Public Relations - Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

PUBLIC RELATIONS Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM

PUBLIC RELATIONS Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM

PUBLIC RELATIONS Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM

This book is a reprint of the 2016-17 Public Relations articles appearing in the District 7 Toastmasters electronic magazine, Voices!

Please implement the ideas contained in this book to increase membership and retention in your Toastmasters club or community organization.

Phyllis A Harmon, DTM 2016-17 Public Relations Manager District 7 Toastmasters phylls.harmon@d7toastmasters.org

Š 2016-2017 PHYLLS HARMON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Table of Contents Who is YOUR Public?

1

Crafting Your Message

5

Making Your Story Newsworthy

9

KEEP IT SIMPLE! Flyer Design

14

Be a Genius—Use CRM to Convert Guests to Members

18

Is Your Website Naughty or Nice?

22

Boost Club Membership in 2017— Embrace the Online Option

28

Lessons from a Master Chef

35

Do You Know Your Customers?

42

Curing Empty-Chair-itis

50

QUICK GUIDE: Tips & Resources

56

Who is YOUR Public?

Toastmasters International’s latest statistics proudly state that there are now 15,400 clubs in 135 countries. We are growing, expanding, and widening our footprint—providing leadership and communication skills to 332,000 people, who ultimately will use the skills they hone to improve their lives and those within their spheres of influence. Good for us, right? Certainly laudable accomplishments and worthy of the international publicity received!

But let me play devil’s advocate a minute.

How does this knowledge help you to spread the word about YOUR club and what you have to offer? I suggest the answer to my rhetorical question is “not much!” Statistics make a great backdrop to whatever else is going on, but they aren’t the reason you are publicizing your club.

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In case you haven’t heard this before—public relations is about building relationships with your public—which circles back to the topic of this month’s column. (Rather clever, wouldn’t you say?)

Several years ago, a budding author asked me for my help in letting the world know he had just been published, to find him paid speaking gigs, and to generate media coverage.

One of my first questions was “who is your audience?” The answer? “Everyone.”

Hmmmm. . .no target audience—no focused message to said audience—just “Everyone.” My task just became unmanageable.

What? Did you just ask me WHY it became unmanageable? Because to effectively publicize anything—whether it be a new author, service activity, or your Toastmasters club—you need to target your message.

First, ask yourself, who do you want to act on your message (and for goodness sakes, don’t answer “everyone”)? Here is a simple rule of thumb for defining your target market: who would be most interested in what you have to offer? Think about it.

Stick your head out your proverbial door and look around. Really pay attention. What’s happening out there? Write it down.

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But don’t stop there. Do some web research (well, do LOTS of web research) to determine the demographics of your community.

Next, ask yourself: Does what you’re offering solve a need, soothe a pain, or provide a service that is being overlooked by the competition?

Can it help skyrocket someone’s career, or help someone find a new job opportunity, or help someone ease into retirement? Find out and write it down.

Okay, let’s bring this back to the club level.

Part of your research is determining what makes your club unique. What does your club do that sets it apart from clubs x, y, and z? What does your club do differently, better, or in a more creative way?

Who are your members (oldest, youngest, nationality, culture, history, etc.) What hobbies, careers, other interests do your members possess? What keeps you coming back? What keeps everyone else coming back? Write it all down (your list should be getting pretty long by now)!

Now that you understand what makes your club unique (and your members tick), it’s time to play matchmaker.

Okay, already! Sheesh! For you impatient 3

types who want me to get to the point, it’s time to identify your target market. With the research you’ve done on members, club, and community start looking for commonalities. In one of my clubs, there are several car enthusiasts. They spend a great deal of time looking at engines, talking about torque, tires, and timing belts. Considering the club and the members I just mentioned, who would be my community target audience? You guessed it! Car hobbyists.

(Remember you are looking for commonalities, touch points of connectivity.)

Once you’ve identified a target audience, discover how they share information about events, what magazines they read, and which social media sites they frequent.

Got it? Good!

You just identified your first target market (nice job, give yourself a round of applause)! Remember—do your research and WRITE IT DOWN! 4

Crafting Your Message In the last issue, you learned that focusing your message to a target audience was more effective than sending out a message to “everyone.” I shared that you would get better results by knowing who your target audience was and then crafting your message to speak to their interests.

With the research on your target audience you did last month (you did do it, didn’t you?), you now know who they are, how they receive current information (newsletters, websites, social media, etc.), and what events they attend. Have you got your research handy? If not, go fetch it—I’ll wait. . .

Got it? Good! Let’s assume that your identified target audience are people in an active retirement community, between the ages of 68-75, who get together weekly over coffee and pastries. They publish a monthly newsletter, hold community events, and host a weekly bingo game.

You want to interest this group in attending an open house to learn about your Toastmasters 5

club which meets on the premises Thursday evenings. Hmmmm. . .There are a couple of points you should consider before crafting your open house promotion: 1. Your target audience is probably not going to respond to messages about career advancement, and 2. They will more likely respond to messages that talk about social interaction, fun, or leisure time activities.

Yikes—guess what! The typical Toastmasters promotional materials available are not going to work with your target audience. Does that mean you should give up. . .throw your hands in the air and walk away? Of course not! It does mean you need to be a bit more creative. You can do that!

Here’s how: Contact the business office of the retirement community, and let them know your club plans to host an evening of entertainment for the residents. (Don’t call it an open house or demonstration meeting. The phrases “open house” and “demonstration meeting” can sound an awful lot like a sales pitch.)

Keeping your target audience in mind, design your entertainment evening around food, storytelling and perhaps a presentation about the 6

best way to engage an audience or tell a story.

