2010 Membership Survey Results: Membership Communication by Email

2010 MBA Member Survey – Part 2: Membership Communication by Email

By Stephen E. Tilmann

Those of you who attended the March 2010 spring meeting of the Michigan Beekeepers Association (MBA ) undoubtedly recall that MBA conducted a membership survey.  In the last newsletter (and posted online on the MBA web site http://www.michiganbees.org/about) we reported on the first of several installments discussing the results of the survey.  That article discussed the profile of the MBA membership, including their beekeeping activities and age.  This second article will discuss the membership attitudes toward communication; specifically the use of email.

The leadership of your MBA is acutely aware of the importance of membership communications.  MBA is also aware that membership communication can be, should be and must be improved.  After all, you have given the privilege of your membership to MBA for this very reason.  Certainly, the spring and fall meetings of the MBA are two venues for fulfilling MBA’s mission (and your local bee club is a full partner in this mission).  But not all members can attend the state-wide meetings and – in this fast-paced beekeeping world – developments happen quickly.

Your MBA is embarking on a major overhaul of how it communicates with its membership.  Our email capability is being completely retooled and you should soon begin to see the results of this major effort.  The MBA web site has also been completely redone from scratch and this ongoing work is far from being done.  Both of these efforts will certainly help MBA in becoming a more effective communicator to its membership and the public in general.  The rest of this article discusses the survey results regarding the broad area of “member communication” with a specific emphasis on email.  These results serve as the guiding principles as MBA moves forward in its efforts.

Email – The Membership Asked For It

Email can truly be said to be the channel through which the modern world communicates; it is also the curse for any of us who opens their mailbox and sees tons of spam that always seems to get through the spam filters.  Of all the impacts that the “computer age” has brought, email is undoubtedly one of the most profound.  No one has escaped email and how it affects our day-to-day lives.  Email can be a highly effective, quick and timely way to “get the word out”.  The trick is to do it right.

When asked, 79% of the survey respondents said they would like to get email “on bee-related topics.”  Another 8% were not so sure.  Only 10% – one out of 10 – said “no”.  One reason there was such a high positive response to this question was the phrase “on bee-related topics”.  The take home message for MBA is to stay on topic – which is exactly what MBA intends to do.

Did you know that only 41% of the MBA members sell hive products?  So for what purpose are the other 59% into beekeeping?  Did you know that urban beekeeping is one of the fastest growing segments of beekeeping?  And 63% of MBA members have been beekeeping for less than 5 years?  And 73% have five hives or less?  Each of these groups probably have different ideas as to what is important and relevant to them.  That is one reason why email can be effective; it allows us to be very targeted in the content and the message.  If a particular email communication is not relevant to you, then you simply don’t have to read it!

Promote MBA Activities

MBA – and the supporting local bee clubs – have something going on every month of the year and in virtually every corner of this state.  Getting the word out about these activities and events is viewed as an important part of MBA’s mission.    Being a state-wide organization, MBA has resources and venues different than your local bee clubs.  Taken together, these activities and events can be an important and useful resource for the individual beekeeper.  But only if  you know about them.  For this reason, email will be used to let you know what is going on in the beekeeping world.

And don’t forget that there are other facets of “beekeeping” that many of us would like to know about.  This includes important legislative developments (such as the recently passed “Cottage Foods Act” in Michigan), research (think CCD), the international honey scene (eg., imported Chinese honey), emerging markets (medicinal and homeopathic uses of honey), and more.  All of these topics are considered fair game for email content.

Bring Value to the MBA Web Site

As noted at the beginning of the article, MBA is currently involved in a major overhaul of the MBA web site (www.michiganbees.org).  The web site is correctly viewed as (just) another avenue for membership communication, though one that is uniquely suited for the mission of the MBA.

With the web site, we can provide more in depth coverage and discussion of relevant beekeeping topics.  Content can be presented that may not be suitable for the email format.  For example, the on-line version of this article contains statistical graphics (pie charts and bar charts) that would be too cumbersome to include in emails (or the newsletter).

But valuable information posted on the web site does you no good if you don’t know about it… and that is where a short email notice can help.  So expect to receive to-the-point emails alerting you of new content on the MBA web site.  If you are interested in the subject, then you will be just a click away.

It’s a win-win situation.  By promoting the web site through email alerts, MBA can increase the site’s value to the organization and to individual members.

Improve the Perceived Value of MBA Membership

Started in 1865, MBA is the oldest agricultural oriented organization in the state of Michigan.  Nearly 145 years later, MBA finds itself in the classic position of continually trying to reinvent itself in order to bring value to its membership.  To its credit, MBA has a long, long track record of succeeding. This, however, is a new century and a new breed of beekeeper.  MBA has to adapt…and it will.

MBA’s leadership is convince that one facet of the solution is to improve and expand on the notion of “membership communication.”    In doing so, MBA should be able to position itself as a relevant source of information and separate itself from the overwhelming “noise” out there.  That is one reason MBA is focusing resources on improving the organization’s email capability.

MBA also recognizes that it needs to offer better member services; something that meets (and hopefully exceeds) the expectations of its members.  Toward this goal, improving the distribution of “on topic” email communications is certainly a component.  You can also expect to see better promotion of MBA and club-related beekeeping events, on-line membership renewal and on-line event registration.  A portal to all of these will be through email (though others, such as social media, are certainly a possibility).

MBA also recognizes the need to partner with local bee clubs; each serves a distinct yet complimentary role.  MBA needs to lead by example and support your local clubs whenever it can.  Toward this end, MBA hopes to leverage these new initiatives to build all of the beekeeping community in Michigan.

Finally, there is the issue of member dues.  As with all organizations like MBA, getting folks to renew their membership is a continuing struggle.  With the new email tools, MBA will be able to remind supporters when their membership is expiring and provide convenient, one-click away payment options.

Conclusion

And this takes us back to the notion expressed at the beginning of this article:  MBA has the privilege of your membership.  We all are under what seems to be a constant barrage of interests competing for our attention.  Yet MBA enjoys a special advantage because we as beekeepers have a special relationship with our bees.  As in all relationships, it starts with communicating.  And the efforts just described are just one step that your MBA has taken down this path.

Author’s Statement

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily express those of MBA or the MBA Board.