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When You're Not Sure What to Do About Dues

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:20:43 GMT

At some point, nearly every association finds itself staring at the same uncomfortable question: “Are our dues right?” It usually doesn’t come up at a convenient time. Maybe revenue is tight. Maybe leadership is hesitant to raise prices. Maybe someone on the board asks how your dues compare to “everyone else,” and no one has a clear answer. Whatever the trigger, it often leaves organizations feeling stuck and feeling caught between the risk of changing dues and the risk of doing nothing at all.

That uncertainty is exactly why a structured dues review can be so valuable. It helps replace guesswork with clarity by answering questions like:

Are our dues aligned with the value members actually perceive?
How do we compare to similar organizations in our space?
Are we pricing appropriately across different member segments?
What would happen if we increased (or restructured) dues?
Where are we potentially leaving revenue (or members) on the table?

A good dues analysis doesn’t just produce a number; it provides context, options, and confidence. It blends market benchmarking with member research, so you’re not just looking outward at competitors, but inward at what your members truly value. It also allows you to model different scenarios, helping leadership understand trade-offs before decisions are made. And importantly, it sets the stage for better communication, so that when changes are made, they feel intentional and justified rather than reactive or abrupt.

At IFANR, we work with associations that are in exactly this position: uncertain, cautious, and looking for a path forward. Our approach is designed to bring structure to what often feels like an ambiguous challenge, combining data, member insight, and strategic perspective. Whether you’re considering a small adjustment or a broader rethink of your dues model, we help ensure you’re making decisions with clarity and confidence.

What to do When an Interview Goes Wrong

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:57:04 GMT

By Joseph Bates, IFANR Founder and President

Qualitative interviewing is never predictable. Sometimes you will have your dream interview…the participant will be interesting and insightful, they will provide you with a better understanding of your client’s research questions, and they will be engaged in the interview process. If only all interviews went this well!

However, we all know there are times when an interview can take a wrong turn. The participant can be disinterested or unengaged, perhaps they spend a long time talking but don’t really answer the questions, or maybe they are rude to you or other participants. When this happens it’s up to you as the interviewer to determine what to do. Here are a few tips about how to manage an interview gone wrong.

Be assertive yet polite. As the interviewer, you are in charge of the course of the interview. This might mean that in the case of a rambling participant you will need to repeat a question or redirect in order to get an answer to your question. Or perhaps you will need to give the participant explicit instructions to keep the interview on track. An excellent example of this occurred last week; as I was interviewing a participant he kept turning his head to the side so that the computer microphone couldn’t catch his voice. I repeatedly said to him, “I’m sorry, I cannot hear you. Could you please face the computer?” This felt assertive after the third request, but it was also polite, and it kept the interview moving.

Ask if the participant would like to reschedule. Sometimes it is clear that the selected time is not ideal for the participant. In one interview I conducted, a woman had clearly just gotten home from work and her two children were crying in her arms. While I attempted to ask her questions, she was struggling to hear me and maintain focus. In this instance, I asked her if there was a better time to conduct the interview, and we rescheduled. While this can be frustrating for the interviewer, if it is clear that you are not going to get useful data, it is worth rescheduling.

End the interview early. In some cases, the interview might not go your way. Perhaps the participant is unwilling to engage with you, or there are extenuating circumstances for the participant that you are unaware of. If you have tried being assertive and polite, and you have offered to reschedule, sometimes it’s best to realize this particular participant might not be able help you with this project. Thank them for their time, ask them if they have more to add and end the interview early. You can always seek out a backup participant if needed.

All research staff at The Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research are trained, experienced interviewers. If you need an expert to assist on your next project, please reach out to us. We’d love to chat!

Survey Writing: The Questionnaire as a Story

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:13:24 GMT

By Matt Kerr , IFANR Research Director

An organization comes to the Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research (IFANR) with many questions, and it is then our task to write a questionnaire that successfully addresses all of those questions. Sounds simple enough, right?

The problem arises when the organization has a very specific yet disjointed list of questions covering many different areas of concern. It may have been years since the organization last conducted a survey, and this is their big chance to get their many questions answered. They don’t want you wasting valuable time asking questions they don’t care about or to which they already know the answers. Fair enough. However, the problem is that any resulting questionnaire would be so disjointed, a rhyme without a reason, so to speak. Respondents would get whiplash from taking the resulting survey.

