Member engagement and retention are the ultimate weapons in the battle for long-term success. Without a loyal and actively involved base, even the most well-intentioned organization can struggle to grow or sustain itself. This article steps up to be your champion in this fight, offering a treasure trove of insights and strategies to turn passive members into enthusiastic participants.

Defining Engagement: Beyond Participation

Engagement goes far beyond the act of simply showing up. It’s a dynamic two-way street where both the organization and its members actively contribute and receive value. This exchange can manifest in many ways, fostering a sense of connection and belonging within a thriving community.

Recognizing this multifaceted nature of engagement is the key to unlocking a more involved and invested membership base. By understanding how members can contribute value, organizations can cultivate a more profound sense of connection and, ultimately, achieve their growth objectives.

Engagement transcends mere participation. It's a two-way street where an organization and its members exchange value.

The Value Hierarchy of Engagements

Not all engagement activities are created equal. On one hand, high-impact, infrequent events like annual conferences offer substantial value. These gatherings provide opportunities for in-depth learning, networking with peers, and fostering a sense of community. However, these events typically occur only once a year, limiting their overall impact on engagement. Conversely, low-impact, frequent actions like receiving newsletters may not generate significant engagement on their own. 

The critical challenge for organizations lies in identifying the sweet spot – activities that contribute most significantly to member value and influence membership renewal. This requires a shift in perspective, moving beyond simply counting the number of engagements to understanding their depth and impact. 

Organizations can uncover hidden gems by analyzing data on member activity and its correlation with renewal rates. For example, volunteering opportunities or participation in advocacy efforts, while less frequent than attending a webinar, might demonstrate a more profound member commitment and positively influence renewal decision.

Measuring Engagement with Precision

While offering a starting point, traditional surveys are limited in capturing the full spectrum of member engagement and retention. Imagine relying solely on surveys to gauge a student’s performance—you might miss valuable insights from class participation or project work. Similarly, surveys can miss subtle engagement cues that paint a more accurate picture.

This is where data-driven analysis enters the game, providing a far more nuanced picture. Organizations can uncover hidden gems by examining the frequency of member activities and their correlation with renewal rates. Think of it like this: Surveys ask members, “How engaged do you feel?” while data analysis shows you, “What actions demonstrate true engagement?” Analyzing website visits, event attendance, volunteer sign-ups, and even content downloads paints a more complete picture of how members interact with the organization.

This data can then be used to create an “engagement scorecard.” This scorecard goes beyond a simple yes/no response and assigns a value to each activity based on its frequency and correlation with member renewal. The scorecard empowers organizations to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and tailor their strategies to activities that genuinely resonate with their members, fostering long-term engagement and a thriving membership base.

Not all engagement activities are created equal.

High-Value Engagement Actions: Where the Magic Happens

Certain actions consistently emerge as the heavy hitters of member engagement and retention, offering significant value and fostering deeper connections. These high-value engagements include:

• • Personal interactions through local chapters: Face-to-face interactions in local chapters create a sense of community and belonging. Members can connect with peers, share experiences, and receive personalized support, fostering a deeper loyalty to the organization.
  • Volunteering: Volunteering allows members to contribute their skills and expertise to a cause they care about. This two-way street strengthens member commitment and builds a stronger sense of ownership within the organization.
  • Advocacy efforts: Participating in advocacy campaigns allows members to collectively have their voices heard on issues that matter to them. This active participation fosters a sense of purpose and strengthens the bond between members and the organization they represent.
  • Interestingly, recurring engagements like specialized insurance purchases also rank highly as high-value actions.

This finding challenges the conventional wisdom that discounts and one-off events are the key to member engagement and retention. While these tactics still have a place, the data suggests that members value benefits that seamlessly integrate with their daily lives and provide ongoing value.

Strategies for Supercharging Member Engagement and Retention

Enhancing member engagement and retention requires a strategic shift, starting with a comprehensive audit of your current offerings. Think of it like revamping your product line – you need to identify what resonates with your members and what’s gathering dust on the shelf. This audit analyzes member activity data and its correlation with renewal rates. By understanding which activities generate high engagement and contribute most to member retention, you can prioritize these “star performers.” 

On the other hand, the audit might reveal some low-engagement benefits. These could be generic discounts on unrelated products or access to infrequently used resources. Instead of clinging to these underperformers, organizations should consider strategically reallocating resources. Phasing out low-engagement benefits frees up valuable budget and human resources that can be channeled towards more impactful initiatives.

Organizations can create a balanced engagement portfolio by prioritizing high-value benefits and strategically reallocating resources. This portfolio caters to diverse member needs and preferences, ensuring a year-round engagement cycle that keeps members actively involved and invested in the organization’s success. Imagine a membership experience that goes beyond one-off events – it’s a dynamic ecosystem offering ongoing value, fostering continuous interaction, and ultimately driving member retention.

Engagement for New vs. Tenured Members

Engagement strategies shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. Like nurturing a plant, member engagement thrives when tailored to the member’s lifecycle stage.

New Members (First 90 Days): Imagine a new member as a seedling – full of potential but needing careful attention to establish strong roots. This is a critical period for setting the stage for long-term engagement. Organizations should implement a targeted onboarding program during the first 90 days. Techniques like personalized welcome emails, phone calls, or access to online resources like FAQs or video tutorials can empower new members with the knowledge they need to navigate the organization’s offerings. 

Tenured Members: Think of tenured members as established trees that provide shade and stability to the organization. However, even established trees need occasional pruning and care to flourish. For these members, the focus shifts towards deepening their connection and maximizing their value to the organization. Targeted email series can be used to share exclusive content, industry updates, or member success stories, demonstrating the organization’s value proposition and keeping them actively involved. 

By tailoring strategies to each lifecycle stage, organizations can nurture a thriving membership ecosystem, fostering ongoing engagement and loyalty from both new and established members.

The ultimate goal is to construct a high-engagement portfolio that maximizes member value and drives renewal rates.

Building a Thriving Engagement Portfolio

The ultimate goal is to construct a high-engagement portfolio, a collection of membership benefits and programs that truly resonate with your members. By prioritizing engagement, you can maximize the value members perceive from their membership, ultimately driving renewal rates and securing a loyal base.

Here’s how this approach works:

• • Member-centric focus: Shift the focus from simply offering benefits to strategically evaluating each based on its ability to drive member engagement and retention. This means understanding what truly motivates your members and prioritizing benefits that align with their needs and interests.
  • Data-driven decisions: Don’t rely on guesswork. Utilize surveys, feedback mechanisms, and analytics to score each benefit based on engagement value. This data will guide you in allocating resources towards the most impactful offerings.
  • Enhanced member experience: Members who find value and purpose in their membership are more likely to stay engaged. A high-engagement portfolio fosters a sense of satisfaction and belonging, leading to a more positive overall membership experience.
  • Organizational growth: A high-engagement portfolio prioritizes member needs and fosters loyalty, resulting in a stronger organization. Increased retention rates mean sustainable revenue streams, which in turn fuel the further development of member-centric programs and services.

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Success

Member engagement and retention isn’t a one-size-fits-all tactic; it’s a dynamic and multifaceted process. Think of it like cultivating a thriving garden – you need to understand the soil, choose the right plants, and provide ongoing care. Similarly, successful member engagement and retention requires a strategic and data-driven approach.

These insights offer a valuable blueprint for revitalizing organizations’ engagement efforts. By fostering a deep understanding of your members and prioritizing high-impact activities, you can cultivate a vibrant and engaged membership base that thrives for years to come.

Call to Action

Evaluate your organization’s current member engagement and retention strategies and consider implementing the abovementioned approaches. Focusing on high-value engagements and strategically enhancing your engagement portfolio can lead to sustained growth and a more engaged membership base.

For more information on member engagement and retention, please see Unleashing Member Engagement: Overcoming The 3 Biggest Challenges and Your Complete Guide To Increase Member Engagement.

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The old way of doing things isn’t cutting it anymore. Traditional membership models are struggling to keep up with what people want. This article dives into this critical issue, exploring the anxieties of organizations and providing a clear path to reinvigorate their membership offerings.

Understanding the Association Membership Model

Traditionally, association membership followed a simple formula: members paid annual dues and received a set package of benefits. These perks could include access to exclusive content and discounts on industry resources, invitations to member-only events, and networking opportunities. However, this “one-size-fits-all” approach has become increasingly outdated. Today’s members are diverse and have broader needs and preferences. Younger members, especially, may be less interested in traditional benefits and seek more flexible options, like bite-sized content or project-based resources. The “Old Standard” model can’t keep pace with this evolving membership landscape, leading to frustration and declining participation.

The Impetus for Change

Statistics paint a concerning picture: 54% of association leaders express concern over their association membership model, and another 35% are somewhat worried (MGI 2023 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report). The call for transformation is loud and clear. The factors driving this challenge are multifaceted. Overdependence on event revenue, declining membership numbers (often with an aging demographic), and increased competition all contribute to this challenge. Additionally, attracting younger members and keeping pace with rising operational costs necessitate exploring ways to make memberships more relevant and financially sustainable.

The "Old Standard" model simply can't keep pace with the evolving membership landscape, leading to frustration and declining participation.

Simple Solutions, Big Impact

Fortunately, there are straightforward strategies to breathe new life into your association membership model. Consider implementing autorenewal for recurring revenue, offering monthly or quarterly payment options (think “Netflix Model”), or introducing multiyear membership plans with attractive discounts. Flattening your dues structure to remove multiple tiers can also be an effective way to simplify offerings and appeal to a broader audience.

Tiered Memberships: A Double-Edged Sword

While tiered memberships, with varying levels of benefits and fees, seem like an obvious solution, it’s important to tread carefully. Creating too many tiers can become overly complex and confusing for potential members. Additionally, the value proposition for each tier needs to be clearly defined to avoid resentment among different membership levels.

