The Member Lounge Podcast: Unlocking Association Success

The Duty of Foresight: Elevating Board Stewardship for a Better Tomorrow w Jeff De Cagna

Improving Board Engagement and Performance Find out why it is important to set a higher standard of stewardship for navigating future challenges. Discover key strategies to keep board members engaged between meetings with technology for continuous communication. Ensure board meetings are productive and focused on strategic decisions rather than administrative details.   Foresight and Future-Oriented Governance Understand the concept of the duty of foresight for board members. Learn why...

Sponsorship & Member Engagement Mastery: What's Shaping the Future w Amanda Kaiser, Bruce Rosenthal & Farhad Khan

1. Crafting a Winning Member Engagement Strategy: Navigating Challenges: The landscape of member engagement is evolving, presenting new challenges. The solution lies in a dual focus on delivering value and implementing effective engagement strategies. Diverse Engagement Tactics: Acknowledge the diversity within your membership, including those not fully embracing technology. Initiate a volunteer journey, starting with smaller roles, to cultivate engagement. 2. Corporate Sponsorship Unveil...

From Prospects to Promoters: Key Strategies to Recruit & Retain Members w Scott Oser and Farhad Khan

Multi-Touch Recruitment Strategies Emphasizes diverse communication channels. Focuses on personalized messaging to prospective members. Member Value Documentation Stresses the importance of understanding members' needs and values. Suggests regular updates and adaptations to these values. Technology in Member Engagement Discusses leveraging digital platforms for enhanced member interaction. Highlights the use of data analytics for better engagement strategies. Creating Vibrant Member...

Build Winning Member Journeys with a Technology Ecosystem w Jeff Horne & Farhad Khan

If you ever had second thoughts about your association management system,  you should follow your gut feeling. Here’s what we talked about in our super insightful session with association technology experts Jeff Horne and Farhad Khan -   Adopting more modern and interconnected tools to create a seamless member journey and boost team efficiency. Strategic approach to technology selection in your association to ensure it meets the needs of your members. Empower your team by choosing techno...

How to Boost Your Association's Revenue with Sponsorships and Automated Marketing

About the panel discussion:    Explore creative financial strategies to generate revenue for your association through automated marketing. Get invaluable insights into the best practices to engage and retain your stakeholders!   Learn how to attract sponsors whose goals align with your association's mission while maintaining member happiness with the power of state-of-the-art marketing tools.   Meet the experts in sponsorship, business development and marketing:    Edward Byers is th...

The Content Solution: Boosting Member Retention with Content with Leona Scott

Do you find yourself asking "How can we create content that not only attracts new members, but also keeps them coming back for more?" If you want to keep your association members enchanted and engaged, content is the key to solve your retention woes! Discover the secret sauce to maximize your content to engage and retain members to make your association stand out from the crowd.   About our Guest Leona Scott is a content connoisseur with passion and expertise in membership and content crea...

Future-proof Your Association Now: engage young members

In a world where innovation thrives on fresh perspectives, we're diving headfirst into the realm of young professionals and their paramount role in driving association growth. Listen to our live podcast as we’re unveiling the master plan for associations to flourish with member engagement and generational shift expert Sarah L. Sladek!Special acknowledgement to our guests for providing powerful insights into membership management.  Follow our podcast for more free educational content. Visit ...

Win the Race for Relevance through Innovation

Technology is ever more important now for associations. The key is to approach technology planning the right way and using it to drive revenue. But here’s the secret sauce: it’s not just about the dollars and cents. It’s about creating an unforgettable user experience. Let’s discover the perfect blend of technology and user-centric strategies to take your association to new heights with CEO coach, speaker, and author Mary Byers and host Farhad Khan.Special acknowledgement to our guests for ...

Boost Your Member Engagement with Sponsorship with Bruce Rosenthal

About This Episode Looking to level up your fundraising game? Try creative sponsorship options into your fundraising plan and create new opportunities for growth and revenue.  With our proven strategies and tips, you'll learn how to create a winning formula that works. It's all about leveraging their content and tapping into their expertise to create even more value for your association and grow your membership. Don't miss out on the chance to take your fundraising to new heights! About ...

