Disenchanted

This is the word I am hearing a lot from members, which is of great concern to me.
I am told by some that members are disenchanted with The Chartered Institute of Marketing and can't see the point in retaining membership.

I can understand that members have had a raw deal in the past and we did at one point appear to not care about our members but I don't feel that is the case currently. I feel that we have made good progress, though there is always room for improvement, in putting our members back at the heart of what we do. And I wouldn't have crossed over from volunteer member to CIM staff two and half years ago if I didn't believe in CIM.

I am always hearing good things about our Membership Services Team and how delighted a member was that we got in touch with them.
I am amazed at how well received we are when I attend events and exhibitions - by people who have studied with us, by people who are interested in joining or studying, or just by people that want to know more about our Institute.
I am pleased to report that the number of professional members in the North West is on the increase, which must mean something!

On that last point I believe my strategy from taking up this post is finally paying off. That is concentrate on the members we have and those we don’t have will follow. I have put a lot of energy into the North West Ambassador pilot, which is still in its early stages, but I think is is working. You can find out more about the pilot by visiting www.cim-nw.org.uk and looking up regional structure.

I hope this will prove that we are not just out to ‘push’ goods, as I have been accused of in the past, and I hope that all our members will appreciate us in time.