Emerging Trends: Redefining Value

Exciting new association membership models are emerging, offering fresh approaches to member engagement. Here are a few examples:

• All-Inclusive Membership: Offering a single, comprehensive package that includes various benefits, this model eliminates the nickel-and-diming perception, appealing to consumers’ desires for simplicity and value.
• “Friends of” Membership: A tiered approach that starts with a free or low-cost basic membership, this model allows for gradual engagement and upselling.
• “Meal-Plan” Membership: This model replaces complex discount structures with a credit system, empowering members to use their benefits as they see fit, enhancing perceived value.
• Professional Practice and Corporate Membership: These models extend membership beyond individuals to practices and enterprises, offering benefits that address the needs of larger entities and potentially unlocking significant growth opportunities.

We urge organizations to move beyond a piecemeal approach to membership innovation. Don't just pick and choose a single strategy – think strategically about how these innovations can work together.

Strategy: It's All About the Mix

We urge organizations to move beyond a piecemeal approach to membership innovation. Don’t just pick and choose a single strategy – think strategically about how these innovations can work together to create a powerful, comprehensive membership model. Remember, there’s no magic bullet – a one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist. The key is to craft a dynamic structure that caters to your membership base’s diverse needs and preferences. By integrating these innovative strategies, you can build a membership model that thrives in the ever-evolving landscape of member expectations.

Conclusion: Ditch The One-Size-Fits-All

The world of memberships is changing fast. Organizations clinging to outdated models are like runners stuck at the starting line. These innovative approaches aren’t just suggestions, they’re the map to long-term success. Take a moment to consider the trends we’ve explored. How can you leverage them to achieve your organization’s goals? It’s time to ditch the one-size-fits-all mentality and craft a membership strategy that speaks directly to today’s members.

Call to Action

Don’t wait to breathe new life into your membership model. Take stock of what you currently offer. Explore the innovative strategies we’ve discussed – they might be the perfect ingredients to cook up a membership experience that truly resonates with your audience. Remember, every organization is unique. Whether you brainstorm internally or tap into our expertise, the key is embracing change and taking that first step. 

The road to a thriving membership model starts with a willingness to innovate – and the rewards are well worth the journey.

For more on innovating association membership models, please see Empower Your Association: Embrace 4 Forward-Thinking Membership Models.

The Vacation Home Analogy

Second societies are like vacation homes. No one needs a reason to stay home this weekend, but they need a reason to make the trip to the lake house. It needs something pretty special you can’t get at home or by going to a hotel. A great vacation home fills a white space in your life. You go there to get something you don’t get someplace else. It doesn’t have everything, but what it does have is special. Not to torture the analogy, but a great vacation home has the right to win your free time.

Your Right to Win

So, how do you get the right to win? Wee Willie Keeler, one of the best baseball hitters ever, said it best: “Keep your eyes clear and hit ‘em where they ain’t.” In other words, find the white space and offer something your competitors can’t. A lot of what you do may overlap with others. Ask yourself what doesn’t. What can you do that others in your space cannot?

For example, one Sequence client was focused on urban development, a space with professionals from many walks of life: developers, investors, urban planners, and so on. Many members belonged to nine or more associations to meet their professional needs. So where was the white space? It became clear that this association was the only place all those different people could come together to solve problems. They alone could convene those kinds of curated, trusted environments, so much that their most exclusive work groups cost thousands of dollars, which members line up to pay.

A lot of what you do may overlap with others. Ask yourself what doesn’t. What can you do that others in your space cannot?

Another Sequence client was in the food space, serving scientists and technicians from dozens of different disciplines, who, on average, belonged to four or more associations. They found their right to win in the space between all those scientific fields. They could provide connections, community, and trusted information that cut across the entire industry, something members needed badly, and no one else could provide. This allowed them to double down on the white space and stop doing things other societies did better that had little value for the organization.

Conclusion: A Winning Member Value Proposition

Successful organizations embrace their not-first-choice position and go all-in on well-defined spaces where they have a clear right to win. The key to finding that winning value proposition is understanding what your members need that no one else is giving them and meeting it in a way only you can. If you become world-class at doing that, your association will thrive.

For more on creating a winning member value proposition, please see From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Crafting Irresistible Member Value in 4 Steps and Six Ways to Show a Strong Member Value Proposition.

EVOLVING MEMBERSHIP MODELS

In response to these shifts, associations are reevaluating their value propositions, membership models, and dues structures. This reevaluation is leading to innovative membership options such as all-inclusive memberships, credit-based “gift card” memberships, and practice memberships, each designed to cater to diverse member needs and preferences.

Diversifying Revenue and Membership Strategies

ACROSS-THE-BOARD DUES INCREASES

To combat financial pressures, especially inflation, nearly half of the associations increased their dues in the last year, a significant jump from previous years. The reality is stark: without dues increases, associations find their dues revenue down by 35% in real terms, with expenses up by the same margin. Many are now adopting automatic annual increases, which correlate with higher renewal rates, typically between 3%-5% annually.

Forward-thinking associations are redefining their value propositions to ensure their long-term sustainability and relevance.

ALL-INCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS

Associations are moving towards “all-inclusive” memberships, incorporating most a la carte benefits into the membership package. This approach addresses member frustrations over being “nickel and dimed.” It significantly enhances the value of membership by making benefits such as continuing education, publications, training, and smaller events available at no extra cost. This strategy justifies higher dues and provides non-members with financial incentives to join.

NON-MEMBER ASSOCIATES AND CREDIT-BASED MEMBERSHIPS

Innovative models like tiered memberships for non-paying “associates” and credit-based memberships are gaining traction. These models offer a range of benefits and engagement opportunities without the upfront cost, creating a self-selected pool for membership marketing. On the other hand, credit-based memberships allow members to use credits for additional benefits, demonstrating the financial value of membership and simplifying the member experience.

PRACTICE MEMBERSHIPS

Tailored for owners of small to mid-sized practices, these memberships offer a combination of individual benefits plus additional perks for the business and its team. This model aims to expand membership by appealing to business owners and allied professionals who might not otherwise join, providing comprehensive support across administrative, marketing, legal, and professional development domains.

Revolutionizing Association Management with AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of association management trends, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, member engagement, and personalized communication. In this transformative landscape, AI is not just a technological advancement; it’s a strategic ally that enables associations to navigate the complexities of modern member expectations and competitive pressures. Through AI-powered member segmentation, content personalization, and predictive analytics, associations are leveraging AI to streamline operations, craft tailored member experiences, and drive growth in innovative and impactful ways.

AI FOR MEMBER SERVICE

Automation and AI-driven FAQs streamline routine transactions and inquiries, enhance efficiency, and improve member satisfaction.

In this transformative landscape, AI is not just a technological advancement; it's a strategic ally.

AI FOR MEMBER COMMUNICATION

Dynamic versioning and omnichannel value delivery enable associations to provide highly personalized and timely communications to their members. This approach leverages the latest data to create over 1,000 versions of communications tailored to specific audience segments.

AI FOR MEMBERSHIP MARKETING

AI-generated content and continuously A/B-tested messaging are revolutionizing acquisition and renewal strategies. These AI-driven approaches allow for highly targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

SIMULATING MEMBERS: DIGITAL TWINS

This innovative application of AI involves creating digital representations of members to simulate real situations and outcomes. This technology enables associations to refine their marketing, communication, and operational strategies by predicting engagement and optimizing the member experience.

For more on AI in associations, please see  From Mundane to Magical: How AI is Reshaping Association Management.

Conclusion: A Forward-Looking Approach

As associations navigate through the changes 2024 brings, the key to success lies in embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and remaining adaptable to the evolving needs of their members. By reimagining their value propositions, diversifying revenue streams, and harnessing the power of AI, associations can ensure sustained growth and relevance in an increasingly dynamic environment. The future for association management trends is not just about adapting to change but thriving through innovation and resilience.

For more on association management trends, please see  Ten Ways to Future Proof Your Membership  and Top 20 Association Trends to Watch and Take Advantage of in 2024.

Transforming Membership Marketing with AI

AI-generated content and sophisticated data-driven marketing strategies are transforming how associations attract and retain members. By analyzing vast datasets, AI tools can pinpoint the most effective messaging and channels for different membership segments, optimizing marketing efforts to resonate with the intended audience. In a competitive landscape, this ability to tailor marketing strategies can significantly impact membership growth.

For instance, an association leveraging AI for membership marketing saw a 15% increase in new member acquisition within the first year. By employing continuous A/B testing and analyzing member data, the association identified key messages and channels that appealed to potential members, streamlining their marketing strategy for maximum impact.

This method allows associations to test various engagement strategies and membership models without risking real-world fallout.

Informing Strategic Decisions

Beyond operational efficiencies and marketing, AI-powered data analytics play a crucial role in strategic decision-making. For example, dues sensitivity analysis helps associations find the sweet spot for pricing, balancing financial sustainability with perceived value. Loyalty driver analysis, on the other hand, uncovers factors that affect member retention, guiding enhancements in value propositions and engagement strategies.

A trade association conducted a loyalty driver analysis using AI, identifying key services that were most valued by their members. By focusing on these areas, the association improved its retention rate by 18% over two years.

Conclusion

The integration of AI into association management heralds a paradigm shift towards more efficient, personalized, and strategically informed operations. By automating tasks, enhancing member services, personalizing communications, revolutionizing marketing efforts, simulating member behavior, and aiding in strategic decisions, AI technologies offer a comprehensive suite of tools for associations ready to embrace the future. As we continue to explore and integrate AI, associations are poised to meet the evolving needs of their members more effectively, ensuring sustained success in an increasingly digital world.

For more on AI in association management, please see:  2024 Association Outlook: Embrace the Change.

In this presentation, we explore the 2024 association outlook and how professionals can embrace and adapt to the evolving landscape. Join us as we provide a descriptive overview of the upcoming year, highlighting key trends, opportunities, and strategies to navigate the dynamic environment. Get ready to discover the transformative potential of the 2024 outlook and prepare yourself for the possibilities that await.

We conducted research with top executives from leading organizations that navigated the pandemic experience successfully with lasting results. Here is what we learned.

Associations Evolve: 2024 and Beyond | December, 2023

Sidecar | April 28, 2023

Sidecar | November 15, 2022

ASAE | September 12, 2022

FORUM Magazine | Jun/Jul 2017

ACN News | July 12, 2021

Associations Evolve: 2023 and Beyond | November 2022

Member Renewal Best Practices

A Bespoke Research Study By Sequence Consulting

We conducted in-depth research with ten highly prominent organizations with renewal-based business models to understand member retention best practices and benchmarks across industries. 

