Associations often rely on surveys to better understand the interests and needs of their members. However, members may not always know what they want.

“We tend to focus member surveys on member needs, but it can be hard for members to articulate what’s going to help them, especially if the product or service doesn’t exist,” said Nikki Golden, CAE, strategist at Association Laboratory.

To uncover what offerings will best support members going forward, associations should consider incorporating environmental scanning into their efforts and then including volunteers in brainstorming new solutions.

Understand the Operating Environment

Including environmental scanning questions in a member survey allows associations to take a closer look at any internal or external trends affecting their members.

According to Golden, these questions can include areas of inquiry around issues that members see impacting their work in the next three to five years. Depending on the industry the association represents, these may include legislative, regulatory, technology, and workforce changes.

“It’s also good to understand the goals your members are looking to accomplish in the next three years,” Golden said. “If your association is a trade association, it might be good to ask about personal and companywide goals.”

She also recommends including questions about important decisions members will need to make during a given period and where they look for answers if their association can’t help them.

“These answers can offer a competitive analysis and reveal some information about what things members don’t have information on that they need,” Golden said.

Knowing the issues members are seeing on the horizon and what they’re looking to accomplish, associations can then start making connections to their current products and services. For example, do you have content planned around an upcoming regulatory change that affects the majority of members?

Brainstorm Solutions with Volunteers

Once you have the results in hand, Golden suggests bring staff and members together to brainstorm solutions around the issues the survey revealed. These conversations are even more important for organizations trying to unearth what products and services their members need.

“Using a group of members as part of the brainstorming process gives you that insider perspective to help you as staff interpret what would help your members best in the areas in which they need the most help,” Golden said.

For example, the environmental-scanning questions often provide a starting point to talk with members about the issues impacting the industry, what they’re trying to accomplish, and what kinds of support the association can provide in those areas.

“Association staff may have blinders about a specific product or service, so brainstorming with volunteers can be really useful,” Golden said. “Everyone brings a different perspective to the table, so the strengthen is in the analysis side of a group of members and staff coming together to discuss what they think the data says and what information might be missing to make decisions.”

In terms of who to invite to that brainstorming session, Golden recommends a diverse cross-section of members who represent different regions, career stages, and member categories.

“This group is made up of your members, so they’re in a great position to put the pieces together for the community and use the data to talk through with association staff about innovative ideas to benefit the industry or profession,” Golden said.

[Andrii Yalanskyi/ISTOCK]