Case study: enetrix for your association
The situation
A national trade association for high-tech industry has for years been receiving a substantial cash payment to let a prominent consulting firm conduct an annual compensation survey of its member organizations. The consulting firm remunerates itself by retaining ownership of the survey information, selling it to the trade association's members and non-members, as well as keeping all the revenue and using the data to support their other client consulting engagements.
The problem
While this superficially appears to be an equitable relationship, when one takes into account the pecuniary value of the collected data, in reality the trade association is grossly overcompensating the consulting firm by accepting the payment and virtually giving away a value asset and a potent source of non-dues revenue. More subtly, the deployment of an antiquated paper and pencil survey among a tech-savvy constituency is damaging to the trade association's brand image-both inside and outside of its membership.
The solution
The trade association uses the enetrix Compensation Survey Management Service instead of the consulting firm, collecting membership information on a state-of-the-art secure website that's custom branded with their own personalized "look & feel." The period between survey deployment and data reporting is dramatically decreased, and online analyses are updated in real time as new members and data are acquired. Because the trade association now owns the information, they can use it as they wish.
The results
During the first five years in their relationship with enetrix, the trade association realizes an approximate tenfold increase in gross revenues by retaining proprietary control over the survey results and providing them to members and non-members for a fee¹. As well, the overall brand image of the trade association is burnished by deploying online 21st Century technology instead of a paper-and-pencil survey. Today, the trade association is using the annual survey report as a marketing tool, both as a revenue generator, and as a benefit for attracting and retaining members.
¹During the first five years, enetrix conducts the survey at no charge and shares a portion of the revenue. In subsequent years, the trade association opts to pay an annual maintenance fee to enetrix and keep all the revenue generated.