Pick your speakers carefully. Choose members who demographically match your target audience. Remember that if the audience can’t identify with the speakers, they won’t be inspired to join your club. Keep the evening light, socially interactive, and fun. Leave lots of time for networking and one-to-one face time.

Okay. The evening is on the community’s schedule, you’ve got your committees working on finding the right speakers, food is being organized, and everything appears to be under control.

But wait—haven’t you forgotten something?

How will your target audience know about your event? Word of mouth? Maybe. But wouldn’t a notice promoting your event be more effective?

(I know, I’ve finally gotten around to the subject of this month’s article.)

While a national press release may not be appropriate for your local event, a write up in the local newspaper or community’s newsletter would certainly be worthwhile. Consider creating a flyer for the community’s bulletin board and posting it on social media. Don’t forget about creating an event on Craig’s List, Meetup, and Facebook, to name a few. Two of 7

my favorite free sites for posting upcoming, community events are Americantowns.com and Oregonlive.com. Both provide bulletin boards for promoting events. The point is to broadcast your event in as many media outlets as possible.

But what do you write? What would appeal to your target audience? What’s your hook? What would keep them reading and inspire them to attend your event?

Easy. Go back to your research on your target audience. Craft your notice and postings to appeal to their interests. For example, I am retired from paid employment. I love getting together with friends and sharing a good laugh or two. If there is free food, count me in!

Here is a short sample notice— You could write a human interest article about the speakers. A longer article might mention the storytellers names and a small byte of information about their topics. But be cautious! Your article should not be overly long or too detailed. It is after all just a taste of what’s to come.

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Making Your Story Newsworthy What makes a story newsworthy? Perhaps a better way to ask is “what would make a reader actually read what you write?” Sure, some people might be interested to know that your club meets every week, at XYZ location—but that doesn’t make it newsworthy, or better said, worthy of taking up valuable real estate in the news section of the local newspaper. I know, newspapers are becoming as archaic as buggy whips—but that doesn’t change the point I’m trying to make.

Before I talk about what makes a story newsworthy, let’s talk a little journalistic history.

Many years ago, in the predawn of the Internet, people read newspapers. . .every day. (I know what you’re thinking—save the trees, cut down on waste, whaa, whaa, whaa). Some people read more than one a day. There were dailys that reported breaking news, weeklies that reported

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on community happenings and grocery sales, and business newspapers focused on the vagaries of the stock market (some were dailies and others weeklies). Then there were the Sunday editions, full of opinion pieces, comic strips, colored ads paid for by the large department stores, sports pages, want ads, etc. They were twice the pages of the dailys, making them extra special, and worthy of the 50 cents they cost. (I’m dating myself, aren’t I?).

Editors, then and now, decided what was printed. Over the years, they’ve developed a set of criteria by which all news stories are measured. Why? Because newspapers are a for-profit commodity. They rely on subscriptions and advertising to stay in the black. If readers aren’t interested in what’s contained in their newspapers, subscriptions drop, advertising dollars dry up, and stockholders and company owners lose money on their investments. (Loss of revenue equals loss of editor wages.)

But I digress. To make your story newsworthy, it must meet two of the following criteria: Is it timely?

Is your story new or current? Unless you are writing a human interest story about one of your members, breaking news is just that. Did Toastmaster Leonard just win the lottery and buy the building your club meets in? He says that 10

your club never have to worry about meeting space again. In fact, he is donating space to all clubs in the area. That’s newsworthy!

For your story to meet the Timeliness measure, you must act on your news right away.

The longer between the actual event and your reporting of it, the more white whiskers your story grows. When it has a full, Santa-type beard, it’s too old and stale.

Proximity (is the news close to home?)

If, in our example, Toastmaster Leonard actually lives in Pawtucket, Idaho, will the story be important in Southern Oregon or Longview, Washington? The Proximity test determines whether a story will play well in the local market.

Of course, depending on the story, it might.

For instance, if the building Leonard bought is owned by Toastmaster Henry, your local car dealer, it will pass the proximity sniff test— depending on the angle of the story.

Prominence (anybody we know?)

Big names (politicians, business leaders, celebrities, or Toastmaster Henry) tied to your story will guarantee that it passes the Prominence test. In our scenario, Henry’s reactions to the sale of his building will make this story interesting and newsworthy.

Impact or Consequence (so what?)

How many people will your story affect? If 11

Toastmaster Henry donates the money from the sale of his building to the local homeless shelter, thereby getting more people off the streets, that’s newsworthy!

Think of this criteria as the “so what” test. If your story has consequences for your audience, it will pass the Impact or Consequence test with flying colors.

Human Interest Does your story tug at the emotions? People love inspirational stories of struggle. They want to know the ups and downs, and how your subject faces their challenge every day. If your story is a human interest story, all of the criteria tests can be waived. Think about our two Toastmasters, Leonard and Henry. Leonard won the lottery and shared his largesse with the clubs in his area. Henry donated his profits to help house the homeless. Two stories waiting to be told. What prompted them to act the way they did? If you tell their stories, your article will rate column space in the local newspaper—perhaps to be picked up by the wire services across the world.

If you are chuckling, thinking this article doesn’t apply to you, let me dispel that thought.

The same criteria that guided editors across the globe to decide what was printed, applies to you today—whether you are creating a blog, 12

Facebook posting, piece for your club newsletter, or (who’d a thunk it??) your next speech. Apply the criteria to every piece you write, and you will develop a following of avid readers. Best of all, you will gain a reputation for providing interesting and memorable content that people will flock to your club to hear. If people flock to your club, and your club provides a quality meeting, membership will skyrocket.

