Impact study on Covid19 to membership bodies, associations and charities

In one of the biggest studies of its kind to investigate the impact of Covid19 to the membership sectors, I conducted this research in July 2020 with a mixture of online surveys and over 30 interviews with CEOs of associations, professional bodies and charities. Please direct message me for a copy of the report Among the top line findings were:

Preparation

Over half of those surveyed were not prepared for the lockdown. The speed in which the government asked people to work from home meant that many organisations had to react very quickly to create easy access remote working. Those with a cloud based operation system adapted well Also decisions needed to be made quickly to ensure that staff had laptops and suitable workspaces and that phone routing worked efficiently.

Government support and collaboration

45% were able to use the government furlough scheme and 62% were able to lobby either directly or through collaboration with other organisations. One member association said one good thing that has come from this is a greater working relationship with the policy makers and that it maybe a blueprint for the future. Civil servants admitted that some decisions were being made on the hoof and would normally have taken much longer. The Charity Retail Association was pleased that charity shops were able to access the grants in the same way other businesses could. Some industries have been affected more than others though

Communications

There was a huge rise in interest for information and many organisations had set up Covid landing pages or separate sections of the websites. The Association of Dietitians had a 400% increase in the web traffic and the Association of Estate Agents had on some webinars 20,000 live views. This is a time when representative bodies can come into their own. Andy Westlake, CEO of the European Sponsorship Association said over 300 people were logging into the weekly webinars and they decided to create a industry sentiment tracker to assess what was happening across the sector. Debbie Hunter, director of commercial affairs from the Cosmetics, Toiletries Perfume Association said one of their news stories attracted 12,000 hits. Many associations adapted strategy plans to support the industry for example Badminton England created Protect, Prepare and Play and the Advertising Association used Survive, Thrive and Revive. And there were 96% using online platforms to engage with members. Zoom was the most used platform followed by Microsoft Teams at 25%.

Member services

Demand for membership services rose sharply with 65% suggesting an increased usage with news and industry specific content seen as the most valued. Education also faired well with almost 58% saying that they had more demand for these services. Those organisations that only offered physical run education, had to transition very quickly to online platforms. The Chartered Institute of Marketing moved to online invigilation in a matter of weeks yet had been talking about this for years prior. The Institute of Sales Management had to take on extra staff to cope with an increased demand from overseas member interest Other associations offered new services like sourcing and matching services like The Association for Contract Manufacturing Packing Fulfilment and Logistics and the CTPA. The UK Warehousing Association created a national space register for its members to post their "warehouse space availability" to allow companies to see where to store goods during lockdown.

Membership impact

There were mixed results here and it did depend on the industry but also on the renewal dates. For example those with a January date in most instances missed the cancellation impact as opposed to those that fell in lockdown or in the Summer. There were many examples of 3 month payment holidays in fact 40% said they were delaying payments However there were associations showing an increase in membership because they'd seen the value of the community through the news and communications created by the association. The British Independent Retailers Association offered a 3 month trial membership to potential members. Post lockdown 55% said they would increase marketing spend and 88% said they would increase communications with members

Events and conferences

Greatest hit was those that had exhibitions that had to postpone or cancel. One organisation lost ￡150k in revenue. Others running dinners and award ceremonies found those not easily replaceable. 41% of those surveyed said they had expected a significant decrease in their event revenues. There was a lots of webinars and online conferences that have emerged although many reported were free, in fact 71% said they had not charged. The more specialist associations and Institutes were happily charging for conferences and one shouldn't forget an online conference doesn't have the same costs as a physical event. Also getting global speakers was significant easier to facilitate said CEO of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys Lee Davies. Carey Trevill, CEO of the British Promotional Merchandise Association ran a conference in September allowing suppliers to engage with other members online from the factory floor, showrooms. Respondents said AGMs, Board meetings and regional events were reporting record attendances. The Meetings and Design Institute ran successful online zoom marketplace events for suppliers and meeting planners. Suppliers were able to pitch to small groups for a limited time then talk with prospects in a relaxed environment.

Employee welfare

The immediate priority for associations and professional bodies was to make sure that they're staff were suitable equipped to cope with working at home, not everyone could easily manage this particularly with home schooling and space restrictions . CEOs said they wanted to make sure a clear message was given to support each other and trying to recreate social online gatherings. Chris Combemale CEO of the Data Marketing Association was keen to set an example of taking a break in the middle of the day for a walk and lunch as there was a real risk of zoom overload and lack of breaks being taken by employees. The biggest issue for employees almost 80% was working in isolation and 73% citing stress and their personal wellbeing. The Branded Content Marketing Association and the Chartered Institute of Public relations have not renewed office leases meaning staff would continue to work from home but meet regularly at a convenient location in the future . Adrian Christy the CEO of Badminton England said he allowed his staff to work at different times to allow for home schooling. Ben Beadle CEO of the National Landlords Association created a Family First policy in his organisation and many other organisations supported their staff. Overall there was a real sense of employee support that came out in the research

The future is still uncertain

What's certain is the future remains uncertain and that organisations will have to be more resilient to shocks like this and adaptability to a new norm is essential. With government changing decisions frequently over Covid19 safety concerns, its been really difficult for membership organisations to plan in the way they did and so new strategies are being considered and adopted. There has been an incredible resilience and creativity to solving problems that will stay I am sure.

Do check out the Membershipworld podcast and direct message me for a copy of the full 36 page report which goes into more detail on the above points and covers a lot more insights from membership organisations