Participating organizations included associations, publishers, financial services, and philanthropic organizations. 

To learn more about member renewal best practices see The Art of Member Retention: 3 Essential Strategies and Membership Retention and Renewals: Strategies, Processes, and Tips

This article first appeared in Sidecar as “Be Unbusinesslike: Why Associations are Better Than Corporations”

Name a model organization. What did you think of? It is probably a corporation exuding strategy and efficiency with an engine of innovation and progress, like Apple, Amazon, or Google. You probably don’t think of an association; they have little in common with the corporations typically held up as beacons of organizational success. But is that a bad thing?

Up-and-coming association leaders from corporate backgrounds are often shocked and bewildered by how their new organization works. They may ask themselves, “How does anything get done here at all?“

But anyone familiar with the association space knows that things do get done; not only that, but they also get done well, and associations are built the way they are for a reason. The best leaders understand the things that make associations unique and often challenging, are also what make them successful.

So, how do you recognize and embrace those opportunities and become a wiser and more effective leader?

1. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE BOTTOM LINE

Corporations work towards one bottom line: profit. Ultimately, a corporation exists to make money; the more you make, the better you are. Conversely, associations have three bottom lines to manage simultaneously – Mission, Member Value, and Money.

Each is just as important to the organization’s success as the last. As an association, you’re failing if you’re only good at one of these things. Great associations work at the intersection of these strategic imperatives, harmonizing their efforts in each area to maximize their results. If done well, the whole is greater than the sum of the three parts.

2. ASSOCIATIONS MUST BE MANY THINGS AT ONCE

Associations are one organization in name only. They’re not one organization but a conglomerate of businesses that share a mission and brand. Associations might have a membership business, a publishing business, an events business, an advocacy firm, and a charitable organization all under the same roof. Each of these businesses has different goals that sometimes intersect but often don’t.

In its worst form, this manifests as working in silos, each organization doing its own thing and never mind the others. In its best form, it comes to life as a strong independent organizations uniquely contributing to the same triple bottom line.

It’s the difference between Frankenstein’s monster and a duck-billed platypus. Frankenstein’s monster is built from parts that don’t go together, resulting in something ugly and frightening and a platypus, part beaver, part duck, part who knows what looks so strange you might think it was fake. But it’s exquisitely adapted to its Tasmanian environment in a way no other creature is.

If the Googles and Amazons of the world are the “purple unicorns,” associations are the platypi. Unicorns are sexy, but they don’t do so well in the wilds of Tasmania.

3. POWER IS HYPER-DISTRIBUTED

Associations have more goals and faces than corporations – and more bosses, too. In a company, business units report to executives, who report to boards, who report to shareholders, all focused on their single bottom line. Associations may have many hierarchies and power centers. The publications business may have its executive team, membership may have its executive team, and the foundation will be a separate corporation altogether.

If this were not complex enough, the executives report to a board of volunteers (there may be more than one of those, too). These boards often have committees- often lots of committees–overseeing the association’s work in great detail. Finally, volunteer leadership changes all the time, as often as every year, and a new set of leaders comes in with their ideas.

On the face of it, this is madness. What sane person would contrive such an organization? A rational person who truly understood the role associations play.

The role of an association is not to achieve goals. It’s to empower many people with one shared purpose to achieve many different goals together. An association’s purpose is to serve its constituents’ shared purpose. It does not matter if the work gets done if it loses sight of that purpose or leaves people behind.

4. AN ASSOCIATION'S SUPERPOWER, CONSENSUS

If you did not know better, you would think associations are badly broken versions of corporations begging for re-engineering. In over two decades of working with associations, I have rarely come across an organization that is not convinced they are seriously defective in some way. Some of these are the most influential associations on the planet.

And while associations are messy and maddeningly complex, often slow and inefficient, for a reason – it allows them to be great at what they do.

So, how do they get anything done? In the most unbusinesslike way possible: consensus. Great association leaders maintain a loose, flexible consensus that balances all the competing priorities and the triple bottom line. It is often slow and only sometimes pretty. Some call it “Pathological Democracy.” But being unbusinesslike makes associations the only organizations capable of doing what they do.

Strong associations and strong leaders own their mess and complexity. They embrace the need for endless consensus-building. They combine their many far-flung efforts to drive all three of their bottom lines – mission, membership, and money- in harmony. They are unbusinesslike. And proud of it.

This article first appeared in Associations Now as “Baby Come Back! How to Win Back Lapsed Members and Why You Should”

Learn common reasons why members leave their associations and creative strategies to pull them back in for the long term.

When a member leaves, it doesn’t mean goodbye forever. Members who have walked away may be the easiest ones to get back. Most organizations turn to recruiting new members to fill gaps in enrollment, but since they don’t already know you, this group is more challenging to convert. You have much convincing to do before they’re ready to sign on.

Meanwhile, for every four or so new members you get, you lose one existing member who doesn’t renew. Let’s put it this way—if your retention rate is 75 percent, you must replace a quarter of your membership with new members every year before you see any growth.

If you want to boost enrollment, your organization’s best bet is improving retention. Engaging new members immediately when they join is the key to cultivating an engaged base that renews without a second thought.

Despite your best efforts, some members are bound to leave. The keys to getting them back are how long you offer them opportunities to renew and how well you understand their needs.

IT's NOT YOU; IT'S ME

Ask yourself why members leave. The odds are that it’s not personal. Research reveals that the top reason for nonrenewal is usually “I didn’t see the value in membership” (followed by “I just forgot to renew.”) Lapsed members aren’t disgruntled. They’re just disinterested—for now. As often as not, losing a member is not about you. Maybe membership with your organization is a classic case of “right person, wrong time.” The best examples of this are recent graduates and young professionals; while they might not need their association right away, they frequently rejoin seven to 10 years later when it makes sense for their career.

PLAYING THE LONG GAME

But you’ve already asked, and they said no, right? On average, we’ve found that the most successful organizations start renewal campaigns 3.9 months before the membership in question expires. Throughout that period, they invite that member to renew 7.1 times. Even after being offered every opportunity to renew, some members still don’t. Why bother to keep trying? Because these same successful organizations keep asking for over a year after a member lapses, sending 5.8 more invitations to rejoin. And it works.

If you focus on what your members care about, your chances of creating a loyal base that renews repeatedly are strong.

Nonmembers who know you, like lapsed members, are far more likely to respond to your invitations than anyone else. In one of our recent tests, nonmembers who had previously engaged with the organization in any way were six times more likely to respond than those who never had.

Lapsed members know you. At one point, they saw the value in membership, whether they experienced it or not. With lapsed members, you don’t have to make any introductions. You need to find the right way to make the ask.

But you’ve already asked, and they said no, right? On average, we’ve found that the most successful organizations start renewal campaigns 3.9 months before the membership in question expires. Throughout that period, they invite that member to renew 7.1 times. Even after being offered every opportunity to renew, some members still don’t. Why bother to keep trying? Because these same successful organizations keep asking for over a year after a member lapses, sending 5.8 more invitations to rejoin. And it works.

YOU KNOW EACH OTHER

This brings us to the next point: You know them, too. If you track member data (and if you don’t, you should), you have information about what your lapsed members are interested in. What did they open, download, or attend as members? That information is the key to bringing them back. Time and again, tests show that the most effective membership messaging is segmented by interest. Engage with members on things they care about, and they’ll respond.

This is especially true for lapsed members who already know you and need a reminder of the unique value you have to offer them. For example, 75 percent of previous American Lung Association (ALA) donors had not engaged in over a year. Initially, ALA thought donors cared about over 30 things. Upon close inspection, they found that their base was focused on three significant areas: lung health, clean air, and smoking cessation.

ALA immediately increased email engagement by 50 percent by tailoring their messaging to these three interests. Although many of their donors had lapsed for over two years, ALA reactivated 7 percent of their file in one year. In two years, they reactivated 300,000 donors and grew their active file by 50 percent. (See How We Helped American Lung Association Grow Their Base 50%)

By understanding what individual members care about and tailoring your messaging accordingly, this massive growth is within reach for your organization.

The Way Forward TO WIN BACK LAPSED MEMBERS

But will they stay this time? If you focus on what your members care about, your chances of creating a loyal base that renews repeatedly are strong.

If your association is like most, your audience is not infinite. Only so many people can join, many of whom are already members. Many have never been. In between sit people who were once members but are no more. Treating the middle ground like your best prospects is a winning formula for growth.

This article first appeared in Associations Now as “Five Breakthroughs in Membership Marketing“

It's Time for a Breakthrough in Membership Marketing

Traditional membership marketing is predictably low return and has stayed the same for years. Most associations were slow to adopt email marketing when it came on the scene in the mid-90s. Today, 85% of associations use email, and 48% say it is one of their most productive channels.¹ Still, click rates remain low, on average less than 2%.²

Many associations have delved into social and digital advertising but have failed. Only 14% say social media is effective, and 10% say the same of paid digital.

The good news is that membership marketers can expect a lot better. We have recently tested innovations in membership segmentation, targeting, messaging, and advertising that performed four to nine times better — in one case, twenty-seven times better — than the old-school tactics they replaced.

1. FOCUS ON YOUR "CUSTOMERS"

As I have written previously, your members are not your only customers. Your organization has relationships with many other people who interact with you differently. They attend your events, take your training, and write for your journals. One client calls them “ghost members,” people who are with you in spirit but not in membership.

It is a truism in marketing that your best prospect is the customer you already have. Why? On the one hand, they know you, so you don’t have to work hard to introduce yourself. This is even more important than you might think. Most associations have less than 35% awareness across their trade or profession.
Moreover, your customers see you as valuable in some way, so you don’t have to do so much to convince them. Most importantly, you know them. You know who they are and what they like, which is more than half the battle in marketing.

If true, your non-member customers should be your best membership prospects. But are they? We tested sending the same emails to a list of non-member customers and a rented email list of cold contacts. The emails sent to non-member customers performed 8.6X better than emails sent to cold lists. Not to mention, the rented list was expensive, and the customer list was free.

What does this tell you? First, you should be marketing membership to your non-member customers. But also, you should be actively cultivating your list of those customers by capturing opted-in emails at every touchpoint you can.