After all, isn’t that why you are writing your article—to attract people to your club, meeting, open house, etc? The media used is just the vehicle to share your news or story.

The next time you write a press release, article for the local newspapers or post a blog, check it against the five criteria of newsworthiness—is it timely, is it close to home, is it about anybody we know, who will it affect, and/or does it tug at our emotions. If it doesn’t, rewrite until it does. Newspapers might be as archaic as buggy whips, but the lessons learned over the years are still newsworthy.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE! Flyer Design Creating marketing flyers doesn’t have to be an arduous task. You can create fabulous flyers by following a universal formula - KEEP IT SIMPLE! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but putting too much detail on your flyer will guarantee that no one reads it. As a rule of thumb, your flyer will receive about 20 seconds worth of attention.

In that time, you want your intended audience to see graphics, who, what, where, and a call to action.

Should you add speaker biographies and long details of what the event is about? My short answer is don’t do it—at least on the front of the page.

What? You forgot there was a backside to your page? Don’t believe me? Simple test - pick up a piece of paper, look at it, then turn it over.

(Told you so!)

Okay—let’s get back to the subject at hand.

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Here is an example of a flyer front side.

The sample is great for a generic open house at your next club event. Of course if you have a keynote speaker as a draw to your event, replace the graphic with a headshot or action shot of your speaker.

Here is the same sample modified to highlight a keynote.

Example 1

Both samples are easy to read, contain only essential elements, and pass the 20-second- attention rule.

When you create your flyer consider the colors used. In the first example, the background is the same for both the top and bottom of the flyer, thus

Example 2

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creating a pleasant, easy-to-read piece for the eye. However, in the second example, the top and bottom are different focusing emphasis on the keynote.

There are studies that discuss in detail the psychology of colors. You may want to do some web exploration to find out what works best for your event. You can always fall back on the brand colors of your organization as a method for connecting to your sponsors.

Let’s also talk about fonts. In the two examples, Arial and Open Sans were used. While the two fonts are similar, the slight difference gives the flyers a nice, finished look. As a rule of thumb, two font styles are more than enough.

Speaking of a finished look, note that the margins are a bit deeper than those used in a typed page, the fonts are larger, and there is more space between the lines of text. Flyers should have an abundance of white space so that the eye can easily absorb the information within the reader’s 20-second attention span.

Let’s talk briefly about the back of the flyer (see example 3). As suggested earlier, use the back for more detailed information about your event, keynote, or organization’s mission and vision. I recommend that you stick to the color 16

scheme chosen for the front of the flyer. Preserve the margins, fonts, and line spacing used on the front of the flyer.

There you have it - great examples of how to create your next flyer. I recommend that you go to Google Images and look at different flyers created by others. Choose one that appeals to you, and try to recreate it.

Also, Toastmasters International has excellent materials for marketing your event. Go to their website and click on Resources. Follow the prompts to choose the correct sample Robert Becker, CSP Voice and Stagecraft Coach flyer for your event.

In the long run, creating flyers doesn’t have to be an arduous task.

Remember the five elements— graphics, who, what, where, and a call to action— and unleash your creative juices!

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Example 3

If you need help creating your flyer, send me an email at phyllis.harmon@d7toastmasters.org 17

Be a Genius—Use CRM to Convert Guests to Members Your guest book is a treasure trove of information about past visitors. Every visitor listed could be converted to a member with just a little bit of work. If you think about it, your guest book, while limited in scope, is nothing more than an old-fashioned, manual version of a customer relationship management (CRM system.

Sales professionals have used CRMs for several years to build and maintain strong, loyal relationships with customers and prospects. Last year,Toastmasters International adopted a CRM to capture new club prospects and share them with district leaders. In 2011, I introduced CRM to District 7 to track prospective club activities.

Every division director had record access so they could keep up to date on communications with the prospective clubs in their divisions. We successfully started 13 new clubs using CRM, 18

resulting in District 7 becoming a distinguished district for the first time in several years. An additional benefit was that new club start activities were available to the subsequent Club Growth Directors who had all the information they needed to carry on the mission of the District.

Using a CRM for your club’s public relations campaign is pure genius. It’s an easy way to store and manage visitor contact information and interactions in one central location. Ultimately a CRM solution keeps you in touch with every guest who steps through your door. It gives you all the information you need to form relationships with your visitors and convert them to members.

Your campaign begins with gathering consistent information from guests. This can be accomplished easily with a standardized, fill-in form handed to visitors when they arrive and collected when you meet with them following the meeting. All the information gathered, along with your meeting notes, is entered into the online CRM, which forms the backdrop for all ongoing communication.

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Yes, ongoing communication is highly recommended. After al—public relations is all about creating relationships with the public.

Unless you are very good at guest conversions during the initial visit, nurturing relationships is the best way to increase membership.

The sales motto, “people buy from people they like” applies as well to guests converting to members. Creating connections through communication fosters likeability. CRMs put reminder prompts, email functionality, and report capabilities at your club’s fingertips.

Use reminders to schedule follow-up notes, emails to answer questions and share information, and reports to determine visitor mix trends for targeting your message.

A customer relationship management system should be part of your club’s public relations campaign. There are several free, online programs for you to consider. Choose one that is easy to use and provides unlimited contacts, users, and storage. Look for one that can be customized to capture the data you want to track Decide what type of reports you may want to run, and add customized data fields accordingly.

Information that should be captured includes date of visit, last name, first name, home address, 20

email address, phone number, career field, reason for visiting the club, how they found out about your club, and what skills do they want to improve.