Beyond Membership: Creating a Thriving Community

About This Episode Are you looking to take your association to the next level? Look no further! By prioritizing communication, collaboration, and member engagement you can be at the top. Strong connections are essential in building a community. With the right strategy you can increase engagement and ensure the long-term sustainability for your organization. Let's take your membership model to new heights and achieve success together! About our Guest Amanda Kaiser is at the forefront of ...

Humanity of Member Engagement: The path to meaningful connections

About This Episode Are you looking to take your association to the next level? Look no further! By prioritizing communication, collaboration, and member engagement you can increase your association's effectiveness and revenue. Effective leadership and regular evaluation are essential in achieving your association's objectives. With the right strategy you can increase revenue and ensure the long-term sustainability for your organization. Let's take your membership model to new heights and a...

Onboarding is the key to member retention!

About This Episode Are You Ready to Be a Member-Centric Organization? Learn more about how to track and manage your member's from their perspective.  Learn about the expanding list of member associations that have made their members the centre of their strategic planning. And start building an infrastructure that will improve your member's experiences and win member retention. Join us with our special guest Mark Levin and see how making your members the centre of your story can transform ...

Charge Members For What You're Worth!

About This Episode People have been paying recurring fees in exchange for access to the benefits your association offers. How could you be sure the price you charge is profitable? Learn how to uncover the value you offer, conduct market research to discover expanded opportunities, attach the right price to the value your organization provides and communicate it to your audience. Join us and our special guest Dr. Michael Tatonetti and learn all you need to know about financial sustainabili...

2023 Must-have For Your Association's Growth: Tech + Culture!

About This Episode The lack of member engagement is a common problem that many associations experience. How would it be possible to ensure your association is following the right path? It is time to analyze how culture is changing and start a digital transformation, find out the proper strategies that will keep your  association at the top. Join us and our special guest Jamie Notter and learn all you need to know to have engagement solutions. About Our Guest Jamie Notter is the Co-Found...

Member-Centric Approach: Train Your Association to Focus on Members First.

About This Episode The lack of member focus is a common problem that many associations experience. How would it be possible to ensure that they are making member centric decisions? It is time to examine the ways associations can improve their practices to lead them to a higher level of member retention. Join us and our special guest Tom Abbott and learn all you need to know to have member centric solutions. About Our Guest  Tom Abbott is president and board director of several nonprofit ...

Ask Me Anything Podcast

About Our Podcast The Grype Podcast is all about membership growth. Farhad Khan, CEO of Grype Digital will answer your questions live in our upcoming podcast episode. Register for our events on our site to learn more about how to grow your association. Our podcast episodes are available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and YouTube. Follow us on our social media channels to learn when new episodes are available.  Do you have a topic you want to hear about? Let us know! About This Episode In...

Member-Centric Strategic Planning: The Mistakes Associations Make with their Members

About This Episode Everyone in the association world thinks they are member-centric, but there are things associations do that get in the way of prioritizing their members. It’s time to examine the ways associations mistakenly take their members for granted and how to fix it! Listen in as we discuss how to align the goals of your board, executive director, membership manager and your members. Let’s create a robust membership program that serves members and brings revenue to your association...

Member Retention: Engaged Members Retain Themselves

About This Episode Member retention is not the very first step of member experience. Renewal is determined in the first 30-90 days. How do associations ensure that members will retain themselves? Our special guest, Chris Vaughan, Membership and Marketing Consultant answered this question and more during this exclusive podcast interview. Chris explained how retention is not a communication channel but an engagement channel and why engaged members retain themselves. About Our Guest  Chris Va...

How To Keep Your Association Relevant: Re-envision a Membership Model that Leads to Member Retention

About This Episode Associations are busy trying to make small changes to impress members and stay relevant, but is it enough? Our special guest, Randall Craig, Advisor on Digital Strategy and Hall of Fame Business Speaker, answers these questions and more during this exclusive podcast interview. Listen in as Randall shares his experience and explains how using digital trust strategies can improve member engagement and retention. Watch this episode to hear Randall share his unique perspective...

