Member Connectedness and Loyalty: Recap from ASAE Annual

At the Community Brands (and YourMembership) booth at ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Exposition this year, attendees participated in an interactive activity wall to capture what they want their members to experience. The reoccurring themes we saw were: 

• Connected experiences  
• Engagement and networking opportunities  
• Professional success  
• Seamless online experiences  
• Value 

The theme that really stood out for me was “connected experiences.” During these times, people long for meaningful experiences with like-minded peers who they feel a connection. Associations are pivotal to bring those connections alive. 

Ironically, the session I co-presented with Pam Loeb, our partner at Edge Research, about “Key Metrics to Identify Member Loyalty,” focused on connected experiences. 

 Here are some key data points we shared from the Community Brands research study on Member Loyalty:  

 4 metrics to identify member loyalty

Exactly what does loyalty look like for membership organizations? To set a benchmark for measuring loyalty, we focused on four key metrics: member satisfaction, likelihood to renew, feeling connected to organization and the Net Promoter Score or one’s likelihood to recommend an organization. 

The current state of member loyalty

The good news is, overall professional membership organizations continue to see healthy indicators around member satisfaction and retention. Most members surveyed (74 percent) say they are very likely to renew. 

Member satisfaction and member connection   

Even though 84 percent of members surveyed are satisfied with their membership organization, only 55 percent feel connected. With only 55 percent feeling connected, no wonder the connected experiences theme emerged from the activity wall at the booth. But, how do we increase that metric and get members to feel more connected? 

 A few strategies to consider improving member connectedness include: 

 Conduct surveys and focus groups to understand your members better  

• Understand what online channels your members are interacting with 
• Meet your members where they are  
• Personalize content and communications  

 Keep in mind, a connected and loyal member is worth more than a new member. Download the Loyalty Member Study to learn more about loyalty metrics and segments to move members up the loyalty spectrum.