Date: Friday, March 7, 2008
Time: 14:50-15:50
Description: Be Open, Organized and Successful Today Session
Presenter: Norah Franchetti, Crown Group Vice-President, Learning and Development
She is currently the VP for Learning & Development and under the “Crown University” umbrella, she defines the global training & development strategies and delivers in-person workshops to the worldwide staff including Business Development Managers, Account Managers as well as leadership workshops to the Group Managers. Norah is a regular conference speaker in her areas of expertise which include tales of her many experiences from travel & working in over 50 countries.
Currently living in California Norah graduated from Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1980 with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Studies.
NOTES ON THE SESSION
Delegates agreed the following actions could benefit an increase in new membership:
Invite men to join;
Identify new companies in the area and contact them;
Prioritize your organizations strength and go after that market sector;
Offer free introductory membership trial possibly through local estate agents as a welcome gift for clients;
Offer copanies such as Relocation companies and Estate Agents free advertising for every ten memberships purchased;
Hold orientation classes for newcomers ranging from several hours to three weeks;
Notice people in town speaking english and intriduce yourself;
Contact and introduce your organization to Relocation companies, to American International schools, to the American Embassy;
Keep your website active and current to attract a younger generation using, for instance, a photo gallery of events;
Link to younger websites in your city;
Link to local professional clubs and university alumnae clubs;
Reach out to attract members from neighboring towns using articles or advertisements in local publications;
Have an abundance of local activities;
Contact an American university and ask students to be interns;
Create a focus group to actively attract new members.
Delegates agreed the following steps to Retain Members
Make your club exciting;
Create a 'calendar girl' type calendar;
Target Moms & Tots group by providing creches;
Hold dinner dances with a cause;
Provide a 'phone tree' for inviting to events and activities;
Identify new opportunities and interests that will bring long-termers back;
Liaise with your consulate and embassy for special events;
Provide benefits for your members that they cannot provide themselves auch as computer groups, activities for younger people, etc.
First impressions are important - make their welcome special;
Create a Mentor program with someone on call for new members;
Create and maintain a strong website presence.
SUMMARY OF THE SESSION
by Michele Hendrikse Du Bois
After a review of world relocation trends and working generations, Norah Franchetti, Vice President for Learning and Development for Crown Worldwide shared some strategies Crown Relocations use to attract and retain customers. We learned that there are 300,000 US citizens currently living abroad - double the number a decade ago. Contrary to what many clubs believe, the number of US citizens moving overseas is increasing. There are approximately 150,000 US outbound assignments each year.
The participants split into groups during the session to brainstorm ideas for attracting and retaining club members. The favorite ideas included teaming with relocation or real estate companies, keeping websites current and lively, and speaking to every English speaking person current members encounter. The favorite ideas for retaining members included providing benefits they can't otherwise get as an individual, creating a phone tree to personally invite long-term members back to the club and creating new and exciting activities. The session notes will be posted on the FAWCO website for everyone's use.