2. LAPSED MEMBERS CAN BE YOUR EASIEST NEW MEMBERS

In a previous article, I explained why lapsed members are an even more under-tapped audience. Most associations move on from members who don’t renew after a month or two. Some may try to win them back but then give up. This is often short-sighted. 

Lapsed members do ghost members one better: They not only know your organization, they know your membership experience and saw value in it when they joined. Members don’t lapse because they hate you. They lapse because they don’t see your value at that moment. 

Are lapsed members a lost cause, or can you remind them of your value and bring them back again?

At the American Lung Association (ALA), 75% of their donor file had been dormant for as long as two years. Historically, ALA had forgotten about them and focused all their efforts on finding new donors.

We helped ALA develop an email campaign that built on what ALA knew about these donors, namely, what they cared about. Of all ALA’s great work, people gravitate to four significant issues: clean air, lung health, and smoking cessation. They sent messages that spoke to lapsed donors about what they cared about – and only what they cared about – inviting them to be part of the solution again.

The result? In one year, they reactivated 7% of their lapsed members. In two years, ALA grew their donor file by 50% — over 600K active donors – by focusing on long-forgotten lost causes.

3. SEGMENT BY INTERESTS

A significant reason for ALA’s success was segmentation by interest. Sending clean air messaging to people they knew to care about clean air was many times more effective than their old, unfocused messaging. As we have found before, organizations do not segment their messaging or segment based on career stage or employment setting, which is seldom effective.

In another powerful example, we helped American Medical Association (AMA) analyze their member data to arrive at four interest-based segments: Advocacy, Practice Improvement, Patient Outcomes, and Medical Education. Segmenting their marketing this way helped triple their member growth in one year.

This is one way targeting your customers and lapsed members can pay off big. Because you know their interests, you can segment them effectively. In our most recent test, a leading engineering society used data they had collected on “ghost” members to identify the specific technical interests of their prospects. It tested interest-based messaging against their standard “generic” messaging. The interest-specific messages performed four times better than the generic ones.

4. Make EMAIL PERSONAL AGAIn

Email is the mainstay of many membership marketing programs, but it has become less effective as people have tuned email out. Of the nearly 145 billion emails sent daily, 84% are considered spam. A full 54% of email users delete or ignore spam.³  You don’t think your membership emails are spam, but your prospects probably do because it looks like commercial email.

People like personal email, however, and a more personal approach to membership email can be far more effective. In another recent test, we sent a series of emails to prospective members that appeared to come from a well-known member of the society (with their permission, of course). The subject line was personalized, and the body of the email was a short, personal invitation to join the organization.

This straightforward approach has powerful results when done correctly. In our test, people clicked through personal emails twenty-seven times more often than impersonal messages and enrolled five times more often.

5. take another look at digital

At the beginning of this article, I pointed out that most associations need better results from digital advertising. Traditional banner and search ads are expensive, and the results could be better. Newer, less conventional advertising can be far more effective when correctly integrated with email campaigns.

All major digital advertising platforms (Google, LinkedIn, Meta) can target custom audiences. That is, provide them with a list of individuals you want to reach and advertise only to them. Because it is so targeted, it is a far more efficient way to advertise. We have found that the most effective way to use custom audiences is to support your email campaigns.

Using this approach, prospects who receive your emails are exposed to your digital ads simultaneously. The ads increase awareness and offer another way to respond, improving the success of your campaign.

In one recent test, we created a custom audience on LinkedIn comprised of prospective members identified using the tactics discussed above. These individuals received membership marketing emails and were exposed to LinkedIn ads simultaneously.

The emails with digital ad support performed 22% better than emails without digital help. Because LinkedIn ads are pay-per-click and the primary purpose of the test was to drive email response, the cost of the ads was significantly lower than a stand-alone digital ad campaign.

LinkedIn also offers Sponsored Messaging, which allows you to reach prospective members in your custom audience via direct messages that appear to come from another LinkedIn member. In another recent test, we sent personal messages to a custom audience, like the personal emails discussed above, personally inviting prospective members to join the organization.

This tactic yielded open rates as high as 56% — more than seven better than traditional emails sent to the same list. This approach was far more efficient than regular LinkedIn ads, yielding three times more click-throughs at only 6% of the cost.

Conclusion

These next-level membership marketing techniques deliver transformational membership results. New ways of targeting the best prospects, segmenting your audience, and reaching them in new ways with new messages can revolutionize recruitment. Best of all, they are well within reach of any association that wants to take their marketing to the next level.

This article first appeared in Sidecar as Are Your Members Your Best Customers?

Your Nonmember Customers May Be Your Best Future Members

How to grow engagement? It’s a law of nature in marketing: Your best prospect is the customer you already have. Research consistently shows that it costs six to seven times more to get a new customer than to keep one, and in membership terms, smart associations understand what that means for retention. A dollar spent on retention goes much further than a dollar spent on recruitment.

It goes further than current members, too. Your second-best customers are likely to be your lapsed members – strange as it may sound. Members who have left you may be the easiest to recruit again because they know you, and you know them, which is half the battle in acquisition.

However, are these the only groups that associations should be thinking about to grow engagement? What about your nonmember customers?

Looking Beyond Your Membership To Grow Engagement

Are members your only customers? The answer is no, but most associations don’t think that way. After all, they’re membership organizations, and members matter most. While that might be true, they’re not the only ones who matter.

What about all the others you serve who are not members? People who attend your events, take your training, buy your publications, and more? These are your nonmember customers.

Unfortunately, associations don't cultivate customer relationships and leave a lot of money on the table.

Understanding The Impact of NonMember Customers

In purely financial terms, these customers are possibly more valuable than most of your members. How? Someone who attends two to three events each year, every year is probably contributing more revenue than a member who simply pays their dues. They will probably be more loyal than unengaged members, too. “But they should become members!” you say. Of course they should. They might be your best prospects of all. After all, non-member customers know you, have a relationship with you, and get value from you. More importantly, you know who they are and how to talk to them. They should be prime targets for recruitment, and they are. One large engineering association tested marketing specifically to non-member customers and found they responded three to five times better than the general market.  

The Challenge for NonMember cUSTOMER Engagement

But what if they don’t want to be members? This is where most associations fall down. They push the non-responders to the side and move on to the next prospective member. In reality, there is plenty of upside in growing those non-member relationships. The people most likely to come to an event are those who come to other events. People who like your events will likely enjoy your training and vice versa.

Unfortunately, associations don’t think this way, so they don’t cultivate customer relationships and leave a lot of money on the table.

Associations make significant investments in technology to manage their member relationships: to communicate with, engage and renew them. Very few make similar investments in managing non-member customer relationships.

Building a Customer Engagement Plan

The first part is hard for most associations. Events, training, subscription, and membership data are usually not kept in one place. If they are, they are generally not looked at with a single view of the customer, namely, the big picture of their relationship.

The first step would be to figure out how many customers you have. If you add up all of the people who have transacted with you in the last five years, including lapsed members, how big is your audience? Your customer universe will likely dwarf your current membership. How much untapped growth opportunity is there?

If you think of membership as one opportunity among others for nonmember customers,
you unlock many new avenues to deliver value and grow engagement.

Consolidating Customer Data

The first part is hard for most associations. Events, training, subscription, and membership data are usually not kept in one place. If they are, they are generally not looked at with a single view of the customer, namely, the big picture of their relationship.

The first step would be to figure out how many customers you have. If you add up all of the people who have transacted with you in the last five years, including lapsed members, how big is your audience? Your customer universe will likely dwarf your current membership. How much untapped growth opportunity is there?

Setting Goals for NonMember Customer Interaction

The second part of managing a customer relationship is making it into what you want it to be. What do you want from your customers besides membership? Is it to maximize revenue right now? To cross-sell your offerings? To grow engagement and repeat business? Only managed customer relationships achieve these things. Unfortunately, that is what most associations leave on the table.

Making the Most of Your Association’s Relationships

While many associations only focus on their members, a customer-centered strategy is just a mental leap away. You have thousands, if not tens of thousands of relationships today with customers who will never be members. So how will you make the most of them?

If your best prospects are the customers you already have, your best customers are the ones you treat like customers. If you think of membership as one opportunity among others for nonmember customers, you unlock many new avenues to deliver value and grow engagement.

For more on how to grow engagement see: Member Engagement: Three Big Problems and Three Ways to Fix Them and How To Improve Member Engagement.

Are Your Members Your Best Customers?

It’s a law of nature in marketing: your best prospect is the customer you already have. Research consistently shows that it costs six to seven times more to get a new customer than to keep one, and in membership terms, smart associations understand what that means for retention. A dollar spent on retention goes much further than a dollar spent on recruitment. 

It goes further than current members, too. Your second-best customers are likely to be your lapsed members – strange as it may sound. Members who have left you may be the easiest to recruit again because they know you, and you know them, which is half the battle in acquisition. 

However, are these the only groups that associations should be thinking about? 

Looking Beyond Your Membership

Are members your only customers? The answer is no, but most associations don’t think that way. After all, they’re membership organizations, and members matter most. While that might be true, they’re not the only ones who matter. 

What about all the others you serve who are non-members? People who attend your events, take your training, buy your publications, and more? These are your non-member customers. 

Understanding the Impact of Non-Member Customers

In purely financial terms, these customers are possibly more valuable than most of your members. How? Someone who attends two to three events each year, every year is probably contributing more revenue than a member who simply pays their dues. They will probably be more loyal than unengaged members, too. 

“But they should become members!” you say. Of course they should. They might be your best prospects of all. After all, non-member customers know you, have a relationship with you, and get value from you. More importantly, you know who they are and how to talk to them. They should be prime targets for recruitment, and they are. One large engineering association tested marketing specifically to non-member customers and found they responded three to five times better than the general market.   

The Challenge for Non-Member Engagement

But what if they don’t  want to be members? This is where most associations fall down. They push the non-responders to the side and move on to the next prospective member. In reality, there is plenty of upside in growing those non-member relationships. The people most likely to come to an event are those who come to other events. People who like your events will likely enjoy your training and vice versa. Unfortunately, associations don’t think this way, so they don’t cultivate customer relationships and leave a lot of money on the table. 

