Understanding Generation Z

Associations have been focused over the last few years on growing their millennial membership. It has been much more difficult to bring millennials into associations than previous generations. Although it is important to keep understanding and pursuing millennials, there’s a new kid in town that your focus should also include. The older group of Generation Z is now reaching the age of college graduates and young professionals. In order to relate to them and capture their attention, it is important that you understand them.

Generation Z includes people born between the mid to late 1990s and 2015. Generation Z is unique in several ways. They are known for having an optimistic outlook on things despite having grown up in a post-9/11 world and living through a recession. Gen Z’s have also never known a world without advanced technology. They are quick to learn and figure things out. These traits can be incredibly useful to your association bringing different perspectives to leadership.

Gen Z’s also have a tendency to be researchers. They take information from multiple sources, fact check, and form their own opinions on things. This leads to a lot of time spent on Google which might not be a bad place to find them! They often do quite a bit of research on a company or brand before committing to it. This means your website and social media should be up to date, informative, and relevant.

When it comes to their work life, Gen Z’s are always seeking opportunities and ways to gain experience. This makes them a great fit for associations! Pairing them with mentors and providing educational content will allow them to get what they want out of joining.

Another thing to keep in mind when considering ways to recruit and involve this group, is that they are accustomed to instant gratification. If they do not get this, they can often get frustrated or assume something is wrong. Keep this in mind when setting up the application system for membership, registration for events, and any other interactions where they might expect a complimentary email or gratification.

Generation Z makes for the perfect association member. The obstacle is recruiting and retaining them. Continue to learn about this age group and find ways to make your benefits match what they need.

A Personal Touch Goes a Long Way: An Engagement Success Story

We all know what it is like to open our email each morning to find it flooded with things we have subscribed to in years past. Among that sea of emails, important emails often get lost such as association emails. One of our clients wanted to reach their members to alert them of a call for nominations for their annual awards gala but was unable to get the response they needed via email.

Impact’s Executive Administrator, Ann, stepped in and made phone calls to all non-members and members reminding them of the submissions and encouraging their participation. Many conversations were had and the members were able to get to know the people behind the screens. It also allowed the notice to be brought to their attention in a way that stood out and felt personal.

This effort proved to be a huge success! Between their last awards gala and most recent, there was a 30% increase in entries. It is important to try new things. If you are not getting the response you want, don’t continue to reach members in the same way. Something is not working. This is not to say that several touch points won’t help, but it is important to be strategic and think of how your members respond best.

Focusing on Young Professionals

Now more than ever, recent college grads and young professionals will be looking for new ways to grow their careers. Your association can offer them something they cannot get anywhere else, connections! The problem for this age bracket has always been and will always remain money. They are coming out of college with debt and no job meaning they aren’t exactly looking to throw money into an association. Below you will find a few solutions to this obstacle and what you should be marketing to the young professional demographic.

Discounts. If money is an obstacle, provide discounts to students and young professionals. As they age and become more stable within their careers, they will be able to pay more and their membership price can increase. Discounts, however, will help get them in the door, which can often be the hardest part.

Job Boards. If the group you are targeting is fresh out of college, provide them the opportunity to find a job through your organization. Include a section for starter jobs or internships. If the job board proves successful for them, you can guarantee a long term member.

Networking Opportunities. You might be thinking now is not the time to network, but you are wrong! People need networking opportunities now more than ever. Set up meetings or even a speed networking opportunity online. Zoom can be your new best friend when it comes to bringing members together. This shift also makes members of national organizations more comfortable with the idea moving forward.

Professional Development. Professional development for young professionals should look different than professional development you are offering members of 10-15 years. Help young professionals to create an elevator speech, explain what the perfect resume looks like, provide inside tips on what companies are looking for when hiring. Older members can be the perfect mentors when it comes to those starting off their careers.

Leadership Roles. Get your younger members involved right off the bat. When they join, send them information about your young professionals’ committee or mention that there is a rotating spot on the board for a young professional. This is the perfect resume builder and could be a huge incentive to stay in the organization long term.

Young professionals might be the more difficult group to recruit, but the results will pay off. If you can make lifelong members out of them and set up their first few years for success, they will bring revenue and future members to the organization.

A Membership Campaign that Works

We all have members that have fallen off through the years or a targeted group of potential members. They remain in your contact list and you might send them the occasional email blast inviting them to an event or trying to entice them to rejoin the group. Why not take that a step further? One of our Executive Administrators, Caroline, did just that for one of our clients!

Caroline noticed a lack of new members joining and wanted to help her client grow their membership. In December 2019, she launched a new member recruitment campaign. This campaign targeted those in the industry and area that were not members. The campaign offered a 50% discount on 2020 dues to nonmembers. The regular rate is $260, making the discounted rate $130. Seeing that 50% off discount is enough to at least have people pause and consider the offer.

She then mailed this promotion to 272 non-members. The response was great and put the association back in front of some new eyes. Through this campaign, the association gained 11 new members and a branch of a current member that included 17 new individuals.

Associations might be hesitant to take this jump when thinking about costs. You might assume taking a cut in dues and spending the time and resources to send out a mailer, will not pay off. The results, however, showed. The total cost of sending the mailer and generating the list of recipients was $392.28. The income from this campaign was $1560 for this year alone. This results in a net income of $1,167.62. This is a huge for a nonprofit! It also only represents the amount of income generated from this campaign in this year. These new members will likely stick around for future years paying the full amount.

In looking for ways to grow membership or get previous members back involved, it is important to try new things. By giving a discount as an incentive, you are giving those members a trial run of what being a member of the association would look like. Once they have been in there, seen the benefits, and connected with others, they are more likely to stick around.

Engaging Young Professionals

The hot topic for associations right now is engaging young professionals. Younger generations are either not seeing the value in membership or do not have the extra income to pay for one. Christina McCoy with AMPED spoke to our group on how to involve young professionals and provide them the value they are looking for rather than just a generic membership.

Identify the problem. What is causing young professionals to stay clear of your association? Is there a void in education? Are there enough networking opportunities? Many young professionals have the perception of “This isn’t for me yet.”

Set some goals in place to change this mindset. Obtain better data on the audience, advocate for money in the budget to be dedicated to young professionals, and create a dialogue between young professionals and other members. This will help to immerse them more in the organization. It could also help to provide opportunities and resources specifically for the young professionals. Hold an educational session for young professionals by young professionals or host a young professional breakfast at your conference. This will allow the group to connect with one another easier.

Another way to get this demographic engaged is to restructure parts of the organization to include young professionals. Create a committee for young professionals or include a spot on the board for one. This will allow people who understand the upcoming generations better to be making the decisions on how to engage them.

When making these changes, it is important to have the proper execution. Make sure to stay flexible. Some ideas will work and others will not. Be ready to adjust when those plans do not go as planned. It can also be helpful to create a timeline or use a project management tool to ensure things are moving at the right speed. This initiative cannot be something that falls off the radar after a few months or any time spent on it will be wasted.

It is also important to evaluate the success of the efforts after they have been made. Come back to your initial goals and see how much progress has been made. It might be as simple as noting engagement from young professionals on social media or tracking the increase of attendance from young professionals to the organization’s events. Any progress is something to be excited about but it is important to maintain the efforts moving forward. There will always be a new group with new challenges that you are trying to involve more in the association.