Blue Ridge Parkway Association Membership Survey

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Blue Ridge Parkway AssociationMembership Survey

• Magellan Strategy Group wishes to thank the staff
  of the BRPA for their assistance in helping to
  compile the email addresses required to execute
  this membership survey.

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BRPA Membership Survey

• 460 invitations to participate in the survey
  distributed in February 2009 to every member of
  the BRPA.
• 140 respondents (30 response rate).
• Drawing for three Amazon.com gift cards used as
  an incentive to participate.

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What category best describes your organization?
The largest segment of BRPA members represented
in the survey is lodging properties. 21 of
respondents are hotels, motels or resorts, 15
are bed and breakfasts, and 8 are cabins or
other rental properties. Nearly half of all
respondents are in the lodging business.
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How many employees does your organization have
at its primary location(s) served by the Parkway?
Almost half of respondent BRPA members are very
small businesses or other organizations, with
fewer than six employees.
5
How many consecutive years do you estimate your
organization has been a member of the BRPA?
Most respondents have been members of BRPA for a
relatively long timeover ½ have been members for
at least 10 years, and almost 2/3 have been
members for at least five years.
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How many consecutive years do you estimate your
organization has been a member of BRPA?
Smaller businessesmany of which may be
relatively youngare the most likely to be newer
members, with half having been members for only
five years or less.
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In what state is your organizations primary
location?
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Why is your organization currently a member of
the BRPA? Please select all that apply
Marketing opportunities is the top reason why
respondents are members of the organization.
Indeed, most of the top reasons why respondents
are members are connected to marketing of their
business and/or the Parkway.
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Why is your organization currently a member of
the BRPA? Please select all that apply
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What is the PRIMARY reason your organization is
currently a member of the BRPA? Please select
only one response
For about half of respondents, marketing
opportunities for reaching Parkway travelers
provided to them by BRPA is the primary reason
why they are members of the group.
11
Are you or have you ever been a board member of
BRPA?
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What do you like best about BRPA? Please select
up to 3 responses
The top three things that respondents like about
BRPA are the Travel Planner and Directory, the
brochure and its distribution, and the BRPA
website. Advocacy for Parkway issues is a
distant fourth in popularity.
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Smaller businesses are more likely to cite the
directory and travel planner, and the BRPA
website as the things they like best about the
organization. The brochure and its distribution
are liked equally by half of both smaller and
larger organizations.
What do you like best about BRPA? Please select
up to 3 responses
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What do you like best about BRPA? (Continued)
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Of which of the following organizations are you
currently a member of or to which you regularly
donate? Please select all that apply
80 of respondents are members of their local
chamber of commerce, by far the most popular
organization of which BRPA members are also
affiliated. Just over ¼ of respondents are also
members of a local merchants, lodging, or
restaurant association, or of their local
convention and visitors bureau. Only ¼ are also
members of Friends of the Parkway.
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Larger organizations are far more likely to be
affiliated with their local CVB or local
merchants, restaurant, or lodging association
than smaller businesses.
Of which of the following organizations are you
currently a member of or to which you regularly
donate?
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Of which of the following organizations are you
currently a member of or to which you regularly
donate? (Continued)
18
Do you own a Blue Ridge Parkway state-issued
specialty license plate?
Very few respondents own a BRP specialty license
plate. (The plate has just recently been
introduced in Virginia, and no such plate exists
in Tennessee.) 11 of all respondents own a
North Carolina BRP plate, although that
represents about a fifth of ALL North
Carolina-based members.
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What do you think are the top issues facing the
BRPA during the next five years? Please select
up to 3 responses
According to the responses from BRPA members, the
top three issues facing the organization during
the next five years are maintenance of the
Parkway promotion of the Parkway and driving
interest in it and economic challenges facing
consumers. These responses all received more
than 40 of votes.
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What do you think are the top issues facing the
BRPA during the next five years? (Continued)
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On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not very
valuable at all and 10 being extremely valuable,
how would you rate the value of the benefits your
organization receives from its BRPA membership
compared to what is paid?
Respondents generally give their membership in
BRPA high marks for value, with almost 2/3 of
members rating the value provided as a 7 or above
on a 1-10 scale (with 10 being extremely
valuable).
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On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not very
valuable at all and 10 being extremely valuable,
how would you rate the value of the benefits your
organization receives from its BRPA membership
compared to what is paid?
An equal number of large and small business
respondents rated the value of their membership
as a 7 or above.
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On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not very
valuable at all and 10 being extremely valuable,
how would you rate the value of the benefits your
organization receives from its BRPA membership
compared to what is paid?
Virginia members are slightly more likely to rate
the value of their membership in BRPA higher than
those businesses in North Carolina. 67 of
Virginia members rated the value of membership as
7 or above, versus 61 of members in the Tar Heel
state.
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Why did you rate the value your organization
receives from its BRPA membership this way?
The most common reason given for dissatisfaction
with the perceived value of membership in BRPA is
a lack of results from marketing or membership
investment by the member, with 17 members
expressing this as a reason.
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Is there a membership benefit, or a new feature
or service, that you would like see offered by
BRPA?
Among respondents specifying other member
benefits they would like to see offered by BRPA,
14 noted they would like to have more or better
marketing opportunities. Six respondents
specifically mentioned an enhanced BRPA website,
and five suggested more marketing be done on the
Parkway itself.
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Contact Information
Chris Cavanaugh P.O. Box 5632 Asheville, North
Carolina 28813 [phone] Phone (828)
651-8921 Fax ccavanaugh_at_magellanstrategy.com