASAE 2000) and Membership Essentials (ASAE 2008). Contact Tony at 703-706-0360 or at Tony@marketinggeneral.com.
Does the Washington Post have the Full Story?
The Washington Post headlined the struggles of associations today on the front page of the Business Section. The article presented a pretty dire story faced by many associations. The Post says,
“Reflecting the economic turmoil of the industries they represent, many national trade associations based in Washington are hemorrhaging members who either…
December 15th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Costco Membership Up 30,000 per Week and Renewals at All-Time High of 87%
Retailers have been hit particularly hard this season, but not retailers who offer membership. Costco is reporting big membership gains and strong membership renewals.
“At quarter-end on November 23, our paid executive membership topped eight million, an increase of almost 400,000 or 5% just in the last 12 weeks or about 30,000…
December 12th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
The Word on the Street
I have enjoyed emailing and talking with a number of marketers over the last few weeks. The constant question that I am asked is, “what are you seeing out there with other associations?”
It is a smart question, because according to McKinsey and Company,” the broader forces at work in the…
December 2nd, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Successfully On Boarding and Engaging New Members
How can you increase the retention rate of your first year members by 12 percent?
Darryl Walter, formerly with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and now with The Wildlife Society shared how he did it in the November issue of DMAW Marketing Advents.
As you may have read in…
November 26th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
The Importance of Membership Marketing Expertise
Marketing smart is more important than ever during these challenging times. And it does take time and practice to become a smart marketing or to become accomplished in any profession.
Malcolm Gladwell makes this point in his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little Brown).
He noted in a recent…
November 25th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
It is the Best of Times!
Eighty percent of marketing is very logical. However, twenty percent of it is counter intuitive. Understanding the counter intuitive aspects of marketing is what often determines success.
November 13th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Here is an example of a non-logical truth. The best time to acquire new members can be during an economic downturn.
Yes, you read that…
Building Your Constituency in order to Build Your Membership
You can call it branding, you can call it building awareness, you can even call it feeding your database, but it is an important new way to ultimately grow your paid membership.
Let me explain this by relating the recent membership success of my friend Howard Wahlberg.
Howard is the…
November 7th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Blogging and Twitter Seminars
Friends of this blog, Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer, have put together several seminars on social networking that they are making available. They look really good. You can contact them directly to find out more at: Social Fish.
Here are a couple of the upcoming topics that are available.
Introduction to Personal…
October 28th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Economic Growth: Comparison of Non-Profits to the National GDP
How are non-profit organizations growing compared to the overall economy?
Based on data from 2002 through 2006 (the last industry specific data available) it looks like non-profits are falling behind the rest of the economy. To make this comparison, I looked at the overall GDP against the North American Industry Classification…
October 23rd, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Membership as Economical Unemployment Insurance
Positioning your membership offer is as important as ever. And when it is done properly, I am seeing membership marketing response rates continue at a good pace this fall.
October 16th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Here is an example of a smart way to position the benefits of a professional membership. I received this promotion in the…
Making Your Marketing Memorable
Psychologists tell us that three of the parameters to help people retain information are Frequency, Intensity, and Duration.
October 10th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
So how can you apply these rules to make your marketing more memorable? Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.
Frequency: Marketing is remembered when multiple impressions are received. No we do not…
Supply and Demand Applied to Membership Marketing
With gas prices up and down, we are hearing a lot these days about supply and demand. So I was thinking, how does supply and demand play out with membership marketing?
Here are three observations.
- Demand for membership renewals is fairly inelastic. Meaning a percentage increase in dues rates generally does…
ASAE Social Networking Group for Membership Marketing
If you are a member of ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership, you are eligible to participate in their social networking site. This is a place where you can post questions, engage in conversations, and connect to other like minded professionals.
Today, I set up a group on the site…
October 1st, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Turning Data into Marketing Intelligence
I do not have an easy answer to this situation. But I believe that turning data into actionable knowledge remains one of the most substantial marketing challenges for associations.
From my interactions with associations, it seems that large amounts of data are now available from web trends, member and customer purchases,…
September 24th, 2008 | Tony Rossell | Comments | Continued
Done (just love having a to-do checked off so quickly). Thanks. Now to practice writing that on checks ;) 
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