Associations make significant investments in technology to manage their member relationships: to communicate with, engage and renew them. Very few make similar investments in managing relationships with non-members.  

Building a Non-Member Engagement Plan

The few who do manage their relationships with non-member customers are generally those that don’t depend on dues revenue. Organizations with hugely successful publications or event businesses, for example, manage their customers well because that is what it takes to be successful. 

You may not be one of those organizations, but there are lessons to learn from them that will help you grow your non-dues revenue streams. So what does it mean to manage a customer relationship? Fundamentally, it means gaining insight into your current relationship and building a strategy for what you want it to be.  

Consolidating Customer Data

The first part is hard for most associations. Events, training, subscription, and membership data are usually not kept in one place. If they are, they are generally not looked at with a single view of the customer, namely, the big picture of their relationship. 

The first step would be to figure out how many customers you have. If you add up all of the people who have transacted with you in the last five years, including non-members and lapsed members, how big is your audience? Your non-member customers will likely dwarf your current membership. How much untapped growth opportunity is there?

Setting Goals for Your Non-Member Interactions

The second part of managing a customer relationship is making it into what you want it to be. What do you want from your customers besides membership? Is it to maximize revenue right now? To cross-sell your offerings? To build loyalty and repeat business? Only managed customer relationships achieve these things. Unfortunately, that is what most associations leave on the table. 

Making the Most of Your Association's Relationships

While many associations only focus on their members, a customer-centered strategy is just a mental leap away. You have thousands, if not tens of thousands of relationships today with customers who will never be members. So how will you make the most of them?

If your best prospects are the customers you already have, your best customers are the ones you treat like customers. If you think of membership as one opportunity among others for customers, you unlock many new avenues to deliver value and drive growth.

This article originally appeared in Sidecar as Are Your Members Your Best Customers?

For an example of explosive growth from non-member customers, see SAE international multiplied non-dues revenue 10 times

This article first appeared in AssociationNOW as Four Steps to Creating Irresistible Member Value

4 Steps To Creating Irresistible Member Value

Brands like Apple and Amazon have created so much value that consumers can’t get enough of their products and services. Your association needs to offer that same type of value to its members. A look at four ways to do just that.

When we talk about member value in associations, we don’t want members to feel like we just gave them a bargain. We want them to love us. We want them to keep coming back. We want to be irresistible. We all have had that experience with brands. Apple products come to mind. (In fact, chances are that you’re using one to read this right now.) For another example, a client once told me: “If Amazon doesn’t sell it, I don’t need it!” That’s irresistible value.

The question is, how do you create that for your members?

The famous brand evangelist Guy Kawasaki said, “If you provide enough value, then you earn the right to recruit new customers.” Think about that in terms of membership—you have to earn the right to recruit new members by delivering enough value to deserve their membership. You must have the right to win.

Imagine a coach watching a player on the field and saying, “That kid has a right to win out there!” They’re saying that they are the right player, playing the right game with the right skills for that moment. They’re saying she has the right “way to play.” If your association is the player, there are four steps to finding your “way to play” and creating irresistible member value.

Step One: Narrow Your Focus

If you want to be irresistible, you first need to ask yourself, “Who do I want to be irresistible to?” You don’t have the right to win every game, and you won’t have the right to win every member. The more narrowly you define your target, the more member value you will deliver. That may sound wrong to you. You want as many members as you can get, right? But the way to get (and keep) them is by segmenting them as clearly as possible.

One prominent medical association earned the right to win by segmenting its audience based on their interests. Their research and data analysis revealed that doctors care the most about four things: advocacy, education, practice improvement, and patient outcomes. No matter their age or where they worked, at least one of those things mattered a lot to every doctor they spoke to. 

By defining their way to play for each segment, they transformed their membership—and tripled their growth rate—in two years.

Step Two: Find the Unmet Needs

Your audience has many needs, as any member needs analysis will tell you. But one way or another, most of their needs already get met. You will find your right to win in the gaps—the unmet or under-met needs for which there is no other solution. Filling those gaps may be more challenging than it sounds. You must briefly forget your current offerings, have honest conversations with actual members, and listen openly to what they say. 

Their unmet needs may not end up being what you expected.

“The way to get (and keep) members is by segmenting them as clearly as possible.”

An international engineering society did just this. When they listened to their members, they heard that industry leaders needed space to collaborate in precompetitive ways on emerging technologies. In their current state, the society could not legally do this. Stepping up to serve their members’ needs led to the launch of a multimillion-dollar new business.

Step THREE: FOCUS on What's UNIQUE TO YOU

Every organization has unique assets and capabilities, things they have or do that no one else could easily imitate. It could be your reputation. It could be data or information. It could be your ability to bring people together. Your unique assets are the ingredients of your right to win—your best chance of winning is in places where no one else can play.

One global professional society, struggling with growth, was convinced they needed a new business model. But an inventory of their capabilities revealed that what they alone could do was bring people across their entire industry from around the world together to get things done. Their content and training were excellent but not unique. However, their events couldn’t be matched.

By doubling down on their power to convene, they more than doubled their business.

Step Four: Choose Your Way to Play

The intersection of unmet member needs and your unique capabilities is the key to your way to play. If you meet the unmet needs of the right members, in the right way, when no one else can do it, you will have the right to win their membership. Your member value will be irresistible.

The examples here are real-world stories of associations going beyond giving members a bargain. They provide their members with something they need and cannot get elsewhere. They made themselves irresistible and transformed their businesses in the process.

For more on Member Value see  How The Executives Club of Chicago Doubled Membership With A New Member Value Proposition and Two More Views on Member Value.

Is Your Association Leaving Money On The Table?

Most associations face concerns about increasing membership dues. It’s common to hesitate due to the length of time since the last increase, a lack of rational framework for determining dues, or uncertainty about members’ willingness to pay more. However, it’s essential to realize that many associations share these apprehensions. The fear of members leaving or feeling unfairly charged can create undue stress for associations. 

In reality, though, associations are often more worried about dues increases than their members are. By following a few simple guidelines, you can successfully raise dues with minimal resistance from your members.

The Best Financial Decision You Can Make

Increasing membership fees is a wise financial choice. Why? Firstly, every additional dollar of dues directly contributes to your overall profit. It brings in more revenue without any extra expenses. The benefits accumulate over time. A dues increase generates additional income for years to come. A 5% increase today will result in a significant 60% rise in revenue over a decade. This can be a game-changer for many associations.

Above all, it’s a fair decision. In any good relationship, there should be a balanced exchange of value. You receive what you pay for, and you pay for what you receive. Member relationships are no exception. As professionals, you provide substantial value, and it’s only reasonable for your members to contribute accordingly. They operate their businesses in the same manner.

To effectively raise dues and gain support from your members, your organization should consider three essential steps. These actions will help you determine the appropriate dues level and provide a solid justification for the increase.

A 5% increase today will result in a significant 60% rise in revenue over a decade. This can be a game-changer for many associations.

1. Know Your Benchmarks

Profitability is a crucial benchmark for any organization, including nonprofits. Ensuring that your revenue from dues surpasses the cost of serving your members is essential. Understanding the “Cost to Serve” metric is vital—it encompasses the total expenses associated with providing membership benefits. Surprisingly, many associations have yet to calculate this and are often taken aback when they do.

Another important benchmark is comparative pricing. It is helpful to know what similar organizations charge their members. While you may not have direct competitors, likely other organizations are catering to the same members or providing comparable benefits. This knowledge can aid in making informed decisions about dues increases.

A thorough market analysis of dues structures serves two purposes: firstly, it provides insight into the market’s willingness to accept the current dues rates. Secondly, it assures you and your Board that any potential change in dues structure is reasonable and justifiable, minimizing the risk associated with a dues increase.

However, when considering member research, caution is advised. It is widely acknowledged in market research that individuals do not always follow through on what they express, mainly when it concerns pricing. Their opinions may differ when answering a survey compared to when they have to make a payment.

Determining price sensitivity can be complex and costly, often requiring more advanced techniques like conjoint analysis. This method involves assessing individuals’ willingness to pay for different benefit bundles, allowing for the identification of the value of each item within the bundle and helping to determine the optimal price.

More expensive economic techniques, such as yield analysis, can also provide reasonably accurate predictions of membership levels at different dues rates. While this information is interesting, it may not be necessary for all organizations. Only the most risk-averse boards, seeking expert reassurance that higher dues will not negatively impact membership, may find such techniques essential.

When considering a dues increase, it is essential to carefully assess price sensitivity using appropriate methodologies to avoid potential negative consequences.

2. Stop Putting It Off

Gradually raising membership dues yearly, typically by 3-4% to account for inflation, is a sensible approach. Failing to do so means falling behind the inflation rate. Consider a real-life example where a client only increased dues once (by 6%) over 17 years. Eventually, they realized that catching up with inflation required a whopping 43% dues increase. It’s quite a challenging situation to rectify.

Now, let’s discuss the implications of postponing dues increases. Smaller, understandable increases like 1.5% require little explanation. However, a sudden 15% increase will naturally demand some clarification. Think of it as the “boiling the frog” analogy applied to member dues. If you have consistently prepared your members for regular, gradual increases, they will accept them without fuss. On the contrary, if you have conditioned them to not expect any increases, it becomes more challenging to implement them.

Is there such a thing as “too much”? A general guideline suggests that a maximum 10% increase at once would prevent significant member complaints. While spreading out the increases over multiple years may seem like a way to soften the impact, it might not yield substantial benefits while potentially leaving money on the table. Often, a rational, transparent narrative of “more value for more dues” is required to bring members on board.

Don’t underestimate your members. Take, for instance, a trade association that had long avoided raising dues for fear of alienating their corporate partners. However, after thorough research and consideration, they decided to increase rights for certain members by up to 50%. Surprisingly, the members expressed gratitude, as they felt guilty for paying so little, considering all the association had done for them.

While I can’t guarantee your members will express their gratitude, rest assured that an uptick in dues is likely something they anticipate.

Gradually raising membership dues yearly, typically by 3-4% to account for inflation, is a sensible approach.