Questionnaires need to be written so that the responses tell a coherent story. The questionnaire must tie together many different goals into a document that flows logically. This may mean asking questions that seem, on the surface, irrelevant. It may seem like the research company is just padding the survey to give you a bigger product, i.e., a nice and thick final report. However, a gently flowing questionnaire will keep the respondent engaged in the survey, bringing you the answers to your most important questions.

IFANR can help your organization write a questionnaire that will encourage respondents to provide the answers to your questions.

When Enough is Enough: Reaching the Saturation Point

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:44:53 GMT

By Joseph Bates, IFANR Founder and President

As part of our research methodology, IFANR conducts a number of one-on-one, in-depth interviews for our clients. Inevitably at some point in our partnership, our clients ask how many in-depth interviews are “enough” to get a reliable answer to the questions we are investigating. The answer is – it depends.

In qualitative research, we know we have conducted enough interviews when we reach the saturation point. Simply put, the saturation point is the point at which the data becomes redundant, and interviewee’s answers to our questions do not yield any new information (Glaser & Strauss, 2017; Sebele-Mpofu, 2020). For the type of research we conduct at IFANR (strategic planning, membership reviews, sponsored research programs, etc.) the saturation point is typically reached at around 5 to 10 interviews per member segment. For example, on a recent project I spoke with members of an agricultural association about issues in their industry. After about the 8 ^th or 9 ^th interview, I noticed most interviewees discussed “supply chain problems, transportation issues, threats to trade, and the political environment” when discussing industry challenges. This is when I knew I had reached the saturation point.

This being said, the number of interviews needed to reach saturation is highly contextual and very dependent on your research question(s). In my dissertation, for example, I conducted research on complicated social problems and their intersection with the education system, so it took almost 40 interviews to reach the saturation point. This large volume of interviews was due to the fact that the topic I had chosen to study was highly complex, and I was also using a particular methodology that required a substantial number of interviews over time.

It is because of this variability in saturation that IFANR works very closely on methodological design with our clients, thus ensuring that we conduct the proper number of interviews to gain a clear picture of the research problem without wasting precious time and money.

References

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge.

Sebele-Mpofu, F. Y. (2020). Saturation controversy in qualitative research: Complexities and underlying assumptions. A literature review. Cogent Social Sciences, 6 (1).

The Problem with Long Lists in Survey Questionnaires (and The Simpsons)

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 19:02:04 GMT

By Matt Kerr , IFANR Research Director

In the fifth season of The Simpsons , the family is watching a video from self-help guru Brad Goodman, who suggests that his program can cure a long list of ailments, including “Depression, Insomnia, Motor-Mouth, Darting Eyes, Indecisiveness, Decisiveness, Uncontrollable Falling Down, and Geriatric Profanity Disorder (GPD).” The list is vintage Simpsons, yet it reveals some very real problems that market researchers often see when reviewing client-written questionnaires.

One of the most common problems we see with questionnaires is excessively long lists. The above list is mild compared to some. Clients often have a limited budget and a long list of attributes, products, etc., that they want to test in their research project, and thus they try to cram all of it into one survey. Bad idea.

The average survey respondent does not regularly take surveys, and a long list can be overwhelming. Think of the forms you fill out when you go to the doctor; there is invariably a long list of medical conditions you need to report. It’s the same with market research survey, only your life doesn’t hang in the balance. It is simply unreasonable to expect a respondent to give up their personal time to read through a list that is, in all likelihood, much longer than it needs to be.

And when is a list too long? There is no definitive answer, but if there are twenty items on a list, it is safe to assume that some of the least popular options will garner only one or two percent of the vote. What does that really tell you that you didn’t already know? As an association executive, you probably already knew that those were some of the least popular or most underperforming options. Your goal is to learn which options are in the top three (or four, or five).

The other problem exemplified in the list from The Simpsons is confliction response options. “Indecisiveness” and “decisiveness” are presented as options from which the same person could suffer. Yes, anything is possible, but it is also not likely. We see this in questionnaires all too often. When someone selects conflicting answers, researchers only guess what the respondent meant.

Part of the craft of writing a good questionnaire is to engage the respondent and not to lead them into situations where they can mistakenly report incorrect or conflicting data.

These are just some of the pitfalls that the Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research (IFANR) can help you to avoid when writing a questionnaire.

The Story Behind the Numbers: Mixed-Methods Research

Mon, 19 May 2025 01:49:16 GMT

By Joseph Bates, IFANR Founder and President

Have you ever wondered what mixed-methods research is and why it’s important? If quantitative research is generally thought of as “numbers”, and qualitative research is generally thought of as “narratives”, mixed methods is simply a combination of the two. This combination is an excellent way to understand any topic in great detail.

