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How Associations Can Raise Dues Without Losing Trust

Unlock Financial Growth 3 Essential Rules To Raise Membership Dues

Is Your Association Leaving Money On The Table?

Many associations underprice membership for years, then treat a dues increase like a political risk instead of a strategic decision. The result is usually the same: too much delay, too much anxiety, and a larger increase than members would have accepted if the organization had acted earlier.

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. 

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.

Sequence helps associations approach dues increases as part of a larger membership model strategy, connecting pricing, value, structure, and long-term growth.

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

Dues decisions should be grounded in cost to serve, comparative pricing, and a credible view of member value.

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

Small, regular increases are easier to absorb than the kind of catch-up increase boards fear most.

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. 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

Members are more willing to pay more when the increase is clearly tied to stronger value.

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.

Additional insights: Making the Case for a Dues Increase

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Member Value Has to Be Too Useful to Ignore

Crafting Irresistible Member Value 4 Steps To Extraordinary Transformation

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 discussing 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 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 thing mattered greatly 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 are already 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. Listening to their members, they heard that industry leaders needed space to collaborate in precompetitive ways on emerging technologies. In its current state, the industry could not legally do this. Stepping up to serve its 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 it needed a new business model. However, an inventory of its capabilities revealed that it could only bring people from around the world across its entire industry together to get things done. Its content and training were excellent but not unique, and its events couldn’t be matched.

They more than doubled their business by doubling down on their power to convene.

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, 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 please see The Membership Multiplier: How Sequence Helped the Executives’ Club Double Down on Growth and Two More Views on Member Value

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How Associations Can Win Back Lapsed Members

Win Back Lapsed Members A Guide To Success

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.

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Is Your Member Segmentation Wrong?

Member Segmentation Is It Limiting Your Success

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

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Stop Waiting for Members to Disengage

Proactive Member Engagement Feature
Author: Jeff Spring

Many membership organizations operate on a reactive model, tracking renewal rates to see who has already left or waiting for members to complain before addressing a problem. Waiting to fix issues leaves value on the table and risks member churn.

 

On the other hand, proactive engagement is a core part of a modern strategic plan. It’s the process of building a journey that prevents those problems from happening in the first place. It’s the difference between sending a “we miss you” email to a lapsed member and providing so much consistent value that the member would not dream of leaving.

 

The key to sustainable member growth and retention is shifting from a reactive to a proactive mindset. This requires you to stop making assumptions about what members want and instead build systems to understand them better. This strategy moves your organization toward a state of continuous performance improvement. Let’s explore actionable strategies to help you make that shift.

Systematically Monitor Member Needs

The first step to being proactive is to stop guessing what members want and start tracking what they actually do! Systematically monitoring members involves looking at their engagement data in your membership management system. This gives you a clear picture of what they find valuable and worth interacting with, allowing you to anticipate their needs.

Look for patterns in a variety of data points, including:

  • Email open and click-through rates
  • Event attendance and webinar registrations
  • Content downloads
  • Participation in professional development offerings
  • Community or forum participation

These patterns are your cue to act. For example, if new members engage heavily in their first month and then drop off, you can build a proactive check-in campaign for day 45. If a specific segment ignores your event announcements, you can test new topics or formats for them.

Use Surveys to Monitor and Anticipate Engagement

A large annual survey primarily measures past satisfaction. A proactive satisfaction survey helps you anticipate future member needs, too! Include forward-thinking questions in your annual survey, such as “What professional challenges are you expecting in the next six months?” or “What new topics do you most want to learn about?”

 

You can also send timely pulse surveys. For instance, send a short, two-question survey immediately after a member attends an event or downloads a report. Ask for their key takeaway or what they plan to do with the information.

 

This feedback is a goldmine for planning future content, events, and member benefits.

Personalize the Member Journey

True personalization means delivering the right content to the right member at the right time, not just referencing their name in a mass email to your entire contact list.

This is where member journey mapping comes in. This process plots out the member’s experience from their perspective, from their first day to their renewal date. Your map should identify:

Proactive Member Engagement Member Journey Map
    • Key touchpoints, including member-initiated interactions (like registering for events or participating in your online community) and organization-initiated interactions (like sending a renewal reminder or inviting them to an event).
    • Member sentiments, which are the emotions that members experience at each touchpoint.
    • Pain points that your members experience during their journey with your organization.
    • Actions that members take to achieve their goals, such as joining your organization or taking an online course.
    • Insights, such as patterns, process improvement opportunities, and gaps in the member experience.

Once you have this map, you can use segmentation to deliver a personalized experience at each stage. Your membership software is key for managing segments based on both who they are (like job role) and where they are in their journey.

Consider segmenting members by:

    • Career stage (student, early-career, mid-level, executive)
    • Declared interests or specialty
    • Committee or volunteer participation
    • Engagement level (highly engaged, at-risk, unengaged)

With segmentation, you can send targeted communications that match their current stage. For example, a brand-new member at the start of their journey needs a structured onboarding series. Meanwhile, a 10-year member would get more value from an invitation to mentor or join a leadership forum.

Proactively Improve Member Benefits

    • A reactive approach to your offerings is waiting for members to complain that they are stale. A proactive approach uses the data you are already gathering to guide your benefit strategy in real-time.


      Aim to find gaps in your value proposition. After all, only 11% of associations describe their value proposition as “very compelling,” and stronger benefits are the way to enhance your value.


      As you review your offerings, consider refreshing your member benefits with these ideas from iMIS’s guide to member engagement:

Proactive Member Engagement Benefits
      • Job boards
      • Mentorship programs
      • e-Learning courses and certifications
      • Members-only publications
      • Industry-related deals and discounts

Proactively Improve Member Benefits

    • Leverage even more benefits from your engagement data and member segmentation by using them to automate outreach. In this context, a trigger is an automated rule that performs a specific action when a member’s data meets a preset condition. For example, a “join date” (the data) can trigger a “welcome email” or a “membership anniversary email” (the action). This system makes your data actionable, allowing you to engage members at the right time, at scale.

      Here are some examples of triggers you might create:

      • The “Welcome” Trigger: A new member joins, automatically triggering a 30-day automated onboarding email series.
      • The “Disengagement” Trigger: A member has not logged into the member portal, accessed your association’s mobile app, or opened an email in 45 days. This triggers a personal check-in email or a “here’s what you’ve missed” digest.
      • The “Milestone” Trigger: A member hits their five-year anniversary with your association, triggering a congratulatory note.

      Consider using different channels to trigger outreach. While email is common, you can also use text or, if you have one, your association’s mobile app. As Clowder’s guide to association apps explains, push notifications keep your association top of mind and deliver timely opportunities directly to your members.

      Some membership software also offers individual engagement scoring. This score automatically adjusts based on a member’s actions, such as attending events, participating in forums, or opening emails. You can then monitor your database to flag at-risk members long before they consider lapsing.

      You might even use engagement scores as a powerful condition for a trigger. If a member’s score drops below a certain threshold, you can automatically trigger a re-engagement campaign, flagging at-risk members long before they consider lapsing.

Final Thoughts on Proactive Member Engagement

    • Shifting from reactive to proactive engagement requires a fundamental change in your organization’s mindset. It moves your team from putting out fires to strategically building long-term association sustainability and member loyalty.

       

      As a result, you’ll transform your relationships into continuous, value-driven partnerships. Ultimately, a proactive strategy is the foundation for a healthy, growing association where members feel consistently understood and valued.

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Member Engagement and Retention: What Actually Drives Renewal

Member Engagement And Retention

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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