Rod Wilkes event (Click this title to see all the comments)
What did people think of our new chief last night?
Am interested in what others had to say as I couldn't make it.
Next local branch, virtual branch and regional events
As we have not been able to attract enough members to some of our local events, CIM Northamptonshire's committee has created a CIM Virtual Branch on LinkedIn. If you are a member of LinkedIn, please join the group here
Following a break, CIM Northamptonshire's next two events are shown in the posting below and on the CIM Events Pages.
The first will be in Northampton on 22ndMay 2013, helping you to "Find out where social media fits in the new customer-driven marketing mix"
The second will be a "Survive and thrive" afternoon event on 6th June 2013 at the University of Northampton, Sunley Management Centre.
If you have any questions, please post them on this blog or on the CIM Virtual Branch on LinkedIn.
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8 comments:
Well, I will be the first to comment.
On the positive side, Rod has been involved with CIM for many, many years and knows its lack of customer (member) orientation. He is also very aware of the criticism of "Moor Hall" amongst active members in the branches.
I was therefore very pleased to hear his objective that the organisation and all the staff in Moor Hall will become "member centric" and not split into various divisions (silos) at HQ.
He did give the presentation to members before his plans have been finalised and was very willing to stand up and discuss all the points raised by members at the event.
He also promised to take back with him all that he had heard and would remember the memnbers' comments and suggestions during his efforts to improve CIM.
An example of our efforts to improve communications can be seen in the blog posting below this one. Sara Gadzik has listed all the ADDITIONAL advantages that members can get from belonging to the CIM.
On the negative side, I was disappointed that Rod was not able to say more about his future plans to improve the CIM and make it the number one professional organisation for marketing management people.
One final point, I hope that Rod will support and promote such initiatives as this blog, especially if they are found to be helpful to members.
Thanks Nigel. I shall certainly been watching with interest what comes out of Moor Hall.
Not targetting me by direct mail to become a member or do the postgrad diploma would be a good start! Especially as when I rang up to complain the answer was they had purchased mailing lists and couldn't do anything about it. Dedupe anyone???
Not to seem rude but were we at the same event?! Rod's presentation basically showed the CIM history. Most younger active members don't care – we were there to know more about the future plans from CIM – what we will get for our £140 annual membership.
Especially as someone who's passed all the exams, what's the ongoing benefit for a member? If it's networking, well I can do that at events by just stumping up an extra fiver and attending as a non-member. The magazine is just okay but there are other free magazines (eg Marketing - assuming you qualify for the free circulation), which are much more informative.
These are valid questions that need addressing as membership numbers are decreasing.
There seem to be more benefits for members who run their own consultancies as you can get discounts from certain insurers and legal advice but for someone working in a business, the benefits post qualification are less clear.
He didn't actually say exactly what the CIM plans were for the future and he was terse when people asked probing questions he didn’t like.
Hmmm, my overall impression was not overly positive.
Glad I've started a debate!
I must admit I agree with your comments regarding member benefits Sarah. The only reason I stay a member is so I can remain Chartered as it shows commitment to continuous development but many people still haven't heard of it and it doesn't benefit me as such now I have my job. Useful when looking though but costs an extra £20 as well.
Would membership be of more use if the local networking events were free and non-members charged? The Northants branch have been having a debate about this.
Sarah, your first sentence reminded me of a phrase that an old boss of mine used to say about company meetings:
"Well, as we were all at the same meeting, we must have come away with different opinions!"
However, I do agree with all of your points, especially for members who are not running their own consultancy businesses (like me!) You will also have seen in one of the other "comments" that Abigail Torr (my colleague on the CIM Northants committee) also agrees with you.
At a recent committee meeting, I suggested that we should not charge members anything for normal branch events and will press for this to be accepted by the committee fro future Northants events. I hope you agree that would at least be a small start.
We, the local and regional volunteers who run branches are always looking for new ideas for events or other things that will attract members and provide some of the services that you expect for your £140 per annum.
So, what else do you want from CIM Northants?
Sarah, I couldn't possibly comment! But yes, there was clearly a feeling that people wanted to hear more about the future of CIM, and less about the past. Hopefully the event gave Rod and the people at Moor Hall a lot to think about. Here are some of the comments that I noted:
-There is high interest in SME marketing, and a feeling that CIM is not reaching this market
-Members need help from Head Office to convince SMEs of the contribution that qualified marketers can make to their business
-More needs to be done to 'sell' the benefits to members.
-The cost of training is prohibitive to many. How can CIM provide local delivery at lower cost, and possibly bid for European funding?
-There is high interest in a mentoring scheme
-People are busy. CIM needs to do better at gettin meaningful updates to members.
-Members would like quick, concise updates of this of legislation affecting marketers.
-Query raised on the price premium of Chartered Marketer, and proposition for semi-retired members (could it include the marketer magazine?)
I'm sure other people who were there will have more! Sara
Nigel, Abigail - good idea about not charging members for local events where possible.
Also, an annual regional networking event, free for members would also be good. It would enable us to get together with similar minded people with maybe a few presenations thrown in. If Sara G is also the lady who was at the front of Rod's presentation, then she mentioned something about a regional event called Power of the Brand. Maybe this could be that annual networking event?
Diane Earles - CIM North West's Regional Director has identified quite a few more benefits that CIM Members might not be aware of. See http://directorscut.cim-nw.org.uk/2007/07/membership-benefits.html
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