Using a customer relationship management system to grow your club is pure genius. Be a genius. Be extraordinary.

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Is Your Website Naughty or Nice?

It’s that season again when lists are checked to see who’s been naughty or nice this past year.

Tradition has it that those who didn’t behave received a lump of coal in their stockings hung by the fireside, while those who did received all kinds of wonderful, useful gifts.

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time checking lists of website links to see which clubs in District 7 are visitor friendly, follow the 2011 branding guidelines, and contain current information.

Yikes! There are several who should receive the proverbial lump of coal for neglected, out of date, broken links, and. . . (said in hushed tones) unbranded websites!!

Neglect is one of the challenges every club website faces. It’s not nice to visit a website where 22

the last update was six years ago, has the wrong meeting address, or (worse yet) out-of-date or no branding.

Websites, like children, require constant attention. It’s not nice to find that the last time someone updated the content was 2013. My first question when visiting one of these websites is, “does this club even exist?”

It really is annoying to spend time clicking on a club url only to find the links are broken. Of course, unlike a potential visitor, I dig deeper, much deeper. I’m finding websites have been abandoned in favor of Facebook or a club management system, or vice versa. Well, ok. . . but who’s responsibility is it to update the url in Club Central?

There was a time when clubs were free to be downright creative with what they displayed on their websites. Some were darn cute with cartoon creatures cavorting across the page. Others were works of art using wood tones, trees, and beautiful fonts. Then there were those pages that looked like they’d been created at the dawn of the computer age.

That all changed in 2011. Toastmasters International, under whose umbrella clubs exist (kind of like a franchise arrangement), refreshed the logo, message, and brand colors. There was a 23

huge communications campaign which included a “how to” handbook, webinars, contests, and brand ambassadors who were available to help clubs update and refresh their club materials and electronic resources.

Today, five years later, there are clubs who should receive coal in their holiday stocking for not updating their web presence to reflect current branding. (Like Santa, I’ll protect your names, but. . .!)

Did you know that Toastmasters isn’t particular about what type of website your club chooses to use—as long as the club follows the brand guidelines? You can find setup guides, mastheads, and other useful information for bringing your club website current under Resources on the Toastmasters International website.

Did you also know that there are members who can and will assist you to set up your site or bring it into compliance? Contact me at phyllis.harmon@d7toastmasters.org for more information.

You can get your website off Santa’s naughty list, and avoid impending coal in your holiday stocking, with a periodic maintenance schedule.

Just like tuning up your car, maintenance keeps your website humming along. It can also help 24

you identify and fix issues before they become a major problem.

Weekly Website Checks All pages are loading without errors Check all forms to ensure they are working properly Review and resolve any issues with emails sent from the web server Check and remove spam comments, form submissions and user accounts Check that member email addresses are current Check for any broken links Check for 404 errors and resolve these by fixing links or redirecting Marketing: Update front page with current club news Check social media links to/from website

Monthly Website Checks Review security scans and resolve any issues Review website statistics. What is your most popular content?

What is your least popular? Where are visitors coming from?

What is your best conversion source? Tweak your content to suit Spell check and audit content for readability Review your local search visibility Marketing: send an update to your email list

Quarterly Website Checks Review website—what could be improved?

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Web Graphics and photos—are these up to date? Could they be improved to be more current?

Check your website content—what is dated and what could be improved?

Review and tweak meta title and meta description tags Test the website to ensure that it looks and displays properly on the most popular browsers and mobile devices Validate your site. (CSS/HTML, Accessibility, Mobile-friendly) Review and adjust website advertising campaigns

Yearly Website Checks Update the copyright date in your website footer and in any other references Review each page of the site for content accuracy Renew your website domains name(s) Review your website strategy to align with your club goals

The Psychology of Visitors Visitors come to club websites with certain expectations - they want to know quickly (within 10 - 15 seconds) whether the club meeting fits within their schedule, if the members look friendly, what type of a group is it (fun, serious, professional, casual), and what makes your club different from the one down the street.

Most people won’t follow links unless absolutely forced to. The perceived information must be so compelling that they must take that next step.

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In eye-tracking studies conducted in 2008, people were found to scan (not read) from left to right, then down the page in a diagonal line to the left bottom corner and then across to the right bottom corner, creating a “Z” pattern.

Anything not on those points is considered secondary information. Additionally, small, fuzzy pictures were ignored. Large, high quality pictures, of ordinary people looking directly into the camera caused the visitor to linger on the page for about 5 seconds. That’s nearly a third of the time someone visits your web page! Large blocks of text were ignored. Floating messages were also ignored.

And speaking of expectations, the Toastmasters 2011 brand is very familiar. TI has done an excellent job of acquainting the general public with the logo, colors, and tagline of the organization.

Imagine the poor visitor who lands on a website, purported to be a Toastmasters club page, and finds no branding or old branding.

Their radar goes up, and they have to determine whether it’s a “fake” website or whether the club is defunct.

When faced with unmet expectations, visitors will opt to leave your page in under 3 seconds.

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Boost Club Membership in 2017—Embrace the Online Option In August 2015, Toastmasters International threw open the membership door giving clubs the ability to recruit members who might never cross their thresholds by attending club meetings online.

The 2015 protocol change gave clubs a boost in member retention and recruitment opportunities. Members, who leave because of relocations, changes in work schedules, or who can no longer make their way to the meetings, could now stay connected via the Internet.

Niche clubs, like Fe e d b a c ke r s , Storymasters, and Thrill of the Quill, could attract remote members by providing online options.

