Challenge: Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship (The Center) had been serving the community relations profession for nearly 20 years and had recently broadened its mission, focusing not only on the community in which a corporation operates, but also on all internal and external stake holders.

Objective: Despite positive anecdotal feedback on the value The Center provided to its members, there was concern that many members used The Center as a short-term learning experience and did not renew their membership. The key objective was to better understand attitudes toward The Center and the critical benefits needed to retain membership.

Solution: Plan-it conducted a combination of focus groups and telephone interviews among current and lapsed members to gain an in-depth understanding of the members’ attitudes toward the organization, perceived value of the services offered, and how to best convey the ongoing value of membership in The Center, to retain members long-term.

Result: Plan-it’s research revealed that The Center needed to maintain relevance among more senior level members by incorporating new classes into the curricula that address the challenges that mid to senior level executives face. Specific recommendations were also made for building a more personal relationship with its members, including better familiarizing them with The Center and its services.