Our work at IFANR often draws on mixed methods research. For example, if IFANR fields a survey of membership dues and the survey tells us that 72% of members think that the current dues structure is inequitable and needs to change, this is valuable and also incomplete information. While it’s important to know that 72% of members think this, we don’t know the reasoning behind the thought. In order to understand why members feel the dues are inequitable, we would use in-depth interviews or focus groups to further understand the problem. The reverse of this is also true, as qualitative data alone is often not generalizable to large populations, and we wouldn’t know how many of the members feels the dues are inequitable. Therefore, mixed methods research allows us to understand a problem in a way that is complete, focused and detailed.

Frequent Questionnaire Mistakes

Tue, 13 May 2025 20:26:46 GMT

By Matt Kerr IFANR Research Director

When new clients consult with IFANR about how to meet their research needs, they sometimes provide us with a questionnaire they used in a previous survey. The questionnaire has usually been written by someone in house who knows which questions they wanted to ask but failed to ask them in a logical manner.

One of the most common mistakes we see is a “double-barreled question.” A double-barreled question is one which asks two questions while providing only one set of response options. Here is an extreme example of one such question, one which has (hopefully) never appeared in a real survey.

Q: Have you brushed your teeth or bungee jumped off a tall bridge today?

A: Yes/No

If someone answers “yes,” What does that mean? Consider the choices?

1. They brushed their teeth, but did not jump off of a bridge (Most likely)

2. They jumped off a bridge, but did not brush their teeth (Less likely…and gross)

3. They jumped off a bridge and brushed their teeth. (Possible, but also not likely)

The reality is, we simply don’t know. There are, however, a couple easy ways to resolve this problem.

One way is to ask two questions, for example:

Q1: Have you brushed your teeth today?

A1: Yes/No

Q2; Have you bungee jumped off of a tall bridge today?

A2: Yes/No

Another way is to create a multiple-choice question:

Q: Please selected each of the following that you have done today.

A: Brushed my teeth/Bungee jumped off a tall bridge/None of the above

Effective and actionable research starts with clear questionnaire writing. IFANR can help your organization ask the proper questions to give you the answers you need.

The Value of Qualitative Research

Mon, 05 May 2025 15:54:51 GMT

By Joseph Bates, I FANR Founder and President

Data comes in many forms, and we are used to seeing it on a daily basis. While we are familiar with quantitative data (think charts and graphs, statistics, marketing claims, etc.), qualitative data is sometimes less obvious. This does not mean, however, that it is not valuable. In fact, qualitative research is incredibly valuable to IFANR clients. Qualitative research encompasses “the study of natural social life” (Saldaña, 2011, p. 3,) and provides insights into how people think and feel. With enough qualitative data, researchers can begin to build theories about human behavior, cultural beliefs, social norms and ideas. Ultimately, this allows the research team at IFANR to understand the actions and decision-making processes of our clients’ membership base. This is highly beneficial information for our clients, as they can use this information to achieve their membership and strategic goals.

For example, when the IFANR team conducts one-on-one interviews we gain deep insights into the ideas and opinions of our clients’ member base. We learn about the value of an association’s membership, we hear ideas regarding the direction of strategic planning, and we learn about the areas of success, as well as the member needs that are going unmet. Ultimately, qualitative data allows us to understand the how and the why behind member action and decision making, therefore showing our clients the path to growth and success.

If you’re interested in learning more about how IFANR uses qualitative data, reach out to us at: 703-969-5975 or jbates@ifassociationresearch.com .

References

Saldaña, J. (2011). Fundamentals of qualitative research . Oxford University Press.

Generating Non-Dues Revenue Through a Sponsored Research Program

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:26:06 GMT

When Joe Bates, president of IFANR, was vice president of research and strategic initiatives at the Global Business Travel Association, he helped grow the sponsored research program from $100,000 in revenue in 2010 to $1.5 million in 2015. This huge increase in revenue allowed the association to do the following:

1) Published research reports that benefited all members,

2) Generated thought leadership for the association,

3) Earned massive media attention for the industry,

4) Funded other strategic research projects for the organization itself, and most importantly

5) Generated non-dues revenue for the association.

The Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research (IFANR) can help your association create a sponsored research program to generate non-dues revenue as well as realize other benefits. Here’s a short “How To” list to get your sponsored research program started:

1. All research sponsors receive recognition on an association “Research Donor Wall” at the appropriate level (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond). The Donor Wall is listed in various places, such as the association’s website, on-site at various conferences, in email blasts, etc.

2. Research sponsors are invited to contribute ideas and questions to studies, however, the association has the final say over all questions to ensure third-party objectivity and credibility.

3. Organizations receive prominent attribution as the research sponsor in the final report.

4. At the completion of each research study, the association issues a press release to the media announcing the report’s key findings. The research sponsor receives attribution in the press release and the opportunity to provide a quote.

5. The research reports are available to all members on the website. Some research reports may require purchase by members who do not chose to participate in the research project. Most research reports are available for purchase by non-members, although some research may be available to members only.

6. Sponsors may be allowed to send the report to their customers and post the report on their website as long as it resides behind a firewall that only customers are allowed to access.

7. Certain research studies may be provided to anyone free of charge and can be posted on the sponsor website for lead-generation and/or other marketing purposes.

8. At the completion of the research study, the association schedules a webinar for members and non-members to present the key findings of the study. The research sponsor receives attribution at the beginning and end of the webinar. In addition, at the beginning of the webinar, the research sponsor is allowed a two-minute “thank you” spot. The sponsor MUST NOT engage in any selling. Typically, sponsors receive the email list of participants for follow-up marketing efforts.

9. For major sponsors, the association presents the results of the research at a conference. The research sponsor introduces the presentation (two-minutes) and receives attribution as the research sponsor. Again, the sponsor MUST NOT engage in selling at this time.

10. Depending upon the level of sponsorship, the association may wish to grant the sponsor exclusive rights to create derivative materials based on the research.

The Art of the Qualitative Interview

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 19:11:18 GMT

By Joseph Bates, IFANR Founder and President

There is an art to conducting a good interview. Regardless of the purpose, be that gaining insight on a new app or collecting feedback for a strategic planning meeting, an interviewer usually has about 30 minutes to make a participant feel comfortable, trusting, and open to sharing their personal thoughts and opinions. This can be a challenging environment for the interviewer to create, so here are the top 3 tips that the IFANR team recommends when conducing qualitative interviews!

Begin the interview with a brief introductory conversation so that you and the participant can learn a little bit about each other. While the participant is introducing themselves, listen for any commonalities that the two of you share. The interviewer should be prepared to share a little bit about themselves as well. This brief conversation builds trust between the interviewer and the participant, especially if you happen to have something in common!
Remember to ask follow-up questions that allow the participant room to expand on their answer, such as “Can you tell me more about that?” or “Tell me a little more about why you feel that way?” Asking these follow up questions might elicit a more complete and detailed answer than your original question!
After reading many books and articles on how to effectively conduct interviews (and after conducting hundreds of interviews ourselves!) we remember this…a strong interviewer knows that we are there to bear witness to the participant’s story, to care about what they have to say, to suspend judgement, and to hold surfacing emotions with respect (Atkinson, 1998).

Happy interviewing!

References

Atkinson, R. (1998). The life story interview. Sage.

Does Data Matter? - What Goes For Baseball, Goes For Associations

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:02:00 GMT

By Matt Kerr, IFANR Research Director

In 2003, Michael Lewis published Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Lewis examined how Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, utilized an advanced analytical approach to maximize the talents of his players while still maintaining one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Using this approach, Oakland performed above expectations and made several postseason appearances.

What do you really know?

Beane’s analytical approach was controversial. For over a century, baseball executives had built rosters and coaches had made in-game decisions using experience, hunches, and a hodgepodge of statistics. Advanced analytics demonstrated that this approach was often misguided. Today, organizations win by building teams around relevant data, not hunches.

Market research tackles association issues in much the same way. How does your association know what it claims to know? Is it experience? Is it from talking to enthusiastic members at the annual conference? Maybe board members with their own pet interests? When you use any of these as your baseline, you are playing your hunches. Market research gives you real data from which to make decisions. Sometimes, your hunches are correct. Many times, they are not.

Research is not execution.

Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” Despite Berra’s questionable math, his point is nonetheless valid. It is not enough to know what to do; one must execute to be successful. Knowing that an opposing batter will always swing at a curveball in the dirt is useless information if your pitcher can’t throw a curveball.

Likewise, market research is not often useful on its own. A successful market research study will provide associations with the foundation from which to craft an effective strategy forward.

