Almost 60 percent of associations saw their membership grow in 2013, according to the newly released “2014 Member Engagement and Performance Survey” from Advanced Solutions International (ASI).

The correlation between engagement and member growth is unmistakable—and the solution is inexorably linked.

But that means about 40 percent saw stagnant or declining membership last year, and depending on how you look at it, that can be good news or bad news for the association industry.

Early last month, Marketing General, Inc., released similar research findings from its 2014 “Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report.” MGI found that 53 percent of the almost 900 associations it surveyed reported an increase in membership last year.

MGI Vice President Eric Schonher declared it a win for the industry: “It’s good news. The industry continues to grow.”

ASI took a more glass-half-empty view of its survey findings and called the percentage of associations seeing stagnant and declining membership “troubling.” The group drew a link between that finding and the 40 percent of associations that reported that member engagement levels were either down or unchanged in 2013.

“The correlation between engagement and member growth is unmistakable—and the solution is inexorably linked,” the report noted.

Lack of engagement was also reported as the number-one reason why people chose not to renew memberships among the respondents of the MGI study.

The ASI survey highlighted a few potential sources of disconnect with members, including outdated member management systems. It also offered several tips to help increase member engagement and ultimately lead to better membership growth and retention:

• When determining which membership management system to choose for your association, consider test-driving different platforms to determine the best fit.
• Create a personalized web experience for your members.
• If you haven’t redesigned your website within the last three to five years, consider an update. “Three to five years is an eternity—especially when you’re trying to keep younger members interested, engaged, and plugged in,” the report noted.

Via http://associationsnow.com/2014/07/new-report-offers-tips-increasing-membership-engagement/

So, it has to be someone’s job to keep everyone connected and keep membership always in mind. Dan Ratner relishes that role. Maybe even a little too much.

“I am the guy staff members don’t want to make eye contact with in the hallway. I’m constantly pestering staff about what they are doing for members,” Ratner wrote last month in a discussion in ASAE’s Collaborate forum [member login required].

Director of membership development and industry outreach at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Ratner says “pestering” only half jokingly. I spoke with him last week to dig deeper on his thoughts on promoting a member-centric mindset at an association, and he says the first step is “being nosy,” so he can see how every part of the association factors into the member experience.

One year, Ratner bought small mirrors for the entire association’s staff with the words “remember retention” printed on them.

“In membership, at least in my current organization and in previous roles, you really have to know everything about what’s going on in the organization as the membership leader, because how does it affect your membership? What’s going on that really ends up impacting the membership experience? So, the nosiness is really about just making sure you are aware of those things, because a lot of times I’m the one getting the call from the members,” he says.

Ratner shared a few methods he has used for getting staff at ANSI and previous associations where he’s worked to put members first:

A monthly update on membership. He picks a few data points, works up some charts, and sends it out via email to staff at the same time every month. It’s short: two pages, with minimal text. Ratner says the reports spur conversations with colleagues. “The executive director or the other C-suite folks are coming to my office, saying, ‘OK, I’m not understanding why the numbers look like this on here,’ or ‘How can sales be up but revenues be down?’ So, I’ll explain the nuances of membership,” he says. “These data points at least give them the baseline and the foundation to ask other questions.”

Presentations in all-staff meetings. These are good opportunities to talk about membership themes, perhaps pulling quotes or lists from books and articles on membership, Ratner says.

Membership talks in staff orientations. Ratner says one of his previous associations developed an organization-wide retention plan, and a key part included a 10-minute visit from Ratner in mandatory staff orientations for all new employees. “We’d always talk through the main points of how they’re connected to membership, so on a daily basis they wouldn’t wonder. They would know they have an impact on our members,” he says.

“Remember retention” mirrors. One year, after member-retention goals weren’t met, Ratner bought small mirrors for the entire association’s staff with the words “remember retention” printed on them. “We handed them out to everyone and said, ‘OK, now, whenever you’re wondering who’s responsible for retention, you know, because it’s sitting on your desk and you can look in that mirror and know it’s you.’”

Ratner says he has also spent time listening in on customer service calls, asking IT for walk-throughs on fulfillment processes in the association’s database, and even volunteering to contribute to strategic planning, all in effort to understand as much as he can about the association and, in turn, spread the membership perspective throughout.

He also emphasizes the importance of data in changing staff minds about membership. (See item 2 in an article Ratner wrote for ASAE in 2012, “3 New Wakeup Calls for Change.”) Of course, that requires having good data about members, whether through surveys, engagement tracking, or both.

Despite carrying the flag for membership at the associations where he’s worked, Ratner has a measured take on how an association’s revenue should be generated. The discussion in Collaborate that he responded to had originally asked whether an association’s dues should be at least 50 percent of its overall revenue. Ratner says he thinks a good mix is roughly one-third dues revenue, one-third meetings and/or education, and one-third other nondues revenue. Balance is the key. “They should be interacting well together to boost each other’s growth,” he says. “The hard part is when one of the programs or one area goes off and ignores the membership side of things.”

On a basic level, every association employee knows his or her work affects and is affected by members, but it can be easy to forget in the course of day-to-day work. Ratner’s ideas for changing that dynamic are a great place to start. You could also focus on shifting the culture at your association, adopting staff incentive plans for improving member satisfaction, or even simply avoiding overloading your staff to the point that their work and the member experience suffer.

This is a challenge most association membership pros are familiar with.

Via http://associationsnow.com/2014/07/carry-flag-membership/

THE NEED

Following detailed consultation and analysis of the AHPA’S needs, Janet Pearson constructed a website tailored to deliver to these requirements.  They included:

• Membership management (joining & renewing)
• Event calendar & management
• Journal download system
• Newsletter & email system

RESULTS

As a result of automated systems being put in place, MemberMatic have relieved the burden for administrative staff.

• Very little staff time spent on the joining & renewing process.
• Improved communication through automated newsletters
• Easy content management for staff & stakeholders

IT’S A WIN FOR EVERYONE

Happy members can transact online, access from any location

The Board can now focus on their real roles… guiding the origanisation without the need to get involved in the day to day running of the organisation

The executive staff can spend time engaging with members and adding value to the organisation instead of licking stamps.

ACBO did not have a dedicated secretariat or staff, all systems & processes were handled manually and Board members had limited time to devote to running the 300 member association.  This limited the growth and development of the organisation.  It was acknowledged that there was a burning need to set up a secretariat and employ staff to run the association, which would free up the Board to develop the College.  In 2009 the Board appointed Veronica to this role, and the oganisation began to flourish.

THE NEED

Following detailed consultation and analysis of the College’s needs, Janet Pearson constructed a website tailored to deliver to these requirements.  They included:

• Membership management (joining & renewing)
• Online education system
• Event calendar & management
• Online shop
• Online member directory
• Journal download system
• Newsletter & email system

RESULTS

As a result of automated systems being put in place, this busy organisation is able to be run by only 1 full-time staff member.

• Membership of the organisation has risen by nearly 20%.
• Very little staff time spent on the joining & renewing process.
• Great demand for online education.
• Record conference enrolments, with no ticketing or payment management headaches
• Sales in the Online Shop add over $50,000 to the bottom line each year, with no outstanding debtors!

IT’S A WIN FOR EVERYONE

Happy members can transact online, access education & information from any location

The Board can now focus on their real roles… guiding the origanisation without the need to get involved in the day to day running of the College

The executive staff can spend time engaging with members and adding value to the organisation instead of licking stamps.