Members are the backbone of every association, but when is the last time your organization checked in on its member relations?

“The relationship your association has with its members can make or break a lot of important metrics for your organization including member retention, satisfaction, and much more,” says Audra Hopkins on the WebScribble blog. “The work you put into onboarding new members will be lost if you can’t keep those members content with what you offer them and how you treat them over time.”

To improve the dynamic, start by making it a priority and assigning specific staff roles to it. “With a trusted member of your team steering the ship, you can be sure that relationship building tasks will be taken seriously and be carried into fruition,” Hopkins says.

From there, make sure to check in from time to time to ensure that your association is providing the value that members signed up for. “If you want to nurture a healthier relationship with members, you’ll want them to feel like they’re getting only the best and most exclusive inside information from you that can help them further grow their career and life paths,” she says.

A great place to start: Compile a master list of resources that members can turn to when they’re in need of help. “For example, are your members having trouble moving up in their career?” Hopkins asks. “Consider making a master list of educational and professional resources that those looking for it can refer back to.”

When to Send an Email

"Think critically about each email you send. Is this email contributing to the health of your email communication channel or is it degrading it?" @SmoothThePath sheds light on research and tactics to help emails be more engaging! https://t.co/gvySKs7bpN pic.twitter.com/dzXVKWc1Ep

— Sidecar (@sidecarglobal) March 5, 2019

Email is often the most used form of communication for associations, though Amanda Kaiser writes on Association Success that email is in trouble. “Our members, unfortunately, are predisposed to ignoring our email messages,” she writes. “They receive 100 to 200 emails a day, so the quicker they can process all that information the happier they are.”

That means, in order to be read, your emails should present critical, valuable information. Before sending out any online communication, Kaiser recommends asking the following question: Is this email contributing to the health of your email-communication channel, or is it degrading it? If the information is essential and is presented without clickbait, sent it. If not, skip it to preserve your email reputation.

Other Links of Note

Weddings and business meetings are very different—but there are some ideas the latter can borrow from weddings, from BizBash.

Improve your nonprofit’s video skills with these three tips from the Bloomerang blog.

The role of a mature leader fits into five archetypes, according to Stanford Social Innovation Review.

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