WHY ARE CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS DYING?
By leadership author and keynote speaker Ross Shafer
When was the last time you went to a Kiwanis club meeting? A Jaycees,? Your Rotary club? Lions? Elks? Masons?…or how about any of the national association meetings in your industry? You can’t remember? Well, I have some shocking statistics to prove you’re not alone. Come back in five seconds.
Hi I’m Ross Shafer and I’m glad you found the relevant leaders club where I’m dedicated to making sure you are still relevant to your customers, your clients, your members, and your patients. Today I want to talk about the future of business clubs and industry associations…and why you aren’t going to those meetings. In about an hour, this room will be full of 1,200 insurance specialists and attorneys…. I’m their keynote speaker today and what makes this group fascinating is that this is one of the few national associations that is still GROWING in membership…not shrinking. I’ll explain why in a moment.
But first, let’s take a look at some of the shrinking business clubs; where you live. In the last 20 years, Kiwanis clubs have declined over 60%. Jaycees are down 64%. Masons down 76%. Rotary clubs are way down…yet Rotary says it signs up 44,000 new members a year. But they lose 51,000 in the same year. They just can’t retain members. The reason? The local clubs want too much from us and we don’t have enough time.
These local clubs want you to attend a lunch meeting every week…and then join a service committee or fundraiser. With two family members working, raising children, and traveling for kids sports…who has the time? That’s why TED TALKS are so popular. We can go online – and learn new ways to think and improve our lives in under 19 minutes; without leaving our homes. The same phenomenon is happening at many of the industry association meetings.
I’ve been giving keynote speeches at national meetings for 20 years and I definitely see a decline in membership…which is why I was curious why THIS organization has continued to grow. Simple. NASP…(the national association of subrogation professionals) has remained relevant. Their sessions address the member’s urgent needs. They offer technology education and the opportunity to network with superstars in their industry. They bring in fun Keynote speakers and have interesting outside activities for the whole family. Everybody leaves smarter and feeling better than they did before the meeting.
I encourage you to Protect your limited time. Before you pay another round of dues… make sure that club serves YOU and not the other way around. Now, if you manage a local club or a national association membership, I encourage you to read the book Bowling Alone; The collapse and revival of the American Community. You CAN resurrect your club membership if you listen to what your members want…rather then giving them what you think they need.
Alright, If you’ve liked what you’ve heard here please subscribe to this FREE channel by clicking on the button below and get practical ideas for staying relevant, every week. I’m Ross Shafer. Thanks for watching.
Ross Shafer is the author of (9) popular business books and (14) human resource training films. In a former career Ross won (6) Television Emmy awards for his work as a TV host, writer, and producer. Today, Ross is a sought after keynote speaker and consultant for Fortune 500 companies worldwide.