I just read this case study about how an organization got its members to
sign up for an event....it seems there might be something in here we can
use to get those membership renewals....
Mike
Appendix 82
Abraham Case Study #366 comes from a man who sells
advice to organizations.
I was asked to assist this local chamber of
commerce to get new members as well as sell
existing members an irresistible offer to:
1) Purchase a booth at their annual
"Business Expo," which would feature
businesses within the community.
2) Renew their membership 2 months in
advance if they weren't interested in
purchasing a booth.
3) For non-members sign up 2 months in
advance irrespective of a booth
purchase.
So, where to begin? First, there was a mailing list.
Most organizations have one. This is usually the best
place to begin.
Here's what I did...
1) Wrote a compelling direct response
sales letter to all the businesses in
the Greenfield, WI business community.
This is the essence of what we offered...
a) For existing members, (who weren't
interested in purchasing a trade booth
for the upcoming Expo) I offered them a
BONUS "The Unfair Advantage Letter
Book" a 200 + page compendium of direct
response brilliance manual created by
Bill Myers - retail priced at $129.00
if they renewed their following years
membership dues 2 MONTHS in advance.
This is the standard direct-response principle of the irresistible
offer. It has to be good. This one is very good. Bill Myers is a
genius marketer. I have worked with him for many years. He put
together a collection of ads that he wrote. Then he sold his
subscribers the right to give the collection away or sell it -- reprint
rights. It is a great free bonus to offer to business people. Any
promoter ought to buy the reprint rights to this collection. I did this
years ago. (www.bmyers.com)
b) To motivate those existing members
who were interested in purchasing an
Expo Booth I offered them the BONUS if
they purchased their EXPO booths within
10 days of the offer. (They usually
waited until the last minute to do it,
which of course created chaos for the
Chambers Business Expo committee)
Jay always recommends a time limit on his offers --
the shorter, the better. As usual, most people waited
until the last minute.
c) For non-members of the Chamber, I
offered them the bonus if they signed
up for membership 2 months in advance
(within 10 days) and gave them the last
two months' membership for FREE.
So, here was another reason for signing up NOW. This
is the tried and true direct-mail tactic: "Act now!" But
give them a reason.
The result -- all three potential buying
business entities bit on one of the three offers.
The president of the Chamber told me it was the
most successful Biz Expo trade booth, new member
and Chamber renewal promotion the Chamber had
ever experienced.
And the lesson in all of this...
1. Irresistible offer (BONUS)
2. With a time limit
3. Risk Reversal -- Didn't cost the
businesses a penny more, just got them
to act on the time limit (the sense of
urgency and fear of loss if they didn't
respond one way or another and what did
they get in return? Tens of Thousands
of Dollars of Brilliance by receiving
Bill's Unfair Advantage Letter Book.