3. Make A Dues Increase About Value, Not Price

It may have been quite some time since you last raised your membership fees. The services and benefits you provide to your members have evolved significantly since then. You may have introduced improvements or new offerings, enhancing the overall member experience. Additionally, you may now offer compelling new content. These enhancements contribute to the added value that justifies a dues increase.

Indeed, as your costs rise, it becomes necessary for dues to follow suit. While members understand this, it may not precisely thrill them. However, they will undoubtedly be excited about the new value they will receive from your organization. If you can effectively demonstrate your increased value, they will be much more willing to pay a higher dues amount.

When considering a dues increase, it can be an excellent opportunity to showcase the new value you have created. By discussing your various benefits and value, your members will appreciate hearing it all at once. Additionally, a dues increase can be a perfect time to enhance member value by bundling additional benefits into their membership. This approach generates extra revenue and demonstrates visible new value to your members when requesting higher dues.

A Membership Dues Increase Need Not Be Something To Fear

Dues increases are an essential financial necessity, and there’s no need to worry. By thoroughly researching benchmarks, incorporating them regularly, and connecting them directly to member value, you can consistently enhance revenue without adversely affecting your membership.

For more on association pricing strategies see Association Pricing: 3 Ways to Drive More Value, and Should You Increase Membership Dues?

Member Engagement Is The Key to Renewal

What is member engagement? We usually talk about it from our organization’s perspective. However, real growth happens when we start thinking about it from the perspective of a member as an experience of value. Engagement is a meaningful experience of value by a member.

This takes on a lot of forms. It could be great content, a product, an experience, or interactions with other members. It makes sense that the more of those valuable experiences you create, the more likely people are to renew. They want to have more and more of those experiences.

Why is member engagement critical? In all of our research, engagement is the number one renewal driver. It’s the only driver that really matters.

Engagement is not just about renewal. We want members to engage because that’s how we execute our mission. We want them to get value from us, we want them to learn, we want them to engage, and we want them to connect. So, the mission of an organization is driven by member engagement. But as you know, renewal is where the hard numbers are. So, it is the best barometer of association engagement.

There’s a lot of data to prove that the best way to improve retention is by focusing on member engagement, especially early in the membership cycle. A study by Dynamic Benchmarking shows that those focusing on first-year engagement across all associations see a 6- to 12-point lift in their first-year renewal rates.

If you started at an average of 58%, rising to an average of 70% is an enormous lift. The bigger your association, the better those results are.

How Many Associations Get Engagement Strategy Wrong

Many associations are getting member engagement strategy wrong, despite a wealth of data proving that the best way to improve retention is by focusing on engagement, especially early in the membership cycle. So, what are associations doing wrong when it comes to member engagement? There are three main things.

1. They Don't Measure Member Engagement

We haven’t defined member engagement well as an industry, so it becomes hard to track. Ideally, the very best organizations have an engagement score. They can score their members on how engaged they are. This is often a very accurate predictor of their likelihood to renew. Unfortunately, most associations haven’t gotten that far. 

They don’t have the data or the metrics to say: are we doing a good job? Are we not doing a good job? What are members engaging in or not engaging in? And how are those things correlated with renewal? Measuring engagement is critical.

2. They Don't Devote Resources to Engagement

This is a real obstacle for a lot of associations. They don’t devote enough money to engagement. The Dynamic Benchmarking study showed that associations only spend 1% of their budgets on member engagement even though it’s the best investment they could make.

3. Members Don't Know What They Really Do

Three Ways to Drive Member Engagement

1. Segment Membership by Engagement Activity

Beyond the services and resources you offer, you can engage members in intangible things. Advocacy and volunteering are very engaging. Members want to be involved in grassroots activities for others, know more about that, and know what you’re doing to support it. They want to be a part of it in the world. 

It requires focus and committed investment in communicating that effectively. However associations that can do that see results in their member engagement and renewal.

2. Prioritize Engagement Over Recruitment

Acquiring new members is expensive. It generally costs about one year’s dues to acquire a new member, while renewing an existing member is much cheaper. Highly engaged members cost almost nothing to renew. They renew themselves.

New members don’t renew very well. Only about half of them will stick around for the second year. Your investment to recruit about half of the new member group will be wasted. But if you renew a member once, maybe twice, the likelihood is that they will continue forever. Investing in engagement and retention has a much higher ROI. 

Sit down with your CFO and figure out what the lifetime value of your members is. What is the total amount a member spends on average with you divided by your number of members? 

You should be thinking about this number over the tenure of membership. It will tell you the long-term value of a new member, the long-term value of retention, and how much you should invest in membership. How long are they going to stay with you? You’ll likely find it worth investing more in a current member’s lifetime value than in a new member’s annual dues.

3. Focus on the First 90 Days of Membership

The first key is to focus on a member’s first year with your organization. This is the most critical year to help them experience the right value and to have the best experiences with you. Why is that? As we’ve just seen, first-year members are the hardest to renew. In general, 50-60% of them will stay, and the rest will leave. But there’s a tipping point at the second renewal. 

Everywhere we go, we find that they’re more likely to renew after the first year. Once a member has renewed two or three times, they will likely continue. So the best strategy is to engage members right in the first year, to get them engaged with something they want to continue across the years.

The second key is to focus your engagement efforts on the first 90 days of that first year. Research has shown that you only have members’ full attention for the first 90 days and have it to the fullest extent for the first 30. They’ve just joined your organization, are excited, and want to know what’s in it for them. Their attention slowly wanes at 60 days and again at 90 because if you have not engaged them in a valuable experience by then, you probably won’t. You’ve lost their attention.

How can your organization employ this member attention “sweet spot” to your advantage? We call the first 90 days a “no-fly zone” for member communications, focusing on anything other than engagement. While all of your partners want to market to your new members, and everyone in your organization wants to talk to them about what they have to offer, we often recommend that associations put a quiet zone around these 90 days. 

The only thing your members should hear from you about during this time is engagement, i.e., things they can get value from. So you should focus on getting them engaged in something they want to be engaged in first and then talk about all the other things they can get involved in.

How to Increase Member Engagement

To sum it up, your member engagement strategy is key to unlocking untapped potential within your organization. The evidence speaks for itself – prioritizing member engagement, particularly in the early stages of their membership, is the most effective strategy for improving retention. By addressing common challenges head-on and implementing targeted solutions, associations can create an environment that fosters active participation and long-term commitment. 

Unleash the full potential of member engagement, and watch as your organization thrives in ways you never thought possible.

To learn more about our proven member engagement strategy, listen to our recent podcast, Member Retention: Engaged Members Retain Themselves.

This article was first published in Associations Evolve: 2023 & Beyond

Organizational Membership: The Future Of Membership Growth

Group Membership is Not a Growth Strategy

Many associations have “group” membership, which usually amounts to a modest volume discount, sometimes with a single invoice. The idea is that companies will want to pay for their employees’ memberships if they get a price break and a convenient way to pay. Unfortunately, these group membership plans do not do very well and are mostly an afterthought in the membership strategy. 

The problem is that companies don’t want to pay for any employee’s membership. Or at least far fewer companies do. Most organizations stopped paying employees’ membership dues when times got tough and never started again. Eventually, organizations realized it was unnecessary since employees who really want a membership are willing to pay for it themselves. 

Organizational Membership is the New Path to Growth

Organizational membership is an entirely different value proposition. It is a B2B offering designed with the executive decision-maker in mind. Discounts on individual memberships are but a part of it. The real magic in the offering is a distinct set of benefits that speak to the needs of the executives who make the decision. These are things that benefit the company and the executives themselves. 

What kinds of things? They must be things that have demonstrable financial value and elevate the decision-maker’s profile. They could include: 

• Positive PR in publications highlighting the great things their organization is doing
• Access to advocacy and policy leaders to be in the know and have their voices heard
• A seat at the table on an Executive Advisory Council with the CEO
• Help in recruiting employees with exclusive data and priority promotional opportunities
• Substantial savings on education and events they have to pay for (e.g., continuing ed, training events)

There are two things to note about this list. First, these are things that only the association can provide but doesn’t offer now. Second, they have real bottom-line value to a corporation at a minimal cost to the association to deliver.  

This kind of offer works because it is a great business decision for the company. It has clear value and is easy to justify financially. 

Organizational Value is Worth Far More Than Dues

Associations think about dues, which is exactly right for the individual lens and dead wrong for organizations. Why? The value to the organization is not a matter of how many employees they sign up for membership; it is the tangible financial impact they will receive. How much is $1 million in savings worth to an organization? 

Corporations expect to pay for things this way—the greater the value, the more things cost. In organizational membership, larger companies generally get more value than smaller ones and thus pay more. A large organization might pay $100K for that $1 million in value. A smaller one might get less and so pay less. 

This value-based pricing is uncomfortable for many associations, but it is critical to effectively selling organizational memberships. 

An Explosive Growth Opportunity

A prominent medical society Sequence worked with launched an organizational membership with overwhelming success. They designed the membership for large health systems that employ physicians. They offer a suite of benefits, including inside access, publicity, burnout prevention, early access to residents for recruiting, and free continuing education. In addition, all of the physicians in the system are eligible for individual membership at no cost. 

The cost is value-based, ranging from a flat fee of $15k for smaller systems to $100K for large ones. The price does not depend on the number of individual memberships. Health systems sign up for the tangible financial value they receive. 

In the first year, 5,000 new physicians came in through enterprise membership, so many that they had to pause the program because they could not onboard them fast enough. Some of the largest systems have enrolled as many as 15K physicians. The association projects that more than half of its new members will join through organizational membership in a few years.

The Key is to Sell It the Right Way

What were the keys to success? First, an incredibly attractive set of benefits based on thorough research. Second, a convincing financial case. Finally, and most importantly, sales. 

Organizational membership is a B2B sale. It takes time and skill to reach and persuade the right buyers. In this case, it meant a sales resource dedicated to building this program, armed with the quality of sales materials executive buyers expect. It also meant solid executive support: the CEO will personally engage with executives at large systems to help convince them.  

Their vision and investment paid off. Other Sequence clients have had equivalent success with organizational membership programs custom-tailored for their markets. For example, the Executive’s Club of Chicago doubled its membership in three years after rolling out a new Enterprise Member value proposition. 

