Communications linked to loyalty
If you want your co-op messages heard, it's still a face-to-face, hard-copy worldBy Dan Campbell, editor
Editor’s note: a more detailed report on the findings of Trechter’s study will be included in an upcoming issue of “Rural Cooperatives.”
A
well-informed
cooperative
member tends to
be a more loyal member—
but don’t rely too heavily
on e-mail or a Web site to
keep members up-to-date
on cooperative happenings.
Cooperative employees and
a hard copy of a co-op
newsletter are still ranked
by members as their preferred
sources for cooperative
news, according to
results of a survey funded
by USDA Cooperative
Services. Electronic communications
rated dead last
in order of preference,
says David Trechter,
associate professor of
agriculture economics at
the University of
Wisconsin-River Falls.
Presenting survey highlights at the
Cooperative Communicators Association’s
annual institute in Florida,
Trechter said the Upper Midwest
study involved two surveys, one of coop
managers and the other of co-op
members. The response from managers
was low enough to cast doubt on
that set of findings, but the 759
responses from members were a good,
statistically solid return rate, he said.Members were asked to rank their level of commitment to their co-op, using a scale of 0-100. “A 100 means you would walk over hot coals for your co-op,” Trechter said. “A zero means if your truck was running on fumes, and you were passing a CENEX filling station, you would probably hop out and push it to the next Standard station.” Those findings of loyalty were correlated to the communications preference of the members.
Trechter says he was surprised that
“face time with co-op employees and
managers ranked first and second on a
list of 10 communications preferences.
“So informal communications channels
are still hugely important,” he said.A hard copy of a co-op newsletter rated third in popularity, followed by press coverage in local newspapers. Annual meetings ranked fifth as a source of co-op information. Only 15 percent of the members rated electronic communications as important or very important.
“That’s not to say that electronic communications are not important, but it is a distinct minority of people who are living in an e-world, at least among the farm population in the Upper Midwest,” Trechter said. “And I suspect it is much the same in the rest of the country.”
Since co-op employees are viewed as such an important source of co-op information, internal communications that keep your staff well-informed are “hugely important,” Trechter said.
Appeal of annual meetings
Annual meetings are best for “preaching to the choir,” Trechter said. They appeal most to members who have served on the board or a co-op committee. The higher the level of education, the less important annual meetings tend to be with members. So annual meetings tend to be good for communicating with committed members, while newsletters are more important for reaching less-committed members.
Among other noteworthy survey
results:• Commitment to a cooperative increased among members who had served on a co- op board or committee, or who had coop training.
• Supply co-op members tended to be more loyal than marketing co-op members. (Trechter noted that 1997-99 were bad years for many commodity prices, which may have dampened co-op loyalty among marketing co-op members surveyed.)
• The smaller, more local and more homogenous a co-op’s membership was, the more loyal the members tend to be.
• Co-ops that have not gone through a merger tend to have more loyal members. “Change is scary for many people and change does not necessarily build member commitment,” Trechter said.
• The more a member has invested in his or her co-op, the stronger the member’s loyalty to it. Financial performance of a co-op also has an impact: the more solvent a co-op is and the lower the co-op’s debt to equity, the stronger the commitment of the membership.
• Members preferred co-ops that publish newsletters more frequently, feeling that the news is fresher and more up to date.
• Managers with long tenure at a co-op give greater credibility to the newsletter as a source of information. [end]
Graham wins top CCA honor
Doug Graham, director of sponsor communications and administration for Nationwide Insurance, Columbus, Ohio, has been honored by the Cooperative Communicators Association with the Klinefelter Award, the association’s top career service award. It is awarded annually to an individual who helps raise the standards of cooperative communications and who furthers the cooperative system and spirit.Graham, a 20-year veteran of co-op communications and former CCA president, plans and produces all communication programs that promote Nationwide (a mutual, or member- owned, insurance company). He writes articles – on topics such as farm safety, real estate planning and protecting personal assets – for member publications. He also produces Nationwide videos.
Other top awards presented at CCA’s annual communications
institute in Orlando, Fla. included:• Writer of the year – Richard Biever, Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives;
• Photographer of the year – David Lundquist, CHS Cooperatives;
• Publication of the year – Lani Jordan, CHS Cooperatives (for a CHS brochure);
•Special project of the year – Leta Mach, National Cooperative Business Association (for NCBA’s Co-op 101 educational program).
“Power in Peril,” the cover story of the March/April 2001 issue of “Rural Cooperatives” magazine, won a second place news-feature award. The article, written by regular contributor Catherine Merlo of Bakersfield, Calif., examined the impact of California’s energy crisis on cooperatives and their members.
CCA: building better co-ops through communications
The Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) is an organization of 350 communications professionals dedicated to the concept that a strong communications program helps build stronger, more effective co-ops. The membership includes communicators from the full spectrum of cooperatives: agricultural, rural utility, housing, credit and consumer.Since its founding in 1953, CCA has been dedicated to improving the communications skills of its members and helping them more effectively spread the messages of their cooperatives. The focal point of CCA’s activity is its annual communications institute, held in mid-to-late June each year. This year’s conference was held in Orlando, Fla. The 2002 event will move to Burlington, Vt., June 22-25.
“There are a number of good professional associations for communications and public affairs specialists, but cooperatives face so many unique challenges that they need an organization like CCA that is dedicated to focusing on the issues facing cooperatives,” says CCA President Heather Berry, a member of the editorial staff of “Rural Missouri,” the publication of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
For more information on CCA, visit the organization’s website at www.Coop- Comm.com, or call (806) 795-2783.
Co-op members’ preferred communications channels
(Ranking, with “1” being highest rated source for co- information, based on a University of Wisconsin survey of coop members in Minnesota Wisconsin.)1. Communications with co-op employees
2. Communications with co-op manager
3. Co-op newsletter
4. Newspaper articles
5. Annual meeting
6. Communications with board members
7. Communications with other members
8. Member surveys
9. Focus groups
10. Electronic communications
