Measuring SuccessAre you measuring how effective your communications are with your members, or chapters, or affiliates?

Here’s a question for you that came in to me via email from a national organization that has local chapters across the country . . .

“We working hard to improve our communications with our chapters, both enhancing how and what goes out and comes in. We are also trying to set some metrics, such as tracking hits and opens, as well as satisfaction as reported in an annual survey. As we set these metrics for the next three years, we’re trying to see whether any other organizations are measuring the effectiveness of their communications, so that we might be able to benchmark against them.

Let me give one example of a metric: “60% of chapter leaders report streamlined and improved communications that demonstrate two-way communication in the 2013 annual survey.” And we’d aim to increase that for 2014 and 2015. We just don’t want our numbers to be arbitrary . . .

Do you have any thoughts on this one?”

What do you think?

If your organization serves others, like members or chapters or affiliates, how do you go about measuring and reporting the success of those communications? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. I’m teaching a new webinar next week called Measuring Your Nonprofit Marketing Success for our All-Access Pass holders. I wasn’t going to cover this specific question, but will probably throw it in there now!

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