Identifying and Solving Systemic Membership Marketing Challenges

With the New Year, it is time to evaluate what worked and what did not in your membership marketing efforts. But this year, why not try a different approach? Instead of compiling a long list of problems and opportunities in your program, why not step back and look at the challenges systematically?

As I have evaluated membership programs over the years, I have witnessed a consistent pattern. In most instances, fixing everything is impossible, but identifying a single systemic impediment empowers membership growth. In other words, don't try to plug every hole in the proverbial leaking dam. Discover what is causing the leaks and work on it.

The good news is that based on real-world experience and 14 years of data collected from thousands of associations through the annual, industry-wide Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, we have discovered the common obstacles that constrain membership growth. Identifying and fixing one or more of these roadblocks for your organization is a powerful lever for change. Here are five of the common membership marketing impediments.

Undefined Value Proposition

Presenting a clear value proposition is foundational to membership marketing. Sadly, in the most recent benchmarking research, only 10% of associations say they offer a very compelling value proposition. The real issue for many groups may not be that they do not provide attractive benefits but that they lack an understanding of the value they deliver. Members do not write a check to renew if they do not see a return on investment. Yet, in the same report, the median renewal rate for associations is 84%. This apparent contradiction indicates that many associations may not fully recognize the value that they are providing. Taking the time to interact with members and conducting research allows an association to clearly define its value proposition and learn how to message that value to prospects and members.

Inattention to Membership Recruitment

The ongoing responsibilities of serving members and urgent activities can block out the essential job of adding new members to the top of the funnel. However, not consistently asking prospective members to join represents one of the top hindrances to growth. Years of benchmarking data affirm a strong correlation between increased new member input and overall membership growth. Renewing current members is essential, but renewal rates are hard to change and have remained remarkably consistent for years. You cannot renew your way to growth. However, adding more new members by prioritizing staffing and budgets devoted to recruitment will often ignite gains for an association.

Overuses of a Single Channel

Many associations that focus on membership marketing find results diminishing by relying on a single tactic to add and retain members. Pandemic-caused cancellations hurt groups that relied on an annual meeting to attract members. Others dependent on email have seen drops in open and click rates through overuse. The solution to ensuring your message gets through is developing a portfolio of communication channels using an omnichannel strategy. This approach uses many methods like mail, phone, social media, paid digital ads, and sales efforts to meet prospects and members where they are most likely to interact. There is no single stand-alone marketing channel that can fully support membership marketing.

Underfunding Membership Efforts

Acquiring new members is one of an association's most expensive marketing initiatives. But compared to any other associated product or service, membership generates a predictable ongoing revenue stream. An organization with an 80% renewal rate will keep members on average for five years. Plus, members tend to be the best non-dues customers for an association. So, for example, an organization with dues of $150 and non-dues revenue of $50 will see a lifetime value from a new member of $1,000 on average.   This return warrants a substantial investment. Benchmarking data supports the impact of increasing membership marketing budgets. Over the past year, there was a correlation with better results for those groups who boosted their membership marketing spending. Conversely, those reporting declines in membership counts tend to have decreased their budgets.

Lack of Innovation

Focusing on organizational innovation is another vital driver of membership growth. While only 29% of associations consider themselves Extremely or Very innovative, these groups are significantly more likely to see increased membership counts. At the macro level, innovation may require reevaluating your membership package. Is deploying a tiered membership structure or offering a hybrid membership where either an individual or an organization can join an option to review? At the micro level, one of the most significant opportunities to innovate is through market testing, tracking results, and analyzing the returns of your marketing campaigns. Building a testing orientation into marketing efforts allows you to continually adapt as your audiences tell you what they want through their responses. Meaningful elements to test can include who you target in your promotions, what special offers you make, how you present your messages, and what combination of channels works best.

Increasing an association's membership remains an achievable goal. Year after year, benchmarking research highlights that many more associations see their membership counts going up than those experiencing a decline. The opportunity for growth often comes down to focusing on high-leverage strategies with a proven track record of success. Take advantage of these growth drivers to build a thriving membership program.

A version of this article first appeared in the Associations Evolve 2023 & Beyond Journal.