Your association’s sustainability and success depend on its ability to grow. With the growth of your member base comes improved financial health, access to networking opportunities, and increased availability of other resources.
There are several steps you can (and probably already do) take to reach more members, such as leveraging social media to attract potential members and engage existing ones. However, stagnation or plateaus in member growth can leave your association wondering, “How do we go up from here?”
That’s where this guide comes in! Let’s answer some of the frequently asked questions about membership growth to determine how you can expand your association’s community.
1. Which is better: member acquisition or retention?
There are advantages to acquiring new members and retaining existing ones, and balancing the two is the key to growing your association as a whole. New and current members alike can grow your association’s revenue and build your community, especially when you choose association management software (AMS) to support your acquisition and retention efforts.
Let’s break down the benefits and strategies for each one:
- Member acquisition. Attracting new members brings fresh perspectives and ideas to your association. Such expansion can also lead to greater influence and broader recognition in your industry. Acquisition typically involves:
- Investing in online marketing
- Expanding your membership benefits
- Implementing referral programs
- Engaging in community outreach
- Member retention. Retaining existing members is not only less expensive than acquisition, but it also contributes to a strong, engaged community by fostering a culture of loyalty. To retain members, your association might:
- Ask for member feedback
- Show appreciation for members
- Implement loyalty programs
- Personalize member experiences and communications
Acquisition and retention strategies must be able to adapt to your association’s growth. For example, you may expand your online marketing strategy to include more channels as your acquisition rate increases or automate membership renewal reminders when there are too many to manage manually. To accommodate this growth, your association should invest in scalable tools that can streamline your acquisition and retention efforts.
2. How does member engagement influence retention?
View member loyalty as the product of your association’s ongoing engagement efforts. As you work to keep members deeply involved, they’ll become increasingly loyal to your organization. That’s how engagement influences retention—it’s the stepping stone that moves members from acquisition to long-term involvement.
Double the Donation’s guide to donor stewardship points out that deep relationships with your organization’s constituents can lead to long-term involvement and an increase in the ways they get involved. For nonprofits, this might mean a donor graduates from giving a one-time gift to the commitment of giving monthly. However, for your association’s members, this could look like upgrading to higher membership tiers or volunteering at a conference.
Roughly half of associations identify lack of engagement as the top reason members don’t renew. Conversely, members who find value in their membership are those who stay actively involved in your association. You can expect these individuals to renew their memberships and remain deeply connected with your organization for the long term.
3. What role does technology play in membership growth?
Technology is transforming the nonprofit sector by supporting data-driven decision-making and automating administrative processes. Fortunately, associations don’t simply have to depend on general solutions for different tasks—an intuitive AMS consolidates all necessary features into one tool that is custom-built with associations in mind.
This solution has a direct impact on membership growth through features such as:
- Membership management: Managing member data, including membership levels and renewal statuses, is essential to personalizing and automating communications from your association.
- Event planning and professional development: Research shows that events are one of the most successful channels for recruiting new members. Event planning tools can help your association host successful and engaging events that prompt attendees to deepen their involvement with your organization.
- E-commerce and fundraising: Improving transaction processes boosts the trustworthiness of your association. As a result, members can manage their payments quickly and easily, such as paying membership dues or buying event tickets online.
- Data analytics and reporting: Insights into membership trends can help your team understand member behaviors and preferences. With robust analytics, you can tailor your acquisition and retention efforts accordingly to best engage your members.
- Marketing: Effective marketing targets both potential and existing members and entices them to actively participate in your association. Marketing tools can help you personalize your promotional materials, automate workflows, and maximize the visibility of your communications to efficiently grow member involvement.
Staying up-to-date with the latest technology trends can help your association utilize the tools at its disposal to streamline its outreach efforts and increase its success. And, remember, your tech should be able to handle your association’s evolving needs as your member base grows over time.
A scalable solution that grows with your association will prevent your team from spending the time, resources, and money needed to implement a new system later. Plus, as technology itself evolves, a solution that’s equipped to add in new tools or integrate with cutting-edge applications is vital to supporting your association’s growth.
4. How can associations measure the success of their membership growth efforts?
When it comes to understanding how your association performs in its membership growth efforts, data is your best friend.
The key metrics to track include:
- Member acquisition rate, which provides the rate at which new members join the association. This indicates the effectiveness of your outreach efforts.
- Member retention rate, which calculates the percentage of members who renew their membership at the end of their subscription period. This metric offers insight into member satisfaction and the value they derive from your organization.
- Average membership lifetime, or the average duration for which individuals remain members of the association. This data helps your team assess members’ long-term satisfaction.
- Event attendance rate, or the ratio of total members to members who attend your events. This indicator can be a measure of engagement and indicate members’ interest in your association’s activities.
Use analytics tools to monitor specific metrics that reflect member engagement. Using an AMS that is integrated with your CRM or built-in analytics features is the most efficient way to track this data, gain valuable insights, and apply your findings to your membership growth strategies.
For example, Protech’s solution allows users to create custom reports and dashboards to easily visualize their data. Since this tool integrates with Microsoft solutions, associations can leverage Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) to quickly gain actionable insights into member data.
The cornerstone of membership growth is just that: growth. No matter what strategies your association plans to implement after reading this guide, your approach should remain flexible as your community expands and changes.
Jake Fabbri, Chief Marketing Officer at TogetherWork
Fonteva
With over two decades of experience marketing association technology, Fonteva CMO Jake Fabbri has developed a deep understanding of the unique needs of associations and the challenges technology can solve. Jake’s marketing expertise has been honed by demonstrated excellence in the areas of lead generation, content marketing, marketing automation, and events.