Membership Recruitment: How To Reach New Markets

About This Episode Let's understand how to plan and execute a thriving membership program and what is required to achieve long-term membership resiliency. Our guest, Tony Rossell answers these questions and more during this exclusive podcast interview. Listen in as Tony shares practical guidance and reflections from his book, Membership Recruitment, which explains why an effective membership recruitment program is the key to association growth, financial health, and mission success. About O...

Tips to Scale Your Membership: A Case Study with C100

About This Episode Let's understand how to scale your membership using a high-tech business model and member feedback to drive member engagement. Our guest, Laura Buhler, will share her expertise on how to create a vision that people want to be a part of. Laura believes that it is all about the people. You can grow your association by investing your time and resources in understanding your members and having a "product" mindset. About Our Guest  Laura Buhler is the President and CEO of C100...

Non-Dues Revenue: How Associations Can Diversify Their Revenue

About This Episode Let's learn about how your association can diversify your revenue with non-dues revenue ideas. Our guest, Edward Byers, shares his expertise on non-dues revenue and how associations can diversify their revenue. Let's talk about why non-dues revenue is so important to associations and some key non-dues revenue areas. About Our Guest Edward Byers is the Director, Membership & Business Development at CSAE Canadian Society of Association Executives. Edward is an expert in b...

How to Prepare a Comprehensive Membership Website Plan for Non-Techies

About This Episode Let's talk about how to take charge of your association's membership website redesign project! It starts with understanding that you — the client — are just as much responsible for a successful outcome as your service provider (your developers). Learn where everyone's responsibilities begin and end, how to pick the right developer, and how to actually launch as close to on time and on budget as possible! About Our Guest Natasha Golinsky is the founder and lead project m...

Sustainable Web Design for Associations

About this Episode In this episode, we talk about digital sustainability and how sustainable web design can help to improve the user experience​. We will explore how the pursuit of sustainable web projects can produce more functional websites and help associations to drive traffic to their website.  About our Guest Tom Greenwood is an author, web designer and activist devoting his time to the field of sustainable web design. His work demonstrates that making eco-friendly choices does not ...

The Path to Sustainable Membership Growth

About This Episode In this episode, we talk with association management royalty, Velma Knowles, about the four pillars of membership growth, discussed in her latest best-selling book about how to scale your membership. We start by busting some myths associations hold around membership and replacing them with data-driven pillars that are universal to all associations. About Our Guest Velma Knowles is a coach and consultant to associations and non-profit leaders around the what, when and ho...

It's Not About Price, It's About Value: Making Membership the Obvious Choice

About This Episode In this episode, we talk with an experienced association executive about how to assess the value of your membership. We talk about creating valuable member benefits, the best ways to find out what members want, and how to engage members. See below to learn more about our very special guests, Aviva Rotenberg, and see a full list of questions we asked our very special guest.     About Our Guest Aviva Rotenberg is the executive director of the Canadian Association of Chi...

Successful Membership Site Transition: Ensuring Buy-In from Your Team and Membership

About This Episode In this episode, we talk about the value of creating a change management plan throughout the process of your association's next big tech transition (eg. membership site, member portal, website, etc.). It will make for a smoother development process and launch, where your stakeholders, staff and members can embrace the change rather than resist or reject it. About Our Guest Betsy Bond has been the president and founder of Bonding Change (a change management consulting fi...

Explosive Growth for Associations Through Better Membership Management

About This Episode In this episode, we talk about how to create a member-focused culture where decision-making focuses on your membership and creates an active association where members want to be. We re-define member engagement, discuss the continuum of engagement for different types of members, and how lean start-up methodology can help associations thrive in a resource-poor environment. We walk about the user experience of members and if your association's ways of connecting with members...

Grow Your Membership with Smart SEO

About This Episode In this episode, we speak to Brock Murray about how SEO works to generate leads for your association to increase your membership numbers. He discussed all the best practices in creating content with SEO in mind and he also shared with us the tools he recommends for tracking your traffic. He also delved into Google Analytics and how we can maximize this tool in our SEO campaigns.  About Our Guest We are privileged to have, seoplus+ co-founder and COO, Brock Murray as our...

