I’d like to share with you the results of a recent study on why members stay or leave their associations, commissioned by Community Brands and its family of companies (Abila, Aptify, NimbleUser and YourMembership), and undertaken by Edge Research:
Members feel a lack of connection. While the majority of members (84 percent) feel satisfied with their membership, a far fewer (55 percent) feel a connection to their membership organization.
Code of Ethics and consistent updates on industry information are must-haves to retaining members. Other top benefits are focused on intangibles, such as representing members’ interest, fuelling growth and innovation, and raising awareness. Job, continuing education, and training opportunities are most important to millennial and Gen X members.
Membership organizations struggle to communicate value. The top reasons members decide not to renew are centered on dues becoming too costly and the organization providing little value.
The amount of information members want varies by loyalty level. Loyal members prefer detailed updates more than twice a month, while members less loyal to an organization prefer to just receive the big news monthly or even less frequently. Millennial and Gen X members are more likely to want more frequent communication.
E-mail is the top-performing channel, regardless of a member’s generation or level of commitment. Surveyed members cite e-mail content as the easiest to consume, most likely to keep them engaged, and most powerful for telling the organization’s story.
There is no consistency in collecting and using information for personalization. Of the respondents, 74 percent recall being asked for at least some type of personal information or preferences.
Nearly half of members feel their content is not personalized. Of the surveyed members, 47 percent say the typical content they receive is not personalized. Common content offensives include sending content that is irrelevant, boring or in an inconvenient format.
The study lists where to go from here:
- Identify and understand your organization’s loyalty segments. Educate your executive team and board of directors on the importance of these loyalty metrics, and start including them in your monthly or quarterly reports.
- Reevaluate your value propositions. Conduct member surveys and focus groups to identify the challenges your members face each day, how might the organization help and what tools are needed to be successful.
- Put your loyalty segments to work. Once you are aware of which members fall within each segment, partner with other stakeholders in your organization, including your marketing team, to build dynamic lists to successfully segment your various loyalty groups.
- Collect data and content preferences and use them. Members now expect organizations to collect information to personalize their experience.
- Keep your code of ethics updated and relevant. Members are proud to belong to an association that provides a framework and standard for their industry.
- Empower your “super members.” Help your membership heroes use their power for good, and enlist them in helping move their peers up the loyalty spectrum. Committees, ambassador programs and advisory boards are great examples of bringing your super members together.
****
The column contributor, Octavio Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific and the CEO and founder of the PCAAE. The PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 5 and the “Ang Susi” Awards 2017 on November 22 and 23 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details.