Targeting Potential Members
An organization can maximize the impact of its recruitment efforts by identifying one or two groups of potential members and developing focussed strategies designed to meet their specific needs and interests.
Identifying Potential Target Groups
You might focus on women working in a particular setting or profession, for example, those working in universities or in the legal profession or in secondary education. Alternatively you could target women with special interests, such as graduates just entering the job market or women re-entering professional life after long, family-related absences.
If you think about what you want to do as an organization, you can also identify the kinds of new members who would enhance your action in terms of their expertise, skills and contacts, e.g. journalists or professional, political and community leaders.
Meeting New Member Needs
Reaching out to new members requires being open to change. New members bring an organization new energy, ideas and financial resources, but if they are going to stay, the organization must give them something in return.
New members may be interested in issues other than the ones you are presently addressing, may prefer types of activities that differ from the ones you currently offer.
New groups of members may face different time constraints than your current membership. Working women may find it difficult to attend week-day luncheon meetings, while family responsibilities may prevent young mothers from taking part in evening events.
Your organization can meet the challenge of fulfilling these new needs in different ways. You may decide to add activities to your main programme or to create smaller interest circles within the larger group. If your organization only organizes lectures, study groups and social activities, you may need to start a project to attract members who are looking for active community involvement, offer a mentoring programme that would interest younger members. If there is not a conveniently-located local branch of the existing branches are not interested in changing their programmes, the answer may be to start new ones.
Developing effective strategies
Developing a focussed strategy requires careful research.. The exercises on Targeting Potential Members can help you identify groups of potential members and adjustments you will need to make to your programme and approach in order to meet their special needs.
It is important to remember that your perceptions of the target group's needs and interests may not be accurate. One way to check this is to talk with women who meet the profile you are trying to attract. If you already have members who reflect the target profile, make sure you involve them in the planning process; otherwise, you should talk with a few non-members in the community who fit the profile.
When developing new strategies, special attention should be given to how you communicate or transmit your message. Do your recruitment and publicity materials reflect the target group you are trying to attract? The unit on Organizational Communication shows the importance of adapting content and means of communication to different audiences, whether it be your target groups, partner organizations, local leaders and decision makers or the general public.
Targeting Potential Members
Objectives:
- To identify groups of potential members most likely to be attracted by the organization
- to identify any special needs the target group may have
- to plan how to adapt your recruitment strategies and programme to best meet their needs
Time it takes
- 1 hour
What you need
- flip chart and markers
- handout: "Working with Target Groups "
How it's done
- Tell the participants that it is important to begin with a clear picture of the existing membership.
Divide the participants into small groups. Distribute the handout. Ask each group to consider the questions in section A. Ask them to write their idea of your current membership profile and their ideas for alternative profiles on a separate sheet.
Allow twenty minutes.
Display for others to see.- Have one or two groups report back, with others adding suggestions.
- Have the plenary group choose two of the alternative profiles that would make good targets for recruitment, by vote if necessary.
- Assign half of the small groups to work with Target Profile A and the other half with Target Profile B. There should be at least two groups working on each profile. Have the groups Allow 30 minutes.
- Have one group report back on each profile, with others adding suggestions.
- Ask the plenary group to prioritize the ideas, keeping in mind the resources at your disposal.
- Before ending the session remind the group that you may need to adjust your plan after talking with existing and potential members who meet the target profiles.
Working with Target Groups Part A. Current Membership Profile
- Think about your current membership. What is your average member profile? Is a wide range of ages, occupations, and ethnic groups represented?
- Think about your community. Are there any groups or segments that share your concern for issues or projects, but are underrepresented in your organization?
Profile of Existing Membership
Groups that are underrepresented
- Which alternative profiles offer prospective membership targets?
Part B.
- Do you think members of the target group would have the same motives or needs for joining and staying as your current members? If not, what kinds of things do you think they would look for in an organization?
- Think about your programme. Does it already include the types of activities and work on issues about which these newcomers care?
- Can you think of any programmes that you could add which would better reflect their interests and needs?
- Would the target group have any special time constraints?
Target group interests/needs
Programme issues/activities
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