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The days of hearing “if only” comments can be relegated to the annals of history. You know the conversation, “if only you met at a more reasonable time/location/day of the week, I would love to join your club!” Now you can respond with, “Never fear! I have a solution that will work for you!”

So the question is, What’s holding you back?

If your club is recruiting new members, or looking for ways to keep the ones you’ve got, then an online option should be part of your public relations strategy.

As with any new strategy, you need to know the ground rules and develop a plan of action. Let’s look at Toastmasters International’s requirements for adding remote members to your club as well as some techie stuff to help you get started: Protocol 2.3.A.II—Participants must be able to communicate with all other members in attendance at the in-person meeting.

Protocol 2.3.A.III—Online participation in a club meeting does not include voice only teleconferencing, recorded video, or recorded audio.

Protocol 2.3.C.—Each club determines the type 29

of online platform(s) to be used and must acquire it at the club’s expense if there is a fee for use.

Protocol 2.3.D.—Each member participating in online club meetings will provide their own technology at their own expense if there is a fee for use.

For those of you who are giving me the stink-eye after reading the above requirements and taking a look at your club budgets, stop it! Bringing remote members “into the room” doesn’t have to be a tech-heavy, budget-busting ordeal.

Here are a few meeting location basic must-haves: • Internet connection • Laptop or tablet • Webcam • External speakers/microphone • Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook, etc.

Hmmm, that’s not such a daunting list, is it?

Connecting to the Internet is a must. If your meeting location doesn’t offer a connection, perhaps one of your members has hotspot capabilities on their Smartphone.

If your laptop or tablet is less that 5 years old, it probably has a built-in webcam. You can 30

strategically place it at eye level in the meeting room, where it spans the majority of the space, allowing everyone to be “in the online meeting room.”

Built-in speakers on electronic devices are not designed to broadcast audio into large spaces.

It will be much easier to hear presentations, evaluations, and comments from your remote members if you use external speakers.

The same holds true for built-in microphones.

They are puny at best. They pick up the sound of their own fans making it difficult for people to separate the mechanical sounds from the presenter voices. A better option might be a speakerphone or an omni-directional microphone placed in the middle of the table.

Members who join remotely also need a few basic must-haves: • Internet connection • Computer, tablet, or laptop • Webcam • Headset with microphone • Quiet space free of distractions and noise • Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook, etc.

An Internet connection is a must. So too is a computer, tablet, or laptop preferably with a 2Ghz or higher processor and at least 4Gb of 31

RAM. Slower computers seem to have difficulty maintaining a connection to the call for a 60-90 minute meeting. (I suppose you could use your smartphone, but check your data plan and battery life.)

As a member of Great White North Online Toastmasters, I‘ve found that joining remotely does require attention to environmental details.

I relegate myself to a quiet space, with a blank or non-cluttered wall behind me. The spouse, dogs, and TV are beyond the closed door. The phone is muted, and room lighting adjusted to keep shadows off my face.

A headset with a microphone works much better than trying to use the computer microphone. A headset allows me to clearly hear the presenters­—a very important feature when I am the evaluator! The microphone muffles background noise and allows my voice to be heard. Because clutter is a distraction, a blank wall behiind me focuses attention where it belongs—on the speaker!

Choose a free Voice over the Internet Protocol (VOIP) like Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook, etc. to connect your in-house meeting to your remote members.

Before the meeting, test your equipment and connections.

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Okay, those are the basics. Here’s how to add this option to your public relations/marketing efforts: Website/Social Media—Update your website and social media pages to include a note about attending online White Paper— Add this article as a download to your website and social media page News Release— Create a news release and let the world know your club is offering a VOIP solution Business cards/printed materials—add a note to your printed club materials about the online option No matter whether your club is bursting at the seams or there are empty chairs at your meetings, adding an online option is a smart strategy for growth and retention. Make a commitment to help your club grow and your members become better connected in 2017 by adding an online 33

option to your club mix. For more information, contact me at phyllis.harmon@d7toastmasters. org.

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Lessons from a Master Chef Have you ever wandered through the exhibitors section of a conference or public event?

Brightly lit booths, splashes of color, attractive displays, and staff eager to discuss their products or services are all there for your entertainment and consumption. If the exhibitors have done their jobs well, they walk away with contact lists and a hefty increase to their bottom lines.

One January, I worked with Joe at one of America’s largest RV shows. The show attracted a million visitors to Quartzsite, Arizona during the week of the show.

Joe, the exhibitor, demonstrated and sold carbon steel woks and bamboo steamer baskets, I collected money for him and dispensed product. What he did, that no other 35

vendor was doing, was steam chickens—every day. At around lunch time, the aroma of cooked chicken wafted throughout the exhibition hall.

People flocked to the booth, and the woks and steamers flew off the shelf. He didn’t put money into expensive advertising—he put it into chickens. He used his time and effort to appeal to his customers’ senses.

As I walked through the show, some booths seemed to attract more visitors than others.

Exhibitors who had crowds around their booths were entertaining their audiences. I saw plenty of understaffed booths and booths where the staff looked bored and didn’t make eye contact with the passersby. I saw people glance at those booths and move on.

Then there was Joe. He was always onstage, extolling the virtues of the products he was selling. He made eye contact, joked with the people walking by, and was always chopping, stir frying, or doing something to attract a crowd.

What set him apart from everyone else? The aroma of cooking chicken? His banter with the audience? Perhaps, but I think there was more to it than stagecraft.

