their whole estate to the RSPB upon their death.
Hurst and Rothwell realized that the pyramid was useful for describing
the membership hierarchy in terms of contribution and involvement but
did very little towards developing a comprehensive marketing plan. In
fact, the upgrade programme was based on a hierarchy of financial contri-
bution as perceived by the RSPB rather than by the members themselves.
In reality, individuals were more likely to support the Society in a variety
of ways which would not necessarily fit in with the pyramid hierarchy in
which a member has only one identity.
As a result of a review of the donor pyramid approach, it was soon rec-
ognized that the Society ran the risk of becoming too focused on trying to
upgrade individuals from one level to another and were concentrating too
heavily on recruiting new customers to fill the gaps left by lapsed mem-
berships. More importantly, the RSPB were in danger of alienating their
members, about whom they knew very little.
Market Research
In order to address these concerns, a market research survey was under-
taken in which over 1000 members were surveyed by telephone. The
results gave some insight into members’ motivations and interests and
helped to identify five distinct membership segments. The following list
summarizes the characteristics of each segment identified.
1 Active Birdwatchers (21 per cent)
●They’re out and about the countryside and keep notes of what they have
seen, in the UK and abroad.
●They have very light television viewing habits.
●Keen on conservation and protecting rare species, they visit reserves regu-
larly and like to get their hands dirty, helping out with projects.
●Tend to be working, middle-aged men.
●Most likely to have children at home, a strong group for family memberships.
2 Basic Birds (31 per cent)
●A passive group who watch birds for their beauty, either in the garden or on
television, they have an inward, home-based focus in life.
●They tend to be of retirement age and have little interest in conservation and
green issues.
●Equal male/female split.
●High concessionary membership.
3 Basic Birds Plus (20 per cent)
●Another passive group with a garden and television focus. They tend to be
‘greener’ and younger than Basic Birds and have stronger conservation
interests.
●They joined for the social aspect and to learn more about birds and tend to
be up-market women with younger children at home.
152 Relationship Marketing