In another example, SAE International launched a subsidiary focused solely on the needs of companies in their industry and grew their non-dues revenue ten times over.  

How to Minimize the Risk

While the payoff can be very substantial, it can come with some risks. One concern is how much it might “cannibalize” individual membership. The risk is that organizational membership might ultimately decrease net revenue by offering discounted memberships to individuals who would have paid full price. 

It is a valid question that one can answer with good data analysis. Unless market penetration is exceptionally high, the revenue gains will outweigh the discounts in most cases. 

There is also a risk that big groups that join at once might leave at once, creating excessive volatility in membership. To reduce this risk, one can mitigate this with thoughtful multi-year contracts that include extended notice provisions and other safeguards.

The Future of Membership Growth

For many associations, individual membership has reached a plateau. Growth is meager, despite their best efforts, and it is unrealistic to expect big jumps in growth from doing the same old things. A new model is needed.  Organizational membership allows associations to repurpose assets they already have to enter a new market where they have an immediate competitive advantage — and do so at a very low cost. The revenue and membership growth opportunities are significant. Too significant not to explore seriously.

For more on membership growth strategy see Association Success: 7 Ways to Thrive Not Just Survive.

Is Your Member Segmentation Strategy Wrong?

This article originally appeared in Sidecar as Is Your Member Segmentation Strategy Wrong?

Most associations segment their membership in the same way: by career stage. So young professionals might be one segment, mid-career folks another, and so on into retirement. They do it this way because it seems obvious and easy – but is there a chance it’s wrong?

When determining whether or not your member segmentation strategy is helping increase member engagement, ask yourself: Do our different segments act differently?

The Problem With Career-Stage Member Segmentation

If career stage has been the category used for your member segmentation, it’s likely been difficult to spot any trends or changes. For example, do mid-career and late-career members respond to different messages or engage with different things? They probably don’t.

Career-stage segmentation does not work because it doesn’t tell you how to treat people differently to get the best response – It is not actionable.

What you need to know is how your audience is different, which often falls into two distinct categories: what interests them and their relationship with you.

• Education
• Patient Outcomes
• Practice Improvement
• Advocacy

These groups were very distinct. For example, many physicians were not interested in advocacy, but those who were were highly passionate. So, talking about advocacy to the wrong people may have led to unsubscribes while talking about advocacy to the right people got an enormous response.

Segmenting By Interests

One of the most effective ways to segment your audience is by interests – after all, people will always respond better to things that interest them. Moreover, some things your association does are far more interesting to certain people than others. So how can you know which things and which people?

For starters, let your email be your guide. Cluster your email by topic and look at which members respond to what. You will begin to see patterns, and that’s where your member segmentation should start.

In an analysis we completed at Sequence for the American Medical Association, we found that there were four principal areas that physicians responded to:

Understanding Interests Through Action

How do you know what people belong in which segment? If you know what emails and content a member responds to, that will tell you. If you don’t, you can analyze your data for “look-alikes.” That is, members likely to respond to advocacy because they look like advocates in other ways. For example, they may open the same emails or visit the same pages. They may even have similar demographics.

Taking it one step further, an outside data shop can also help you use consumer data to segment non-members by interest. For example, the medical society in the story above doubled its member growth rate in this way.

The Loyalty Ladder

The other member segmentation strategy that always applies is how engaged your members are with you. Picture a ladder with your most engaged members on the top. These are your Super Fans. They are longtime members active in everything you do. They are your governance and volunteers. You wish every member were like them.

On the bottom are the unengaged. They joined but have not done anything. These are your Window Shoppers. In between are increasing levels of engagement. Members have more lifetime value at each level and become more likely to renew, so your goal is to move your members up the ladder.

Members at each rung of the ladder will react to different things. But, more importantly, you want them to respond to different things.

• Lower on the ladder, you want them to engage with the “stickiest,” most high-value things you have to offer (Your data can tell you what the high-value things are, which will be the topic for our next article.) For example, volunteering, free webinars and resources, along with member benefits including insurance.
• Higher up the ladder, you do not need to drive more engagement; you want to appreciate them and keep them excited. Part of your strategy should be a concerted effort to recognize them and give them special opportunities.

This approach allows you to concentrate your resources where they will do the most good and engage the members methodically to increase loyalty.

Don't Ignore Non-Members Either

You can also extend this approach to non-members. People come to your events, subscribe to publications, and contribute to journals – yet they aren’t members. More often than not, these non-member “constituents” make up a larger group than members.

For example, you can look at non-members who attended your event and infer their interests from what they did there or how they are similar to members whose interests you know. Once you have that information, your segmentation strategy can be to send more of those resources via email with a call to action to turn them into members.

Thinking about non-member interactions as rungs on the ladder allows you to walk them up to a membership.

Member Segmentation In Action

You do not have to choose between these approaches. Some of the most successful associations combine these segmentation strategies to attract new members and increase loyalty as effectively as possible. A winning acquisition and retention strategy allows interests to guide messaging and loyalty to inform offers.

It used to be that only the largest, data-savvy associations could achieve this kind of member segmentation. That is not true today. Better technology makes data analysis easier and cheaper every day, even in-house.

Could you be doing your member segmentation wrong? There is no reason not to start doing it right.

To learn more read 3 Steps to a Great Nonprofit Brand Strategy

The Real Reason Members Don't Renew Membership: They Don't Know What You Do

Membership surveys consistently indicate that the primary reason for non-renewal among members is a perceived lack of value. The common factors cited by members who don’t renew membership often include lack of engagement, value, or return on investment (ROI). This raises the question: “What do they want us to do?” But the real question is: “What do they think we do?”

A prominent medical society, facing challenges in delivering member value like many others, posed this question and received a startling response: Members knew almost nothing about most of the work the association did. Shockingly, only 20% of established physicians were aware of any other offerings from the association besides the journal. Consequently, they failed to grasp the value of their membership because they were unaware of the association’s other valuable resources. As a result, they lacked a compelling reason to renew membership.

Members knew almost nothing about most of the work the association did. Shockingly, only 20% were aware of any other offerings besides the journal.

Members don't need new things to make them renew

The main question was this: “How would their perception change if they were aware?” To explore this, they experimented. They engaged in discussions with doctors about the organization and its impactful contributions. These discussions were titled “Twenty Minutes With Tim” (pseudonym). They believed that spending twenty minutes with any physician would be sufficient to persuade them to become members and renew their membership. We explained everything the organization did to improve the lives of doctors and their patients, most of which they had never heard of before. Subsequently, they asked if these physicians would consider joining or renewing. Almost all of them said they would. 

The key takeaway is that members weren’t asking for anything new or different. They weren’t expressing any dissatisfaction with the organization’s current efforts. Instead, they weren’t aware of all the organization’s great work that served their interests. The real challenge lay not in coming up with new offerings but in effectively showcasing the exceptional offerings they already had. 

You must align with how members perceive value

Not every member gives you twenty minutes. Sometimes, you only have twenty seconds while they quickly scan your email or post. Naturally, you might feel inclined to overwhelm them with a long list of everything you do or desperately try to direct them to your website for more information. But even if you’re already doing these things, chances are you’re still struggling to make an impact. Your current methods aren’t effective because they don’t align with how members perceive value.

Think about those classic diners with extensive menus boasting hundreds of options. Do you read the entire menu? Or do you skip to the dishes you like and ignore the rest? It can be off-putting when you must put in so much effort to find what you want. While your organization is not a diner, you might unintentionally imitate one by bombarding your members with information, hoping they’ll find something they like. So, how can you simplify your offerings when everything you do is genuinely valuable?

 

members don't renew just for transactions

Twenty Minutes With Tim revealed an important insight: not all members prioritize transactional value, where it’s a give-and-take relationship. Some members are interested in benefits and discounts, while others have different concerns. These individuals focus on improving patient outcomes, challenging insurance companies and pharmaceutical giants, and enhancing their practices. What’s intriguing is that these members aren’t searching for mere deals; they seek an ally.

The organization possesses a wealth of information that aligns with members’ interests. They have achieved remarkable accomplishments and obtained impressive results. When members become aware of these endeavors, they recognize the value and find a compelling reason to renew membership for themselves and their profession and patients. They perceive the organization as an ally worth supporting, thus motivating them to continue their membership.

Associations find themselves wondering, "What do they want us to do?" The real question is, "What do they think we do?"

If you want them to renew membership, tell them what you do for them

In response, the organization rolled out a bold new strategy that made what they learned in Twenty Minutes With Tim into a campaign. It put physicians front and center in the membership brand, and reinforced the things the association did that doctors cared about most. It included “proof points,” real stories of things the association had accomplished for doctors to make the case that membership was for them. In just one year, this innovative membership brand and marketing strategy  tripled the rate at which new members joined the association. (To learn more, read The Power Of Strategy: How AMA Achieved Exponential Member Growth.)

Countless organizations face a similar challenge. Frequently, associations find themselves wondering, “What do they think we do?” It becomes clear that their members really have no idea what their association does and that therein lies the root cause of why members don’t engage and don’t renew membership. 

What do your members think YOU do? The answer could be the real reason members don’t renew.

 

For more insights on why members don’t renew, see: From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Crafting Membership Offers They Can’t Refuse and Membership Renewal Strategy: The Top 6 Reasons Your Members Don’t Renew.

How Can You Make Your Mission Drive Membership?

Associations are “mission first” in word and often in deed. Yet many lead less and less with their mission to revitalize their membership. Instead, enhancing member value and experience has been the guiding light for association growth. Rightly so. We often reduce the mission to believing that “what’s in it for me” is the only key to nonprofit marketing success in membership messaging. Guided by research, many organizations have sought to imitate for-profit marketers. They promote “features and benefits” and enticing offers that often disappoint expectations and don’t drive membership.

Some of the best-performing associations are doubling down on their missions. They know that personal alignment with the mission creates feelings of belonging and influence, which drive membership in ways that no transaction can. It builds increased relevance and growth. Your mission is the one competitive advantage to drive membership for which there is no for-profit alternative.

