Author: Lomesh Shah
When it comes to growing your association’s membership base, the first thing you should consider is your offerings. After all, members join your association for benefits, and if you’re experiencing slowed growth, chances are that either your offerings aren’t up to par or you’re not communicating them well.
When marketing your association, you need a rock-solid membership value proposition, which essentially explains why someone should join your association. You might promote your unbeatable member engagement activities, cutting-edge course offerings, or vibrant community full of networking opportunities.
To craft a membership offer your association’s audience won’t be able to refuse, explore these top four recommendations for improving benefits and creating a compelling value proposition.
1. Add Member Value, Don't Discount Dues
In a classic supply vs. demand model, the answer to lower demand is to decrease prices. However, lowering your dues rate might be a mistake. After all, if members aren’t finding much value in your offerings when they cost $100, there’s no guarantee they will suddenly become interested in them when they cost $50. By going down this path, associations often end up sacrificing significant revenue with little to show for membership growth.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reconsider your pricing model to engage and retain members. When it comes to adjusting your membership fees, consider these strategies:
- Offer discounts to specific audience segments. A more innovative approach is to lower dues for specific segments like students and young professionals who may be more cost-sensitive. This strategy helps fill your association with potential future members who will eventually pay full dues.
- Experiment with an open-door membership model. Create a free membership tier with an open-door model. This approach gives free members access to limited benefits so they can see what your association has to offer, and you can entice them to upgrade by promoting gated opportunities.
- Provide new member specials. Get new members in the door with special offers and discounts. For example, you could offer a discounted rate for the first year of membership or provide new members with exclusive savings, such as discount codes for courses or ticketed events.
Remember that lowering costs alone doesn’t automatically make your membership more valuable in the eyes of potential members. To attract members, you need to offer a compelling membership value proposition.
If you use any of these pricing strategies, leverage your association’s membership software to monitor affected members’ behavior. For instance, you might notice members who take advantage of new member specials leave your association when their discounts expire, signaling a need for stronger long-term benefits.
2. Bundling Benefits Builds Member Value
Increasing awareness of benefits is crucial; otherwise, they hold no value for members. Lack of awareness of benefits often comes from two scenarios
- Benefits are not articulated well. If members are unclear what they are purchasing when they buy a membership, they will likely not be able to tap into their benefits.
- Benefits are confusing. Sometimes, associations offer so many benefits that members have trouble understanding what their membership level provides, figuring out how to access benefits, and knowing what is valuable to engage with.
If the second scenario sounds like your association, one solution might be to bundle benefits together into organized membership tiers rather than individual sales offerings. This not only makes high-value opportunities more enticing and accessible but also allows for the removal of outdated benefits that clutter communication with members.
Reframing the concept of “products” to encompass all the ways the organization serves its members opens up opportunities to highlight the value proposition of membership and why potential members should be interested.
This approach also allows you to highlight the value of offerings you might not be able to sell directly. For instance, you might promote access to your membership network through your community engagement platform as a base-level benefit.
3. Make Member Value Crystal Clear
Ensuring that membership benefits are well-defined is essential for retaining members. Prospective and existing members can only fully appreciate and take advantage of the value you offer if they are clearly aware of what they receive through their membership.
Many organizations that offer membership encounter a challenge in renewing first-year members. Tradewing’s guide to member engagement suggests providing new members with a welcome kit that introduces them to your association and teaches them how to leverage their benefits. A few items you might include in this kit include the following:
- Welcome letter
- Lanyard and member ID card
- Branded merchandise
- Event calendar
- Association handbook
While your events and association guidelines may change over time, providing initial physical copies can prompt greater initial engagement from new members. Be sure these items also include directions for accessing future benefits. For instance, you might add a QR code for your online event calendar to your printed copy.
4. Offer a Grace Period
Members will often decide if your association’s benefits are truly worth it when it’s time to renew. Ensure they have plenty of time to thoroughly weigh your offerings by providing a renewal grace period. Additionally, grace periods provide a few other benefits, such as:
- Time to clear up renewal issues. By providing grace periods, you allow members to rectify any oversights in renewing their membership while still having access to all the benefits and perks associated with their membership.
- Multiple chances to renew. Members often lapse because they simply forget to renew. As Fundraising Letters’ selection of membership renewal letter templates explains, it’s highly possible for busy members to miss your email telling them their renewal period is coming up. With an extended grace period, you have multiple opportunities to check in and ensure members don’t lapse due to poor communication.
- Opportunity for last-minute offerings. Keep an eye on members reaching the end of their grace period, and consider reaching out with special offerings to continue with your association. For example, you might provide them with free membership for the first month of their next year.
The length of your grace period depends on your association’s membership model and offerings. Some associations might offer just a couple of weeks, while others might provide multiple months before cutting off benefits.
Conclusion: A Membership Value Proposition They Can't Refuse
In conclusion, consider the possibility of a membership value proposition that professionals can’t refuse. With the potential to restructure your current model and create an irresistible offer, your association can capture members’ attention and loyalty. Take advantage of this chance to provide a value proposition that stands out and keeps your community engaged.
