April 18, 2009

BC Therapeutic Touch Network Looking to BE DiFFERENT

Recently I was asked to present some BE DiFFERENT ideas on how the BC Therapeutic Touch Network (BCTTN) could get some traction and grow its membership. The bottom line was that this group has not had all that much success attracting new members and keeping the ones they have.

What advice did I give them?

First, take a step back and renew their overall strategy since it was clear that the current direction wasn’t working.
Second, decide on a 24-month target for the number of members they wanted. It is critical to set your growth goals first and then develop a strategy to get them. Further, a 24-month time horizon will force the thinking around execution, the unforgotten hero of strategic planning.
Third, be real clear on who they wanted to serve. Choose a target group that enabled them to reach their member growth goals and one that was relatively easy to get at. Ease of access, in this case was related to geography (go after the Vancouver area as opposed to the entire Province) and groups already accepting the value of relaxation techniques (yoga teachers for example).
Fourth, define the value they intended to provide the chosen member group. Declining membership is the result of the perceived lack of value being offered; to turn the trend around it is essential that value be defined clearly and that it be compelling and relevant to the target group.
Value possibilities included:
- regular member practice sessions (to provide the opportunity to practice TT and get real-time feedback on their ‘performance’)
- networking conferences (to build relationships and share experiences)
- learning sessions (to enhance the TT knowledge base)
Fifth, adopt a member learning culture to continuously gather information on their members in order to both monitor the value they provide and create new value as they discover member secrets.

A tough road-map to follow for a volunteer-based group like this one with few resources at their disposal. Maybe I can help.
Cheers, Roy Osing

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Posted 4.18.09 at 05:48 am by Roy Osing | Read Comments (0) | Leave a Comment