Case Study:

Using a “Tell a Friend” Strategy to Tap a Valuable Recruiting Asset

While the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) serves a niche industry, it also faces market competition and a crowded field that is saturated with communications. Looking to differentiate itself, in 2008 ASHRM retained McKinley to develop a strategy to raise awareness for the organization and communicate its unique value to key constituents.

The resulting plan highlighted specific marketing opportunities and strategies. Survey statistics showed that ASHRM had a strong reputation and that a significant percentage of members had originally joined based on the recommendation of a colleague. One of McKinley’s recommendations included capitalizing on this strength by implementing a word-of-mouth recruitment campaign. With a deep understanding of ASHRM’s previous research and expert association knowledge in place, McKinley was reengaged in 2010 to develop and track a “Tell a Friend” email campaign to build on the word-of-mouth potential of ASHRM members.

Using a break-even analysis, McKinley determined that ASHRM would have to recruit 15 new members to cover the cash incentives provided to the top recruiters and the administrative costs associated with the campaign. The implemented plan far exceeded this point. ASHRM recruited 109 new members during the campaign, which equaled a 663% ROI for this specific marketing campaign investment, assuming that these new members would not have otherwise joined.