Like other healthcare organizations, many of the National Society for Histotechnology’s 3,000 members were affected by COVID-19 when elective surgeries were put on hold and shelter-in-place orders were announced. NSH cancelled two important training meetings and transitioned its in-person annual meeting to a virtual event.

Cynthia Simpson, M.Ed, CAE, NSH’s manager for member services and a member of ASAE’s Membership Professionals Advisory Council, noted that NSH incentivized attendees by recording all the sessions and providing 30 days of access so participants could complete programs and earn critical continuing-education units (CEUs). In addition, the success of this transition provided support for a larger initiative to provide members expanded access to virtual education programs.

Back in 2019, NSH engaged Avenue M Group to survey its members with a goal of increasing value to drive membership growth, and then recommending new membership models. Access to histology-specific education was important, and many members asked what could be done to assist them in obtaining and retaining skills needed for recertification and professional development. Sharon Kneebone, CAE, NSH executive director and the NSH membership chair, collaborated with others to determine the feasibility of providing an expanded level of offerings, the pricing for these offerings, and how that might be packaged.

“Defining new membership models was a part of NSH’s strategic plan since 2013,” Sharon said, when explaining the importance of this new membership model. “In 2016, the society set a strategic course to transform to a digital organization providing value where the member resides. Most of our members will never attend our annual convention, and our new Enhanced Education membership is another step on our digital transformation journey to expand our reach.”

What They Did

Once NSH completed the stakeholder interviews and financial modeling, it settled on a Good–Better membership model, converting regular membership to Core Education membership, and adding Enhanced Education membership. The “better” option combines a year of membership with unlimited access to NSH’s expansive library of on-demand webinars. Compared to NSH’s Core Education membership rate of $80, the Enhanced Education category was $139. But with the unlimited access to over 70 online webinars, normally priced at $25 each, this new package was a no-brainer for members who believed access to quality histology education was vital.

[W]ith the unlimited access to over 70 online webinars, normally priced at $25 each, this new package was a no-brainer for members who believed access to quality histology education was vital.

NSH had to build the infrastructure to support the new membership model first. Within one year, NSH migrated to a new association management system featuring a dashboard for seamless access to NSH’s benefits and CEU tracking. Next, a learning management system was implemented and integrated to the AMS, making access to the learning catalogue simple and intuitive. Finally, the society soft-launched the new model on October 1 and unveiled the new model at the virtual annual convention, which was held October 13-15. To inform members and prospective members of this new offering, NSH used social media, retargeting ads, email, letters, and telemarketing.

The initiative was not without risk. On top of the $100,000 investment to develop the supporting infrastructure, there was potential that COVID-19 would financially cripple the market and that the program launch would be unsuccessful. NSH proceeded undeterred and worked the plan to completion, recognizing the opportunity to be embraced by those looking for increased value based on education access, either because they needed CEUs or they were looking to support their own professional development.

The Results

By November 2020, NSH had hit their Enhanced Education membership adoption goals for 2021. Deemed a “phenomenal success” by Simpson, she noted they also pulled it off during a particularly hectic time. While facing the challenges of COVID-19, NSH was also in the middle of a transition from a calendar to an anniversary membership renewal cycle and planning their annual convention three times in the face of the pandemic.

Anecdotally, member response was also positive. They appreciated that NSH was trying to make sure they had access to affordable education.

For other associations considering something similar, Simpson offered up three pieces of advice: Stick to your plan, get member input to maximize success, and be willing take a risk—even in challenging times—if data supports it.