Joe knew his audience. He incorporated the five senses of smell, touch, hearing, sight, and taste into his presentations. While the audience 36

was savoring steamed chicken, he served up his recipes—his secrets to mastering the art of wok cooking. He was a master of his game, and the audience ate it up.

What can we learn from Joe that will help us be more successful in our roles as club Public Relations VPs? Here are a few of the lessons he taught me: Attraction—If people can’t find you, they won’t buy your product or service Unlike Joe, most of us don’t have a million people walking past our club meeting doors. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reach out through social media, club websites, print media, or online bulletin boards to attract a million visitors to our door. In one of my clubs, a member put a notice in Nextdoor.com and attracted her neighbors to a meeting where they joined. Welldesigned, graphic-heavy flyers attract attention.

I attracted over 50 people to a kickoff meeting using Facebook, personal emails, and flyers to charter a club in 30 days.

Entertainment—give them a good show and teach them something Joe was always on stage. He bantered with the audience, dispensed cooking advice and samples, and shared recipes during his presentations.

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When visitors attend our club meetings, we are on stage. We are the entertainment. We should be the brightest, funniest, most engaging people we can be.

I think it’s important to remember that visitors come to discover what we have to offer. They join because of the emotional connections they make in our meetings. It’s a sales opportunity that begins with the “show.” The toastmaster of the day, general evaluator, and table topics master, in their opening comments, can share techniques and tips on how to be better presenters. Members can respond with nods, clapping, and exhibiting the techniques and tips during their presentations.

Giveaways—Give your audience a reason to remember you Joe served cooked chicken to his audience.

Unlike Costco, where the samples are set out on a tray for people to snag as they walk by, Joe personally handed the samples to his audience.

Each was a gift freely shared. He always followed up with the confirming question, “Isn’t that the best chicken ever?” People loved his succulent, perfectly cooked offerings.

Toastmasters International has promotional materials your club can purchase to create visitor kits, as well as pens, key rings, magnets, 38

and other low cost promotional items you could include in the kits. Better yet, establish a buddy program in your club. A member takes charge of a visitor, sits with them and guides them through the meeting. After the meeting, they take time to answer questions, share how Toastmasters has helped them become a better presenter or leader, and gets contact information for ongoing communications. At the end of the conversation, the visitor kits can be offered freely. At that time, tell the visitor how much you enjoyed getting to know them and ask them to come back.

During the recent snow and ice storms, club meetings were canceled all over the district. In one of my clubs, I kept our previous visitors up to date on canceled meetings letting them know that they mattered. The next time we were able to have a meeting, they attended and joined. It really is the personal connection that makes a difference.

Promotion—Sales are what pay the bills Joe always remembered, at the end of the day, selling woks and steamers paid the bills. Joe was a trained master chef who loved to entertain. But more than anything else, he was a businessman.

He knew that no matter how many chickens he served to the audience, without sales his business would fail. It was the main reason behind everything he did from bantering with the 39

audience to extolling the virtues of his product.

He always said the proof of his effectiveness was in the bottom line. Joe consistently asked for the sale. His closer was always something like, “You can serve delicious meals, with very little preparation, using my woks and steamers.

Purchase both right now for only $39.95. Take one home today. My assistant, Phyllis, is ready to help you make that happen.”

The same holds true for growing membership.

An increase in the club’s bottom line begins with attracting potential members to the meeting through public relations. Communications in the public forum must be consistent and ongoing.

A one-time shout out probably will fall on deaf ears. Simon Sinek discusses the psychology of sales in his book, Start with Why. In a nutshell, he opines that people buy from people they like.

They buy emotionally and later discuss their purchase logically.

For all intents and purposes, your club is a small business that provides an educational program to the general public. Your bottom line —your balance sheet—is the difference between the numbers of members your club has at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1 and at the end of the year on June 30. The product you sell, the Toastmasters educational program, is a tried-and-true, best-of-class offering. What 40

you do during the year to attract visitors—who convert to members—because of the product you sell—spells the difference between clubs that are circling the drain and those who continue to thrive and grow.

In the long run, Joe was a businessman who understood that appealing to his customers through smell, touch, hearing, sight, and taste increased his bottom line. The woks and steamers? They pretty much sold themselves.

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Do You Know Your Customers?

When’s the last time you conducted market research in your club? Did you just say (with a roll of your eyes), “Never!”?

There is always a danger in thinking you know your members intimately because you see and talk to them every week. Needs change, and you may be blind to what your members want from you now.

If you’re still saying, “we don’t need no stinkin’ surveys (with a nod to the movie Blazing Saddles),” you might want to reconsider your position. Market research should be part of your club’s retention strategy.

Companies conduct market research to determine if they are meeting their customers needs, to launch new products, and to decide when to retire their current offerings.

You should too! You can help your club remain 42

viable, be fun, and on a growth trajectory if you take the time to make sure you are meeting the needs of your members.

There are plenty of methods for gathering the info you’ll want (interrogation chambers, truth serum, adult beverages liberally imbibed) but for this discussion, let’s stick to member surveys.

It should be a formal survey sent electronically and provided in hard copy to get the greatest response rate. It should be thorough but not take longer than 10 minutes to complete. You might consider some type of incentive to reach your response goal. The survey should be followed up with face-to-face interviews to discuss results.

The easiest way to get a handle on what your members want, is to ask. Surveys are a quick way to gain the information you need to make decisions about your club’s current program and future events. Keep in mind that your members have lives outside the club that may be impacting 43

your ability to meet their ongoing needs. A few personal questions that should be in your survey are as follows: • Demographics (age, gender, where they live, education level, career field) • Experience level (how long have they been a member) • Club background (officer-current or past, what office held) • District background (officer-current or past, what office held) • Personality traits (outgoing or reserved, introverted or extroverted, planned or spontaneous, leader or follower) • Access to and familiarity with technology • Other social and business organizations they belong to • Other hobbies and interests This may seem like too long a list, and you might be thinking about cherry picking just a few of the questions to include in your survey.