A good research project tells a story.

Baseball purists will sometimes maintain a scorecard (“keep score”) when attending baseball games. A holdover from the days before state-of-the-art video boards, a scorecard allows a fan to keep track of what is happening on the field. Part code, part art form, a good scorecard is not a highlight reel, but rather tells the complete story of the game. Baseball fans know that Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the 1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But do you know why the game was tied before that? The scorecard would tell you why.

Good market research endeavors to tell the complete story, too. As an association, you may know parts of the story. You may even have empirical data to back up those parts of the story. But do you know the entire story? IFANR can help you uncover the many layers that will tell a more complete story.

Doing more with less.

Just like Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, associations must increasingly do more with less. Research allows associations to pinpoint actual problems, not perceived ones, and to focus attention on them. Don’t be let a curveball surprise you when you were expecting a fastball.

How to Maximize Survey Response Rates - Composing an Effective Email

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 22:30:01 GMT

By Joseph Bates, IFANR Founder and President

The Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research (IFANR) has dozens of years of experience sending survey email invitations. We have perfected our methodology for achieving the best response rates possible. Below are the steps you should follow when creating a survey email invitation.

HINT: Do everything you can to make the survey email invitation look as if it is coming from a real person.

1) NEVER use html.

2) ALWAYS have the email invitation appear to come from someone respondents recognize at your organization. Don't use your generic marketing email template or account.

3) Use the sender’s actual email signature block. Again, you need to make this appear to come from someone real.

4) Keep the email SHORT. The FIRST sentence should explain that you are conducting a survey and need the individual to respond.

5) Always personalize the email greeting, such as "Hi Joe"...don't say "Dear Joe" if that is not how the person from whom the email is coming would normally start an email. NEVER say "Dear Member"...as that is too generic.

6) The only link that should be in the email is the link to the survey, and, of course, the opt-out link at the VERY bottom of the email.

7) Send no more than two follow-up reminders that are targeted ONLY to those who haven't completed the survey.

8) Keep the survey in the field for about 7 business days and stagger the reminder emails about two or three days apart. PUT THE DEADLINE IN THE LAST EMAIL INVITE ONLY.

9) Most importantly, make sure to include the following in your subject line: "Please Respond" or "Participation Requested" along with the title of your survey. You need this call to action.

Your Member Data is a Dumpster Fire. Now What?

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 19:21:57 GMT

By Matt Kerr , IFANR Research Director

At the Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research (IFANR), we are frequently putting out dumpster fires. It is why associations come to us. But some dumpster fires are more preventable than others, and one such case is with a member database.

First, let’s back up and look at what goes into a questionnaire. In addition to asking relevant questions in a meaningful manner, questionnaires might also seek out basic demographic information about the respondent, e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, or employment. Knowing this information allows an association to address the needs of its different constituencies.

Sometimes the client will reject adding these questions, insisting that their own database contains this information and that it can easily be appended to the mailing list used to send out survey invitations. Adding these questions to the questionnaire only makes the survey longer. It’s a good idea, but sometimes backfires.

The demographic data is often self-reported by the member, and therein lies the problem. People simply make mistakes when entering their own data. How many times have you mistyped your email address? Or never updated your address when you moved? A former co-worker told me that she incorrectly listed herself as “male” in her client’s own database. This is why we ask these questions again – to give respondents a chance to set the record straight, at least for this one survey.

That said, there are times when the respondent is wrong, but we need to let them think they are correct. A common example of this is when asking membership status. Invariably, a percentage of respondents will indicate that they are current members, when the client’s own records reliably report that they have not been members in several years. We defer to the respondent in these cases. We don’t want to follow up with a question asking someone why they didn’t renew their membership when they think they are still a member. It’s not a perfect solution, but it avoids upsetting the respondent and provides valuable feedback to the client.

And last, but not least, the client can make mistakes with their database. I once had a client that sent me three membership lists – one for current members, another for members, and the last for “never” members. Unfortunately, some appeared on more than one list, in some instances all three lists. The list was supposed to represent a specific moment in time (i.e., the date on which the lists were pulled), so it is unclear how someone could appear on more than one list at the same time. But there it was, and we had a dumpster fire raging out of control.

So that’s why we try to ask these questions in the survey. The answers allow us to resolve a lot of problems before it is too late to do anything about them. And IFANR can help your organization put out your database dumpster fires. Figuratively speaking, of course. We don’t handle real fires…yet.