CLSI 2005 Survey Results Reflect Market Views, Needs
Healthcare World Weighs in on CLSI Name Change, Membership, and Electronic Products

Long before the January 2005 inauguration of the name Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), a broad name-change awareness campaign went into effect, focusing upon establishing and implementing effective branding in order to earn for CLSI the same worldwide recognition for our products and programs that NCCLS had developed in the preceding years.  Using the name change as an opportunity to enhance its connection with customers, CLSI has launched concurrent efforts to improve membership, and the organization's growingly important electronic products.

To further these efforts, a culminating action of the CLSI name-change awareness campaign was the dissemination of a traditional mail survey which, like the campaign itself, targeted both CLSI members and nonmembers.  Thirty percent (30%) of those solicited responded to the survey—a total of six hundred (600) respondents.  The figures speak to a gratifyingly high level of investment and interest in the organization, its brand, and its future on the part of members and nonmembers from a variety of geographical locations.  The following is an overview of survey results.

Awareness

The Fall 2005 survey showed that a vast majority of members (96%) and nonmembers (86%) were aware of the name change from NCCLS to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.  Reflecting the extent of the name change campaign's reach, results indicate nearly uniform awareness of the new name across all levels of management.  Respondents in non- or lower-management positions are aware of the name change at a rate of 95%, middle-management respondents at 94%, and senior management respondents at 95%.  

Survey results furthermore point to a high level of penetration of CLSI materials, even outside of its member base.  CLSI printed materials, postcard announcements, and CLSI eNews were listed as primary and secondary sources of name-change awareness by 93% of responding members and 78% of responding nonmembers.  Other early sources of awareness for the name change included advertisements in trade journals, word of mouth, professional society meetings, and articles in non-CLSI publications.

Rationale

Among the survey's most promising findings is that fully 75% of overall respondents see the new name as appropriate now and in the foreseeable future, justifying not only the name change itself, but the extensive, highly integrative decision-making process implemented for changing the name. 

In particular, respondents were asked whether “Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute” better reflects “who” the organization “is,” and “what it does” than did “NCCLS.”  A positive response was received on this topic, with 63% agreeing that "Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute" is a better reflection of the organization's identity, and 67% agreeing that the name is a better reflection of the organization's purpose. 

Additionally, one-third (33%) of non-US respondents stated that the new name will better enable CLSI to pursue global opportunities—a strong motivating factor in the name-change initiative and process.

Recognition and Credibility

An ongoing challenge of name-change implementation efforts is to match the prestige the NCCLS name has developed throughout the market over the years.  With so many in the healthcare field relying upon the organization's products for the integrity of their day-to-day work, the very term "NCCLS" acquired a sense of respect and reliability.  Therefore, the survey endeavored to discover whether the name "Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute" or "CLSI" had developed a substance and stature tantamount to "NCCLS," particularly when referencing the organization.  At the essence of the question was whether the healthcare world was aware, as organizational advertisements had phrased it, that "only our name has changed."

The results for this section of the survey revealed that, in less than one year since the official name change, 89% of US-based respondents agree "that the organization CLSI is well recognized and respected" in the US.  An impressive 71% of non-US respondents attested that CLSI had developed recognition and respect around the world.  Of especial interest is that, even while affirming domestic recognition of the new name in such high numbers, most US respondents underestimated the high degree to which the name change campaign has also penetrated the non-US market.

Membership

Another purpose of the survey was to solicit feedback on CLSI membership.  All respondents, regardless of membership status, ranked a series of membership benefits according to their desirability.  The top-ranked CLSI membership benefits included, in the following order: 
1) notification of newly available documents; 
2) Infobase;
3) the ability to purchase documents and products at the member rate;
4) receipt of new approved-level documents; and
5) the ability to select a predetermined number of documents from the library.
In reaction, CLSI has already put into progress the modification of eNews for 2006 to more prominently highlight new documents, and the creation of a publication list page on the CLSI website to provide users with a quick reference source of the current editions of our documents.

The most surprising finding in this section was a substantial degree of misperception about membership status:  one-third (33%) of nonmembers currently believe that they are members.  CLSI is consequently launching a campaign to make organizations aware of their membership status, and to encourage recruitment.  To this end, CLSI is also in the process of streamlining the membership categories so that organizations can more easily match their needs to their level of membership. 

Electronic Products

Finally, the survey sought to measure the appeal of CLSI’s current electronic products, which include:

• Infobase:  A new searchable electronic database which provides access to all approved-level CLSI/NCCLS documents published through December of the previous year.  The Infobase enables the user to quickly and easily locate procedures and protocols of interest. The user (who must have Internet capabilities) can query all approved-level documents by locating single words or phrases within the text of the document, and links take you directly from one document to the next when searching.
• Electronic Subscription Service:  An online service allowing access to every approved- and proposed-level document, with continuous updates of new documents. It also has limited search capabilities; the user can enter a single word or phrase to search key words, titles, and abstracts of all documents; and the search results return the user to the relevant document’s title page for reference.
• Library on CD-ROM:  An up-to-date library of all documents, both approved and proposed at the time of purchase. There are no search capabilities and no document updates. The Internet is not required for use.

The Infobase was ranked by both members and nonmembers to be the most desirable electronic product (81%), with the Electronic Subscription Service following closely behind.  Overall, the findings revealed a high demand for an up-to-date, searchable electronic database containing both approved- and proposed-level documents; respondents show a desire for an interlinking of documents which reflect the search capabilities of the Infobase. 

As an immediate response, CLSI is developing Infobase 2006 to include both proposed- and approved-level documents, and is currently evaluating the implementation of a mid-year update.  A long-term step is the investigation of offering the Infobase as a searchable online product, effectively combining the Infobase and the Electronic Subscription Service.

Conclusion

The results of the 2005 survey were initially reviewed by CLSI leaders at the November 2005 Board of Directors meeting at the CLSI offices in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and have been included in this issue of eNews with CLSI’s sincere thanks for your enthusiastic participation.  Your responses have affirmed the necessity of our organizational name change, and provided valuable information on how to move forward with the development of our products and services. 

Review and response to the multifaceted survey report will be an ongoing and high-priority project of the organization, with the findings expected to form the basis of a number of branding, membership, and product development initiatives over the coming months. 

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