365-Day Member Communication: Re-Engaging Your Members in a Post-Covid Era

The data shows that most associations took a hit through Covid. Let's dive into reengaging your members and lapsed members through a multi-channel communications approach. We discuss using different approaches for new members, existing members, veteran members and members who left. Let's renew buy-in from your volunteers and staff with an action plan for growth. We are honoured to have Scott as our guest for this episode. Scott has spent the past 20 years working with hundreds of associatio...

Engaged Members Stay Members: Stop Chasing and Start Investing

Here is a list of questions we asked Beth for your reference: Tell us about yourself what you do? We often buy things from organizations that we don’t have a relationship with, so why is it important for associations to build relationships with their audience and stakeholders? Is there a science to building relationships with members? Are there rules, or a five-step process that works every time? Why do you think it’s so common for associations to get membership marketing backwards? What...

Accessible Web Design Without Tradeoffs: Leaving No Member Behind Online

Your association’s prospective members are of all levels of ability. With the world moving increasingly online, you can expand your membership and grow your association through inclusive web design. In this podcast, listen to renowned web accessibility expert David Berman. David is the author of the groundbreaking Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change the World, UN Special Advisor on web accessibility and W3C Invited Expert. From the advice shared by David in this episode, we created a ...

Improve Your Member Experience with Smart Data Management, with Wes Trochlil

In this episode we are joined by Wes Trochlil, author and top data management consultant. We talk about how smart data management strategy will help your have better reports, communication, marketing and engagement. Clean data and strategic data collection will helps an association stay organized and on a growth trajectory. To learn more about Wes, you can visit his website. We'll include here the questions we asked Wes in the podcast with time stamps so you can easily refer back to the pa...

E10: Targeted Marketing & Audience Segmentation For Associations

Creating the marketing strategy for associations is complicated because they have a variety of stakeholders, each with their own relationship to the association. The information that is relevant to each of those audience segments varies, as does the marketing. Listen in to this podcast to learn how to work smarter rather than harder to create targeted marketing for your many audience segments from one of the best nonprofit marketers in the industry. Our guest is Kerstin Heuer, founder of He...

How to Improve the Culture & Productivity of Your Association's Board with Christina Becker, VP of Consulting & Online Training at Becker Associates

In this episode, we speak to Christina Beker, VP of Consulting & Online Training at Becker Associates, a family-run business that focuses on supporting boards to be productive, impactful and have a positive impact on the association they represent. Christina has the experience to know how to vet your board members and create a culture of respect and productivity. To learn more about what she does, click HERE. Here are the questions we asked Christina in the podcast. Feel free to use this a...

Grype - How to Improve the Culture & Productivity of Your Association's Board with Christina Becker, VP of Consulting & Online Training at Becker Associates

In this episode, we speak to Christina Beker, VP of Consulting & Online Training at Becker Associates, a family-run business that focuses on supporting boards to be productive, impactful and have a positive impact on the association they represent. Christina has the experience to know how to vet your board members and create a culture of respect and productivity. To learn more about what she does, click HERE. Here are the questions we asked Christina in the podcast. Feel free to use this a...

Grype - How to provide ongoing training to your team members, with Denise Amyot, CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada

In this episode, we speak to Denise Amyot, the president and CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). CICan is an association of colleges and institutes in Canada and they support businesses by helping them identify training needs and by delivering specialized trainings for their employees. Denise has had several high-profile leadership roles in the past. We discussed personal habits she has developed that contributed to her success and the importance of networking. We also discussed ...

How to provide ongoing training to your team members, with Denise Amyot, CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada

In this episode, we speak to Denise Amyot, the president and CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). CICan is an association of colleges and institutes in Canada and they support businesses by helping them identify training needs and by delivering specialized trainings for their employees. Denise has had several high-profile leadership roles in the past. We discussed personal habits she has developed that contributed to her success and the importance of networking. We also discussed ...

Grype - How to build and maintain a high performing team for the organization

Serial entrepreneur and CEO of fellow.app Aydin Mirzaee joins us on this episode. Previously the co-founder and co-CEO of Fluidware which is now owned by SurveyMonkey, Aydin has most definitely made a lasting mark on the tech industry in Ottawa.  In this episode, we discuss the importance of building and maintaining a high performing team in your organization. Getting to know your team members to display their strengths is crucial for finding greatness in every team. Always convey your miss...

