How Membership Departments Can Prepare for the Impact of Coronavirus (Webinar Highlights)
GuestUser · March 12, 2020
With the ever-growing concerns around Coronavirus and its ripple effect on the global economy, many museums and attractions are wondering how they will be impacted. Membership professionals are specifically concerned about how this will impact their membership bases in the coming months or years.
To address these concerns, Dan Sullivan (Head of Partnerships at Cuseum) and membership experts Dana Hines (VP, Membership Marketing, Gabriel Group) and Alicia Lifrak (EVP, Fundraising, Gabriel Group) came together in a special webinar earlier this week to talk about steps membership-based organizations can take to prepare, and respond to this impending crisis.
To learn more, you can view the webinar recording online.
In the meantime, here are the top five tips and takeaways from the discussion:
1. Scenario Plan with Your Team
As the coronavirus spreads rapidly, we and our organizations are all thrust into situations of mass uncertainty. In this situation, the best thing we can do is be prepared. Alicia Lifrak offered up some great advice to stay prepared: scenario plan.
While your offices are open and your team is still available, now is the time to come together and think strategically. According to Alicia, “starting with whatever your organization's priorities are, sit down and strategically put together three to five to seven ‘what if’ scenarios.” What if there's an involuntary closure of your facility? What if all the schools in your community close? What if there's a significant staff disruption due to illness? Now is the time to put your heads together and develop one-pager plans with your team to address any of these possible scenarios.
2. Keep KPIs Top of Mind
As the coronavirus presents a major risk to revenue, attendance, and membership at major organizations, leaders are likely to be highly concerned about performance. In this time of crisis, it is imperative that you have the tools you need to measure your organization's health so that you can monitor and report to your director and board.
According to Dana Hines, “this is our time to do a little bit of preparation and get some stats from years past.” In other words, keep an eye on key performance indicators, or KPIs. If your supervisor comes to you with questions about how this situation is affecting membership renewal rates, one of the most important metrics for measuring membership program health, make sure you have numbers (past and present) at the ready. As Dana put it, with those numbers in hand, “you can give your own leaders some assurance if you can really be able to answer some of those financial questions.”
3. Revamp Your Digital Strategy
In light of social distancing recommendations due to COVID-19, many cultural organizations are seeing a decrease in attendance. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still engage your patrons! Now is the time to revamp your digital strategy.
Dana Hines cited some of the most creative examples of digital innovation in other times of crisis. After California suffered from both wildfires and mudslides, organizations like the Santa Barbara Zoo were suffering. To combat this, they launched the “Keep Santa Barbara Cute” campaign. As the zoo was getting ready to host the koalas who were coming to visit from the San Diego Zoo, the organization put together a Buzzfeed-style survey questionnaire that patrons could participate in digitally: “Are a Flamingo or a Koala or a Meerkat?” This was a huge success in driving awareness.
Another leading example is Zoo New England. They launched a digital initiative called “Keeper Talk”. This involves taking video footage when zookeepers are feeding or caring for the animals and then publishing them to social media channels while offering background on both the keepers and the animals.
This kind of digital content is key to keeping folks engaged remotely. According to Dan Sullivan, Head of Partnerships ar Cuseum, this can even be an opportunity for organizations to “extend their brand and extend the value that they can bring outside the walls of their organization.”
4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
In this time of crisis, where we see cultural organizations, universities, and hotels on lockdown, it’s easy for members and patrons to feel confused. They may be unsure whether your organization is still open and whether it’s even safe to visit. Organizations may also be taking precautions like implementing new cleaning procedures, canceling large events, and reducing their hours.
As these changes take place, it is more important than ever that you establish lines of communication with your members through social channels, email, push notifications, and more. Let them know of any updates, cancellations, or new policies, so they can feel in the loop. Additionally, by being a source of reliable information, you can establish yourself as both a resource and “that trusted institution that kept going even through difficulty and challenges.”
5. Plan for Remote Work
In the face of school and university closures, mandatory social distancing, and fluctuating public health recommendations, many businesses and nonprofits alike are preparing for remote work. Before that happens, it’s essential that you’ve outfitted yourself and your colleagues with the tools necessary to work together while remote. Now is the time to acquaint yourself with call forwarding technology, instant chat tools like Slack, video conferencing software like Zoom and Google Hangouts, and workflow management tools like Trello.
Perhaps most importantly, if you have a cloud-based CRM like Blackbaud’s Altru or Raiser’s Edge NXT, NeonCRM, Tessitura, or Salesforce, ensure you can access this from home. And if you’re not already on the cloud, now is the time to think about the benefits.
In this time of uncertainty, it’s important to start taking measures now to ensure your organization’s future success and ability to adapt. And don’t forget to wash your hands!
Looking to help your organization stay on top of the coronavirus? Check out our Resource Page for coronavirus in the cultural space or contact Cuseum.