Millennials are skeptical, with a very high bar for trusting a brand. They demand authenticity, consistency, and shared values. They want opportunities to participate. Brands that meet these requirements get rewarded with emotionally invested, long-term customers. Aspects of this mindset cross generations. A recent survey found that:

• 78% of people want companies to address social justice issues
• 87% of consumers would be willing to buy a product or service based on a company’s advocacy for a social issue
• 76% said they would decline to do business with a company if it supported issues that conflicted with their beliefs. (2)

Your association can drive membership by recognizing the millennial mindset and adopting it in your marketing strategy.

Appeal to Self-Directed Consumers

It’s never been faster or easier to research products and brands before buying. Comparison shopping extends beyond price and reviews. It now includes corporate practices on a host of social issues. There are even apps developed to help consumers do exactly that. Good on You rates fashion brands’ impact on people, animals, and the environment. Good Guide scores over 200,000 products on health, environment, and social justice. The power to buy based on beliefs is at consumers’ fingertips. [3]

Self-direction also extends to charitable giving. In response to the 2016 flooding in Louisiana, GoFundMe users raised more than $11M through more than 6,000 flood-related campaigns. The Salvation Army only raised $4M, in contrast. These micro-campaigns were about individuals and families with compelling, relatable stories. They dovetail perfectly with the Millennial mindset.

Market your mission, then act on it. Doing so will prove to the self-directed consumers of today that your association is serious about their beliefs.

Leverage Technology to Drive Membership

Technology makes it possible to research purchases and choose causes with great specificity. It also allows consumers to shift allegiances immediately. Providing a consistently positive brand experience has never been more critical. The growing adoption of voice assistants forces businesses and nonprofits alike to figure out yet another way to connect. Google awarded $25M to a proposal to use AI to tackle some of the world’s most significant social, humanitarian, and environmental challenges. With moves like this, we can only expect the rate of change to increase.[4]

Connecting with members through the channels they use most will allow your association to highlight your mission and encourage members to be an active part of it.

Technology makes it possible to research purchases and choose causes with great specificity. It also allows consumers to shift allegiances immediately. Providing a consistently positive brand experience has never been more critical. The growing adoption of voice assistants forces businesses and nonprofits alike to figure out yet another way to connect. Google awarded $25M to a proposal to use AI to tackle some of the world’s most significant social, humanitarian, and environmental challenges. With moves like this, we can only expect the rate of change to increase.[4]

Connecting with members through the channels they use most will allow your association to highlight your mission and encourage members to be an active part of it.

Your mission — to advance a field, protect your people, and make the world better – is your most powerful platform to connect with members. It should be an emotional rallying point that inspires action and invites belonging. The best way to do that is to attune to the Millennial mindset. By highlighting real people and their stories, you put a human face on how you serve them. That lets members see themselves in your picture.

To learn more about how to drive membership, see our complete research report, Sailing Through the Headwinds: Strategies for Association Growth

[1] Komornicki, Sophie. “Cone Communications CSR Study.”

[2] Curtin, Melanie. “45 Percent of Millennials Expect This From Brands (It Can Also Help Grow Your Business).”

[3] Lessler, Faye. “5 Apps and Online Tools for Conscious Shopping.”

[4] Gershgorn, Dave. “Google Is Giving $25 Million to People Who Want to Use AI for Good.”

How Have Association Membership Models Changed?

Associations have always been the trusted go-between. They convene people, connect resources, curate content, and mediate conversations. Or at least they used to do. Things have changed.

For as long as we can remember, membership organizations were exclusive mediators. They provided access to challenging, often impossible, resources to find elsewhere: information, services, political influence, and much more. The membership model as a must-have mediator cemented its importance in members’ lives. It was the primary reason members had to join, engage with, and pay dues to an organization. It was the fuel for most non-dues revenue – subscriptions, ad sales, royalties, etc. That is changing before our eyes.

The change has happened already. Technology has multiplied options for what to view, buy and engage. Today, choices overwhelm consumers. They face them in the palm of their hands, in every aspect of their lives they can access. So what has this meant for nonprofit membership models? And what are the leaders doing about it?

Democratization of Content
Members historically looked to their associations first for unique, trustworthy content. However, 40% of membership organizations now report competitive sources of information as the biggest challenge to growing membership. [1] Google is not the only problem, either. Businesses focused on curating high-quality content are working to take associations’ share. Sage Open, for example, provides open access to papers and contributors across a broad spectrum of social sciences.

Spontaneous Networks
Associations’ membership model has long been to act as the primary conduit for connecting far-flung colleagues and helping them collaborate. Yet professionals most want to interact with others who share their specific interests. This is easier and more efficient online. LinkedIn and other platforms allow people to create, join, and interact with professional communities. Doximity offers a free, secure collaboration platform for physicians in the medical field. It has amassed more members than the American Medical Association in a few short years. There are dozens of vibrant LinkedIn groups catering to any profession or interest area.

Marketplaces Replace Experts
Human experts like travel agents were supplanted years ago by sites like TripAdvisor. They have become a critical part of the consumer experience. An association’s endorsement pales in comparison to the influence of user reviews. The trend continues as platforms from Uber to Etsy connect sellers to buyers. Users can evaluate options and choose for themselves, and now almost always prefer to do so.

There is Always a Sale Somewhere
For years, affinity discount programs were an essential benefit for members and a source of income for associations. Today, the number of accessible, uncomplicated online discounters is countless. For example, Honey automatically applies the best discount code at checkout for hundreds of brands. As a result, no affinity program can compete with its services. As a result, the affinity business model is increasingly in question. For more on this, see: Are You Doing Affinity Products Wrong? Member Value Comes First.

As in any market disruption, there are winners and losers. Some associations have embraced new membership models to succeed. The first step is accepting that your role as the valued mediator has already changed. It will change still more in the future. Then, ask the hard questions:

• Influent50 grew from a fledgling start-up to a $47 million business in three years.
• It created a new revenue model for AARP, providing direct B2B value alongside its already successful affinity model.
• The agency was so successful that international corporations sought them out to re-create the model worldwide, in Asia and South America.

• Are others infringing on your role and providing more value or a better experience?
• Are they undermining your traditional sources of revenue and member value?
• How can you pivot to bring unique value to your members despite new technologies and strategies?

Significant market changes call for extensive organizational responses. The most forward-looking organizations have responded in several ways. First, they find ways to deliver more and better value in the new, un-mediated world and rethink the membership model. Second, embracing the mission even more and in ever new ways. Third, tightening focus on the areas where they cannot be displaced—even revamping the non profit membership model itself.

To learn more about different types of membership models, Sailing Through the Headwinds: Strategies for Successful Associations.
[1]  Membership Marketing Benchmark Report, Marketing General 2019

Young Members Are Not That Different From Boomers

In 2015, millennials surpassed Generation X to become the largest population in the workforce. The majority of the workforce is getting younger. Most membership organizations are seeing the average age of their members go up.

In response, nonprofit associations are prioritizing the attraction of young members. Young members are future volunteers, future dues-payers, and future leaders. But attracting young professionals hasn’t been easy.

Perception is the root of this challenge. Millennials are unlike the generations that have come before them. Technologically savvy, they sit on the cutting edge of change. Conversely, baby boomers are thought to be technologically unsophisticated and allergic to change.

6 Shocking Similarities

These generalizations suggest an insurmountable abyss exists between boomers and millennials. Associations believe they must reinvent their past strategy to attract millennial members. Recent AARP research shows that young members have much in common with boomers.

The distance between the two generations is converging. Associations will benefit more from noting their similarities rather than their differences. 

So what are these shocking similarities?

1. Consumer-Centric

Boomers are the original “me” generation. That thinking has filtered down to the millennials. Often raised by boomer parents or grandparents, millennials grew up around this idea. They expect everything is–-and should be– about them. Not only do baby boomers and millennials want what they want, but they also want to be able to do it themselves. 

Both boomers and millennials want a “customized” experience. So they will choose the association that can give it to them. That means more options and on-demand services that offer them what they want, when, and how they want it.

2. Overwhelmed by Choices

Boomers and millennials alike idealize choices. However, the abundant options make the decision-making process a burden for both generations. Their rejection of guidance from intermediaries further complicates this.

Associations don’t need different content to appeal to choice-fatigued millennials and boomers. They need to present and distribute their existing content in new ways. Associations need to expand content distribution to channels preferred by these generations. This will give them the best chance of capturing their attention.

3. Mistrust of Institutions

Young members and boomers are skeptical of institutions. True to their “me” instincts, they question what’s in it for them. Nevertheless, both generations want institutions to prove their value. Trust is key to loyalty. 

Boomers and millennials are loyal to institutions they trust—but that trust has to be earned. Associations can overcome their mistrustful nature by promoting defined and proven membership benefits. In addition, they can work to build confidence over time.

4. Experiences over Things

For millennials and boomers, things are just things. It’s experiences they are after. According to a study conducted by Eventbrite, 94% of millennials and 91% of boomers believe that experiences lead to a fulfilling life. 

Associations that provide opportunities to engage will draw in millennials and boomers. Whether digital or face-to-face, the prospect of an experience will entice them.

5. Social Sharing as Status

Experiences are the new status symbols, and social media is the trophy case. Young members’ affinity for sharing on social media is well known. But boomers are catching on, too. People aged 50+ are the fastest-growing segment on social media.

When associations provide meaningful experiences to their members, they share them on social media. This is especially true for millennial and boomer member segments. Social shares spread an association’s message and proof of value.

6. Pervasive Use of Technology​

Technology is not just a millennial thing. While millennials are technology natives, boomers have adopted technology readily. They consume it at a rate rivaling the millennial generation. If you’re not reaching out to boomers and young members digitally, you aren’t reaching them.

Associations using technology well to communicate with their membership will see higher engagement.

Young Members Predict Your Future

There are numerous similarities between millennials and boomers. But this crop of young professionals isn’t a special case. Millennials echo many of the needs of older generations—just in a more demanding tone. The older generations have been more tolerant in waiting for change. Yet their patience is wearing thin.

Associations need to do more than determine how they can attract young members. They need to change to meet current and future member needs. Fortunately, young professionals can tell us a lot about doing that.

When the needs of millennials are met, so are those of current and future needs of associations. Associations can attract young professionals and improve the experience of older members by bringing the generations together.

See: Who Needs Associations Anymore? 4 New Membership Models for more insights and ideas about young members.