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4 Benefits of Offering Diverse Membership Options

MemberClicks Avatar MemberClicks February 19, 2019
Table of Contents
2 min read

benefits of offering diverse association membership options

Every member-based organization goes through growing pains. It’s natural to see an ebb and flow when it comes to growth and retention!

But if you’re feeling a little stagnant, it’s time to take a look at shaking it up by diversifying your membership options. Sound scary? It doesn’t have to be! Read through these benefits if you need some convincing:

Get your members to care about their benefits

Membership simply isn’t one-size-fits-all. Just think: A member joined at any level is better than not at all. Opening the door to someone who would need the most benefits while accommodating someone who only needs a few (and everyone in between) means you’ll have a greater chance of acquiring more overall.

Build those levels with your potential members and, mostly importantly, their needs in mind! For example, a professional organization could offer a recent graduate membership; a chamber could offer one for small businesses. Meeting your members where they are will foster a membership that really cares about its benefits. (Rather than forcing them into benefits that don’t make sense for them.)

Ensure relevancy and value

Revisiting the recent graduate membership example: What benefits would they need in the first 5 years out of college? What about 5-10 years post-grad? 10+? A member’s needs will change as they grow throughout their career, and your benefits should follow suit.

This kind of thinking can be applied to any membership type. Following your members as they grow their career, business, organization, industry, etc. will help your association or chamber remain relevant and valuable, no matter what changes come along!

Earn some extra revenue

Make your membership levels work for you! There are a couple of scenarios where these leveled packages will help you earn revenue. One, is the natural ability to upsell your members into larger levels as they grow like we outlined above.

Another, would be to offer certain out-of-package benefits a-la cart. They can pay a one-time fee to use that benefit (hello, non-dues revenue!) or tack it onto their package and roll it into their dues. Get creative!

Easily prove membership value

By carefully building packages that benefit different types of members and allowing them to add benefits as needed, you’re intentionally creating more value for each individual member. And they’ll feel that at retention time! You don’t want to leave your members questioning what they’re getting out of benefits they aren’t using. Making sure each member is receiving the benefits that makes the most sense for them will make renewal season way less stressful.

Now, we know that this kind of fundamental change to your organization sounds tough – but it doesn’t have to be! With a little preparation (and the help of your membership management software) you can easily make the switch in no time. Our free guide will show you how!

Free Member Retention Guide

Ready to retain members and keep them coming back forever and ever? This guide will teach you everything you need to know about member retention. We cover all the basics, like the first steps to member retention and how to map out your member journey. From there, we dive a bit deeper into retention tips.

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