Focus Group Call Summary
Carolyn E. Whittier, Ph.D., 2009 AFA President
On June 3, 2009, 12 AFA Associate members participated in a focus group call led by Carrie Whittier, AFA President, Kelly Jo Karnes, AFA President-Elect, and Thad Doyle, AFA Vice President of Membership. The intent of the focus group call was to gain insight and suggestions from Associate members on the value of membership in the Association and how the Association can provide better services to the Associate member population.
The call was very productive and gave the Association leadership great insight into the perceived benefits for members as well as some of the challenges that need to be addressed. Several suggestions were made, and the Association has been able to create some new initiatives as a result of the focus group call. The new initiatives include:
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Creation of the Associate Quarterly, of which this is the first issue. This will be an electronic newsletter sent to all Associate members four times a year with content and information specifically for this membership population.
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Signage in the AFA Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall will be changed in 2009. The exhibit hall booths will continue to have the name of the Associate member and will now also include the number of years that the Associate has been a member of the Association. It is our hope that this will continue to communicate to the AFA membership the years of service and commitment to the Association from our Associate members.
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In lieu of an Associate Member Highlight in the August 2009 edition of the Association Update, a full listing of all Associate members was provided to the full AFA membership. It was shared on the call that the monthly highlight of an Associate member was nice, but that it might be more helpful to all members to see the full listing of Associates.
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An Associate member orientation will be developed in the coming months that will provide information on the Association and the profession of fraternity/sorority advising. This primer on the profession will be used to ensure that all Associates are able to maximize their communications with Professional and Affiliate members and work to create a stronger sense of membership value.
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The current placement of the Associate member information on the website was also a concern. The Association is in the process of purchasing a new association management software that will also include a revision of the current AFA website. Addressing the issue of placement of the Associate members is part of the overall website re-design plan, to include the opportunity for Associate members to purchase ads on pages of the AFA website. These revisions and ad placements will be launched in early spring 2010.
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Exhibit Hall pricing for non-profit Associate members was also addressed on the call and through other avenues. The AFA Executive Board recently approved a new fee structure to allow for non-profit Associate members to exhibit at a different rate than for-profit Associate members. In addition, there will no longer be any “free” display tables in the lobby at the Annual Meeting. All interfraternal partners that are not Associate members will be given the opportunity to exhibit in the AFA Exhibit Hall, at the non-profit rate. We believe that this will continue to increase traffic in the Exhibit Hall and provide a better exhibiting experience for all members.
The Executive Board hopes that these initial action items will address some of the concerns raised on the call, and provide reinforcement that we value feedback from all of our members. If any Associate member has additional thoughts or suggestions based on the call content, please feel free to contact
Thad Doyle, Vice President of Membership, or
Sarah McCracken, Director of Member Services.
As the Association prepares for the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, focus group calls such as this one are vitally important to aiding the Executive Board in the development of strategic action items. The new strategic framework will be developed from information gained through focus group calls, a membership survey, and other data collection points over the next eight months.
Thank you to those Associate members who participated on the call and those that provided direct feedback to the questions via e-mail following the call. Your participation and voice are very important to the Association, and we appreciate your time and commitment.