I suggest you reconsider. To keep and attract members you need to find ways to express what matters to them. Demographic and personal data can help you do that.

Toastmasters International documents state that 68% of members don’t renew because the people they deal with are indifferent to their needs. Research indicates that 20% of the new 44

members that join your club will not renew. The American Society of Association Executives says the number one reason members do not renew is perceived lack of value. In other words, a percentage of your departing members did not believe that the value they gained from joining your club justified the cost of their dues.

The key to retaining your members and attracting new ones is understanding what they need and value, how you can fill those needs, and what they think of the club.

Knowing this information can help you adapt your strategies and change your approach to your meetings so that your club remains relevant and provides value to your members.

Perceived value is a moving target. Its about as subjective a topic as you can find. You can get a general sense of what is important to your members by including a few perception-based questions in your survey: • Which programs and benefits have you used during the year, and how often? (This would include social media, D7 website, networking events, webinars, Voices!, TLI, conferences) • For each benefit you’ve used, what dollar value would you assign to it?

• Do you believe your membership 45

investment last year was fair, less than fair, or more than fair for the value you received?

I think one of the challenges clubs face is the sameness of their meetings year in and year out. Members may get bored and take their membership dollars elsewhere. Club meetings that follow the same format every meeting, never changing are as boring as (yawn) summer reruns.

How do you know if your members are losing interest? Being Toastmasters, they’ll tell you everything is just fine, even when it isn’t quite right. Feelings of dissatisfaction might manifest themselves in subtle ways. Do you have members who no longer sign up for roles or who don’t seem to be working towards a specific goal? Or, they’re missing more meetings than they attend.

Are they dong more “off the cuff” presentations rather that putting the time and effort into preparation and practice? Do you find they’re unwilling to volunteer for officer roles or assist with club events? These are all signs that your members aren’t engaged and may not renew.

When member needs change—as they do over time—what are you doing to change with them? Are you still addressing old challenges that no longer exist or are no longer perceived as adding value? You can find that out by adding the following questions to your survey: • What are the top three challenges you are 46

facing right now?

• Rank our meetings based on what you feel is most important. (List all parts of the meeting) • Is there anything you would like to see added or enhanced in our club meetings As previously mentioned, perceived value is a fundamental driver in retention and growth of your club. Each member may value what you offer differently. Adding the following questions to your survey will help you determine whether what you offer is perceived as worth the cost of renewal: • What do you believe is the primary function of Toastmasters, and specifically our club?

• Compared to other Toastmasters clubs, what are the advantages of belonging to our club?

• How did you first hear about us?

• Do you intend to renew your membership?

• If not, what could we offer you that would inspire you to renew?

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• What do you like the most about being a member of our club?

• What would you improve about or add to your membership experience?

• Why did you initially join the club?

• How long have you been a member?

• How often do you read Voices!, visit our website, etc?

• What types of information and resources do you seek to help you meet your goals?

• How likely are you to refer a friend to join?

• Which of these words do you associate with our club? (list several words, i.e., distinguished, fun, knowledge leader, innovator) • How satisfied are you with what you are getting out of the club?

• What is your preferred source for information? (magazines, websites, etc.)

If you are still unconvinced, consider the saga of Tell Me a Story Toastmasters. The club chartered in 1988, under a different name. Over the years, the club had changed its name, focus, and meeting location several times. It never truly failed, but it had circled the proverbial drain more than once. Recently, the club was on the verge of closing . . .again. During the last dues cycle, it looked like the end was in sight.

Visitors were few and far between, and the club’s niche was not inspiring people to join. The few 48

members left were not planning to renew.

The club had a coach who looked for ways to bring the club back to life. Open houses with brand name speakers didn’t help. Intensive social media marketing was unsuccessful. Nothing they tried seemed to work. When they asked the remaining members what they thought of the club, they got an earful. “The meetings weren’t fun, they were bored with the club niche, and too few people were there to take roles,” were just some of the complaints voiced by the members.

Their coach had one more suggestion—an eastsde story tellers club. The idea was adopted, and the club is now on it’s way to becoming President’s Distinguished. They would never have known what members were thinking if they hadn’t asked.

Market research can help you gain a better perspective on whether your club continues to be relevant or not and whether you are meeting the changing needs of your members. Give it a try, you might be surprised by what you discover!

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Curing Empty-Chair-itis Before we get into this month’s topic, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. You know the elephant—membership renewals (said in a stage whisper).

Every six months we hold our collective breath hoping our club members renew. None of us ever cajole, beg, or prostrate ourselves before members to keep them in the fold . . . right?

Sure. Uh huh. Not so fast with the denials please.

I’ve seen the emails and heard the whispering in the corners.

For those of you shaking your heads and sporting smug smiles, don’t be too quick to revel in your current membership count. Remember that every club chartered with 20 or more members.

Economic shifts, 50

lost of perceived value, and a host of other unforeseen life events can decimate even the strongest club.

So, what happened? Why did your members leave—Career changes? Personality conflicts?

Bored? Life happened? The reasons don’t much matter, do they? Your members are gone, and now you have empty-chair-itis.

