Getting Association Members to Stay. A lot of factors drive renewals, but what factors determine a decision to resign a membership? It might be perceptions of insufficient value, insufficient connection to business/personal objectives, or possibly an insufficient opportunity to have an impact. In other situations, members may not want bundled packages and they joined for a discount. In a knowledge based environment, Associations are challenged to find innovative approaches for members to contribute, have the ability to experience close peer interactions, and to also feel valued as a contributor.

Why Members Leave

In our survey of Strategic Member Engagement (http://bit.ly/1g8g1J2), we asked executives to rate the frequency at which members leave for 11 potential reasons. Included in the top reasons that members leave are:

• Insufficient connection to their business/professional objectives
• Insufficient perceived value (ROI)
• Joined only for a one-time purchase discount (e.g. meeting registration)

Three Key Building Blocks

Members feel more “connected” to those groups who value their knowledge contributions.  In addition, members especially most value those things in which they participate.

Building Blocks to Accelerate Strategic Member Engagement:

1. Contribution.  Members see their opportunity to impact something they care about. Associations who provide these opportunities can move behaviors from being a “Recipient” of information to a “Knowledge Contributor.”
2. Collaboration. Through ongoing community reinforcement, members experience increased value in what they perceive a “highly engaged solutions community.”
3. Connectedness. As more contribution and collaboration “connectedness” to the association occurs, the Association moves from “casual priority” to “personal priority.”

Each building block helps reinforce why an executive should maintain their Association membership.

Getting Association Members to Stay

Accelerating strategic member engagement is really about creating opportunities and “experiences” to both contribute knowledge and feel valued; something that members don’t always find elsewhere.

Complete survey results and more information on Strategic Member Engagement is available at at www.potomaccore.com.

Is Your Association Focused on Member Outcomes? Members look to their Associations to deliver outcomes that address business and professional challenges. Organizations who are outcome driven effectively transition their focus away from selling and testing products and services to engaging members in things they care most about. The process begins with a highly engaged and strategically focused board. Their capability to understand and strategize about the needs of the average member can change the member engagement and operating performance dynamics of an Association.

External Focus Rules

Identify data that defines member external and operational challenges. Associations can utilize a host of platforms to secure this information including: member impact surveys, focus groups, social media, in person interviews, or other online community dialogue.

Member Impact

With many different alternatives available such as coalitions, new Associations, and online communities, it’s more important than ever to align strategies and execution to support member outcomes. If members determine their Association is not providing sufficient enough impact, they will go somewhere else.

Drive Member Value

Begin with a deliberate focus on member “outcomes” and then:

• Leverage the board, focus on member success
• Have strategic board discussions about helping members achieve objectives
• Come to grips with the Association’s capacity to drive member “outcomes”
• Engage members, help them contribute & collaborate in developing new solutions to achieve their objectives

Is Your Association Focused on Member Outcomes?

Is this in effective approach? The Strategic Member Engagement Survey results (http://bit.ly/1g8g1J2) reports a highly engaged and strategic board makes a difference. Associations who report a “Very High” degree of board understanding and strategizing about average member needs report “upward” 3 year business trends in: Member Retention, Annual Operating Revenue, Paid Registrations at Primary Annual Meeting, and Timely Membership Renewals.

Knowing Member “Up at Night” Issues Accelerates Association Growth & Positioning. Trade Associations and Professional Societies with upward trending 3-year operating results are far more likely to better understand member “up at night” issues and to engage members in acting upon those needs. This and other relevant actionable data was released in a joint survey of 307 Association Executives conducted through the collaborative effort of Vertical Leap Consulting, icimo, and Potomac Core Consulting.

Up at Night Issues: What Members Care About Most

Strategic Member Engagement is mostly about understanding member “up at night” issues and the outcomes that Association Members seek instead of focusing on member satisfaction with an association’s current “outputs” (products or services).

3 Year Operating Results

Associations who identify member “up at night” issues and then engage their members in solutions are far more likely to report strong performance in Member Retention, Annual Operating Revenue, Registrations to Primary Annual Meetings, Annual Revenue from Fee for Service Offerings, and Timely Membership Renewals. Trade Associations and Professional Societies reflecting upward trends also more frequently have these capabilities:

1. Very highly engaged boards who are strategic in focus
2. Regularly conduct member impact surveys (not merely “satisfaction” surveys)
3. Ability to gather and segment member data; especially if able to integrate data from multiple sources/platforms
4. Very high degree of board understanding and strategizing about the needs of the average member
5. Have identified member segments who most want to contribute knowledge and collaborate with other members
6. Have identified specific behaviors that foreshadow future increases in knowledge and contribution and collaboration

Knowing Member “Up at Night” Issues Accelerates Association Growth & Positioning

Having a firm grip on Member “Up at Night” Issues has game change potential for Associations.  Ultimately it helps align organizations with the things that their members really care about.

For a free copy of the “Accelerating Strategic Member Engagement” eBook, request your copy at www.potomaccore.com.