How to build and maintain a high performing team for the organization

Serial entrepreneur and CEO of fellow.app Aydin Mirzaee joins us on this episode. Previously the co-founder and co-CEO of Fluidware which is now owned by SurveyMonkey, Aydin has most definitely made a lasting mark on the tech industry in Ottawa.  In this episode, we discuss the importance of building and maintaining a high performing team in your organization. Getting to know your team members to display their strengths is crucial for finding greatness in every team. Always convey your miss...

Grype - Why non-profits should leverage the power of partnerships to grow - Mike Ward

In this episode, we speak to Mike about why nonprofits should invest more in creating strategic partnerships to expand their reach and competencies. Partnerships allow organizations to have capabilities that are not available in-house and they broaden the reach of their work by leaps and bounds. However, good partnerships don't just happen, they are part science and part art! You can find more about Mike's work in the non-profit housing sector at the MHI website - https://www.multifaithhou...

Why non-profits should leverage the power of partnerships to grow - Mike Ward

In this episode, we speak to Mike about why nonprofits should invest more in creating strategic partnerships to expand their reach and competencies. Partnerships allow organizations to have capabilities that are not available in-house and they broaden the reach of their work by leaps and bounds. However, good partnerships don't just happen, they are part science and part art! You can find more about Mike's work in the non-profit housing sector at the MHI website - https://www.multifaithhou...

Making decisions based on market data - Shanyn Silinski from Autism Canada

If you are a leadership role, you know making the right decision at the right time is very important in any business. Managers and business leaders usually take decisions based on past experiences and use managers mental models. In this podcast, we will talk about another very important aspect of decision making: Making a decision based on market data.  It's very important to ask the right questions and to look at the right metric to understand, which direction your project is going. It's so...

Grype - Making decisions based on market data - Shanyn Silinski from Autism Canada

If you are a leadership role, you know making the right decision at the right time is very important in any business. Managers and business leaders usually take decisions based on past experiences and use managers mental models. In this podcast, we will talk about another very important aspect of decision making: Making a decision based on market data.  It's very important to ask the right questions and to look at the right metric to understand, which direction your project is going. It's so...

How to create value for association members - Michael Lachapelle

If you work in the professional association space, you know that associations are going through a transformation. It's never been more important for associations to deliver true value to members in order to retain your member base. In this episode Michael discusses the underlying principles of value creation and how to determine what is of value to your audience. Special acknowledgement to our guests for providing powerful insights into membership management.  Follow our podcast for more f...

Grype - How to create value for association members - Michael Lachapelle

If you work in the professional association space, you know that associations are going through a transformation. It's never been more important for associations to deliver true value to members in order to retain your member base. In this episode Michael discusses the underlying principles of value creation and how to determine what is of value to your audience.

Embracing digital technology to drive innovation and serve members, with Jean-Claude Tétreault from the ACLS

Learn how you can use digital technology to best serve your members and grow your association member onboarding and retention with Jean-Claude Tétreault and host, Farhad Khan.Special acknowledgement to our guests for providing powerful insights into membership management.  Follow our podcast for more free educational content. Visit memberlounge.app to learn more about us.  

Grype - Embracing digital technology to drive innovation and serve members, with Jean-Claude Tétreault from the ACLS

A wise man said, "every time you use the word innovation, a kitten dies." I couldn't agree more, innovation starts with an open mind, embracing technology, experimentation, gathering feedback and continuous improvement. That's what we learn in this episode from Jean-Claude Tetrault, Executive Director of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS). The ACLS is at the forefront of using digital technology to serve their members across Canada. Their work serves as inspiration to other asso...

How to create a roadmap for your website - with Osamu Wakabayashi from Zenideas

Special acknowledgement to our guests for providing powerful insights into membership management.  Follow our podcast for more free educational content. Visit memberlounge.app to learn more about us.  

Grype - How to create a roadmap for your website - with Osamu Wakabayashi from Zenideas