Increase Membership by Creating a Culture of Innovation
One silver lining of this awful pandemic is the awesome way associations are experimenting with ideas they once dismissed, like virtual conferences, online networking meetups, and free resources for non-members. Their risk-taking has been rewarded with new sources of revenue, deeper engagement with members (a leading indicator for higher retention), and increased membership conversions.
These results wouldn’t surprise the readers of the 2020 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report from Marketing General Inc. (MGI). In the benchmarking survey data, MGI found a correlation between innovation and membership growth.
We agree with the advice Tony Rossell, senior vice president of MGI, shared with Associations Now: “Don’t waste your association’s hardships. Use this time to innovate, to re-engage members, and make the changes you’ve perhaps been putting off for a long time.”
Innovation Drives Membership Value
Over the years, MGI’s survey reports have always pointed to membership value as the biggest challenge for associations. This year is no different. Association execs said their three biggest internal challenges to growing membership are:
- Difficulty in communicating membership value or benefits
- Insufficient staff
- Difficulty in proving membership ROI
Communicating membership value is essentially the same challenge as proving membership ROI. But what’s the real problem? Are you just not effectively getting the word out to members about membership benefits? Or does your membership value proposition need work?
The associations with growing memberships are the ones trying out new membership benefits. They’re in touch with membership (and prospect) needs and desires. They learn about interests and behavior from the data in their AMS and other systems.
They’re developing new programs for different membership segments, and sending out targeted marketing campaigns and newsletters. The MGI report found that associations with growing memberships are more likely to have a higher percentage of millennial members. Innovative associations are offering early career webinars and virtual happy hours, as well as leadership training for aspiring CEOs.
Associations with new digital products and services are enjoying both revenue and membership growth. Virtual events, online education, virtual networking meetups, and enhanced website resources are attracting a larger audience than usual.
MGI also learned that associations with new member growth also saw a significantly higher increase in conference/trade show attendance. With virtual or hybrid conferences here to stay, the impact on recruitment and retention is only going to increase—given the large audience they attract.
Don’t let up on innovation. Continue experimenting and improving the virtual experience. Try new session designs and formats, new event technology, and new networking activities.
Nurture a Culture of Innovation
MGI says, “Our data shows that a culture of innovation is the critical driver for creating member value.” An innovative culture doesn’t just happen, it requires an intentional effort.
Collaboration. Silos make innovation harder. Innovation requires conditions where:
- Diverse and different ideas and perspectives bounce off each other.
- Communication and knowledge-sharing go across department lines.
- Cross-departmental projects are encouraged and supported.
A spirit of collaboration reigns. Departments don’t compete for scarce resources. Instead, they work together to achieve organizational and departmental goals—like increasing membership value.
Expectations. Performance reviews reward the behavior you want to see—collaboration, creative thinking, and risk-taking—as long as it’s aligned with goals.
Learning. Not everything succeeds on the first try—or at all. Failures are acceptable if everyone learns from them. Don’t hide these teachable moments. Document them during project management retrospectives.
Leadership. The C-suite and board must model an innovative mindset and support an innovative culture. They must accept risk and the need for change. They must also provide channels for innovative ideas to rise up from every level of the organization.
Know-how. All staff must understand the organization’s goals and strategies so they can figure out whether their innovative ideas are aligned with the organization’s mission. They must learn how to analyze and share data and reports so they can make a business case for change.
Associations must invest in their staff’s professional development so they have the skills and knowledge to take an idea from brainstorming to implementation. Staff must understand the basic principles of change management and project management so their experiments have the best chance for success.
Develop a Process for Innovative Ideas
MGI found that associations with growing memberships over the past five years are significantly more likely to have a process in place for collecting and evaluating new ideas. Make it easy for anyone—no matter their job title or experience—to submit an innovative idea.
Staff who talk to “regular” members or chapters all the time have stories and ideas to share. For example, after frequently hearing members ask about monthly dues payments, the customer service team believes that idea has merit. But without a process in place, what would they do?
You need a plan for bringing these staff perspectives to the table, one that is intentionally inclusive. Put in place a process for staff to submit their ideas to the right decision-makers. Make sure it allows staff to submit ideas quietly in case they’re not comfortable sharing ideas in front of others.
Appoint a staff task force to oversee the innovation process and develop criteria for prioritizing new projects. This group makes sure everyone understands the process for submitting ideas. They provide guidance to co-workers as well as other resources, such as the strategic plan or useful data.
Take an Innovative Approach to Member Engagement
Innovation doesn’t only apply to new products and services. Nowadays, you must be innovative about increasing member engagement too. MGI reports that 78% of associations with increased renewals have a tactical plan to increase engagement.
You can’t just build new programs and hope members will come. You need a documented plan for engaging members and proving membership ROI. Experiment with new ways of promoting digital offerings and encouraging members to take advantage of them.
Membership marketing isn’t just for prospects, it continues throughout the membership journey, starting with new member onboarding. Introduce new members to the benefits of most value to them. A segmented onboarding campaign is a must for capturing their attention and proving the relevance of your membership value proposition. You can segment marketing and communications by:
- Career stage
- Job position
- Specialty
- Interest inventory
- Past behavior
Get specific with calls to action. Associations with a renewal rate of 80% or higher are significantly more likely to invite members to use their member portal or members-only website section.
Be open to experimenting with new marketing methods. MGI says the most commonly used digital marketing tools are Facebook paid advertising, search engine optimization, and retargeting. Associations with increases in new members and renewals are significantly more likely to use paid digital advertising to promote their webinars and annual conference/trade shows.
Imagine a new entry-level government affairs assistant wondering why the association doesn’t use Facebook advertising for the association’s webinars and conference. Not her department’s concern, she thinks, but she can’t help suggesting the idea. After the event attendance—and revenue—doubled, everyone on staff thinks she was a great hire.
There’s no going back to the old ways of doing things. We’re in different times now. Associations that experiment are associations that thrive. Make sure you’re partnering with an AMS vendor who offers software flexible enough to grow with you as you innovate. Request a demo now to learn more.