For those of you who are deciding whether the loss will impact your ability to participate in the Distinguished Club program, it’s good you’re focused on meeting your goals. But, adding new members to your club base has nothing to do with gaining points. It has everything to do with providing a great product that current and potential members are eager to buy.

We have a great product. Toastmasters International’s spent over 90 years developing a best-of-class curriculum, and are now launching a major revision district by district.

Okay, enough about that dang elephant blocking the light—for now!

Our focus this month is product awareness and delivery systems. Hmmm, that sounds a little like ‘corporate-speak’ doesn’t it? Hey, there is no reason why we can’t borrow a few tips or best practices from the business world, is there?

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Let’s start with product awareness. Beginning with the July 2017 issue of Voices!, we’ve discussed several different methods for publicizing your club. You might want to review those for tips on getting your club’s name before your potential audience. You can find them stored at d7toastmasters.org/issues-voices/ Product awareness is about getting your club’s name and what you offer before the buying public. It isn’t an activity that happens occasionally, when the mood strikes. It’s an ongoing consistent campaign of exposure. In today’s world, consistent product awareness is not hard to do. Social media allows you to send automated messages based on a schedule you select. But savvy public relations and marketing professionals use multiple approaches to get their clients’ products in front of potential buyers.

Well, guess what—you can do the same thing!

For very little cost, your club can get the word out to your community. Flyers, free postings to online bulletin boards, social media, television and radio spots, blogs, human interest articles in the local papers, conversations in networking groups, and talking in the grocery store checkout lines are just a few of the avenues your club can use in your club’s marketing campaign.

Consistent exposure, like the drip, drip, drip of a faucet is more effective that an occasional media blast.

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But consistent awareness takes work and creativity. Here’s a secret you can use to your club’s advantage—sometimes public relations requires you to create the news so you can report on it. Is your club experencing a dry period? Start a new project and write about it:

XYZ Toastmasters recognizes members who. . .

end with your club name, location, and meeting time and day.

Is nothing spectacular happening in your club that’s worth writing about? Perhaps you just need a new perspective! Consider looking for connections between what your members are learning in your club and what’s happening in your community. Connect the dots for your potential members.

Blog about events in your members’ lives.

For example: Mary Smith, a member of XYZ

Toastmasters, spoke before the school board last evening. Her argument in favor of school sports was delivered using an easy-to-follow threepoint structure. She answered questions from the school board clearly and succinctly. Mary credits Toastmasters for her ability to speak under pressure. She . . . end with your club name, location, and meeting time and day.

Or, write an article for that well-delivered speech: Joe Johns, member of XYZ Toastmasters,

spoke on the growing trend in jaywalking in the 53

ABC neighborhood. He . . . end with your club name, location, and meeting time and day.

Every member has a story. Mine those nuggets and shout them to the world. Remember to include your club name, location, and meeting time and day.

The more often you can get your club name and your product before your potential buyers, the faster you can cure your club’s case of empty-seat-itis.

Which leads us—smack, dab—into product delivery. Have you ever gotten sucked into buying one of those “as-seen-on-TV” offers where the product looked like it would be a wonderful addition to your life? Do you remember the rush of excitement when you knew—just knew—it was the exact product you’d been looking for? Then when you got it home, it was a dud?

Yeah, I know. Your disappointment outweighed your anticipation exponentially. You then punished the company by telling everyone who’d listen what a terrble product it was.

Well, here’s the sad truth. If your club meetings don’t meet the expectations of your members, they won’t renew. And worse yet, they will tell everyone who’ll listen about their impression of your club.

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Last month’s article was focused on discovering what your members wanted from your club. If you know what your members expect from their membership, you will be in a better position to keep your chairs filled. But that’s only one facet of your product delivery system. Does your club have a culture of giving only prepared speeches using the educational manuals? Are your members giving evaluations that offer the speaker feedback they can use? Are table topics giving members an opportunty to stretch and learn new skills? Do your members engage with the speaker, or do they look and act like they are simply waiting for the speech to end? How are guests treated? What is the climate of your club—warm and friendly or tepid and cliquish? Are you sure?

Filling your chairs requires consistent attention and commitment. By being creative in how you talk up your club, using more than one approach (product awareness) and creating a fun, learning environment where visitor and member expectatons are met (product delivery), you will be able to get the elephant off the table and cure your club’s case of empty-chair-itis.

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QUICK GUIDE: Tips & Resources Flyer Quick Tips • • • •

Don’t center align everything One large graphic not several little ones Blank space creates interest Use 1 - 4 font type variations (not comic sans) • Use colors that harmonize • Stick to the basics - who, what, where, & call to action • Don’t proofread your own work - enlist help

Flyer Graphics • Don’t use Microsoft clipart (boring and cliche) • Fotolia and other sources offer great graphics at reasonable prices (or use those from Toastmasters) • Resolution should be 300 ppi or higher • Reduced large-sized graphics are cleaner and crisper • Don’t “borrow” graphics from Google Images 56

Flyer Alignment & Structure • Everying aligns with something • Ascending and decending letters should not be piled or touching from line to line (think blank space between lines)

Toastmasters Logos & Word Marks Toastmasters logos and wordmarks cannot be used alongside animals, landscape, children, food and appliances (this includes toast and toasters), medicine, cartoons, and architecture

Resources 2016-17 Public Relations Manager - phyllis. harmon@d7toastmasters.org Toastmasters International toastmasters.org/Resources Free Stock Photos https://www.pexels.com/ https://pixabay.com/ http://publicdomainarchive.com/free-stockphotos/

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PUBLIC RELATIONS Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM

PUBLIC RELATIONS Increase Club Membership & Retention: A Strategic Guide

Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM