Association membership is still in an impressive post-pandemic rebound, according to MGI’s annual Membership Marketing Benchmark Report, with steady growth and increasing virtual engagement spurring cautious optimism among membership professionals. However, economic uncertainty and barriers to member communication pose persistent challenges, and future success will depend on innovative approaches to member acquisition, communication, and retention.
As part of Cuseum’s mission to help associations drive member engagement and loyalty, we have collected and distilled some of the 2022 report’s crucial insights below.
Read on for our key takeaways and analysis!
1. ENGAGEMENT DRIVES GROWTH IN KEY AREAS
2021 saw an overall rise in association membership, with 38% of associations indicating an increase in total membership, up from 26% last year.
So, what’s driving this uptrend? According to the data, it’s engagement.
There is a strong correlation between engagement rates and renewals – but also, somewhat more surprisingly, between engagement and new member growth: executives at associations with the highest membership growth over the last several years say that boosting engagement and participation has been key to their success. Conversely, associations with declining renewal & acquisition rates consistently cite lack of engagement as a top barrier to acquisition and retention.
29% of associations increased their budget for engagement in 2022, and higher-growth associations were more likely to have increased their budget for awareness, recruitment, and engagement. By investing in engagement, associations are more likely to secure new members, bolster renewals, and establish stable retention.
2. RETENTION STARTS ON DAY ONE
Successfully securing new constituents is vital – but how do you ensure they’ll maintain their membership status further down the line?
Mounting evidence suggests member retention starts on day one: traditional outreach to new members, including direct mail, phone calls, and email, continue to be effective, but there is growing evidence that updating and diversifying onboarding practices is key to boosting member renewals and enduring loyalty.
Associations that saw the biggest increase acquisitions and renewals were more likely to invest in alternative digital channels to welcome newcomers, including invitations to join online communities, create membership profiles, and engage with the associations’ social media accounts. Implementing user-friendly tools, like apps or a self-serve member portal can help streamline member operations and cultivate a more enjoyable and efficient member experience long term.
3. VIRTUAL IS STILL ON THE RISE
Even as the pandemic recedes and in-person public life resumes, the rates of participation in virtual programs and events are still on the rise. Over half of surveyed associations reported an increase in attendance and engagement at virtual events, including remote professional development meetings, public social networks, virtual conferences, and webinars. And even as associations resume in-person offerings, there has been a decline in onsite event participation, suggesting a sustained preference for digital engagement among members.
Many associations have successfully leveraged digital content as a membership incentive, reporting increases in constituent participation and retention as a result of instituting members-only or free-to-members virtual programming.
As one membership leader put it, “Digital content—podcasts, interviews, webinars— have been a great tool for engaging members and letting them tell their stories.”
4. COMMUNICATION DEEPENS MEMBER RELATIONSHIPS
Identifying barriers to success over the last year, more associations reported having difficulty communicating value than any other external challenge. Unsurprisingly, those associations with declining membership, acquisition, and renewal rates were more likely to struggle with communicating their value offers, but it is a daunting task even for associations with more robust member bases.
Surprisingly, considering the pervasive nature of this challenge, many associations are not taking advantage of new opportunities and channels for communicating value offers. For example, the open rate for SMS / text messages is a stunning 98% (far outpacing that of email, which lags at a mere 20%) – and yet according to this year’s MGI report, associations do not favor SMS as a tool to reach prospects or current constituents, and only 4% report employing it to re-engage lapsed members.
It doesn’t matter how valuable your offerings, programs, or benefits are – if you can’t effectively demonstrate that value to constituents, they will lack sufficient incentive to become members or renew their memberships. “We need to learn more about how to sell our membership,” expressed one association executive. “Our organization has had much more competition in the last 10 years and we need to figure out how to distinguish ourselves. Why are we different and why you should belong.”
Learn how our new SMS – Text Messaging software solution can help you deepen member engagement and loyalty through real-time alerts, offers, and other on-demand communication options.
5. INVEST IN STRATEGIC DIGITAL MARKETING
Calculating the return on investment for digital marketing can be complicated, but when the right tools are used, it’s remarkably effective. According to the MGI report, not only does membership growth have a strong positive correlation with marketing budget, but high growth associations were significantly more likely to devote more resources to marketing. Not only that, those same associations were much more likely to employ a diverse range of digital marketing channels such as “retargeting, lead generation content marketing, search engine marketing, LinkedIn paid advertising, and paid banner ads on other websites.”
Association membership professionals also listed weekly recruitment emails, social media, website and newsletter ads as their most effective marketing initiatives, and pointed to the value of special offers like introductory discounts, referral incentives, and even eye-catching initiatives like contests: one association executive credits a prize-draw contest with driving 15-20% of their annual acquisitions.
And yet, despite evidence of digital advertising’s increasing efficacy compared to email, phone calls and direct mail, only 11% of associations use paid digital ads to re-engage lapsed members, and more than one-third do not use any paid digital marketing at all!
6. INNOVATION IS CHANGING THE GAME
“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat.”
– Steve Jobs
In times of uncertainty, institutional innovation can seem like a luxury, rather than an imperative. However, evidence suggests that the more innovative an association is, the higher its potential for growth. Executives at associations that saw their membership grow over the past few years are more likely to describe their organizations as innovative, and they are significantly more likely to have put processes in place to foster innovation.
Compared to previous years, an overall higher percentage of associations are focusing on encouraging innovation: approximately one-quarter of associations currently have a framework in place for innovation and new ideas (up from one-fifth last year) and one-third of associations are working toward implementing such frameworks – an increase from one-quarter of associations reporting the same approach 2021.
What do these frameworks and processes look like?
63% of associations say they nurture innovation by investing in communication and collaboration, while about half report doing so by focusing on hiring the right people and encouraging their innovative employees. In addition to communication and employee support, the most successful associations also identify “forgiving mistakes” as key to promoting innovation, suggesting the importance of creating a professional environment that nurtures creative risk-taking and courage.
Associations have faced a host of challenges over the past couple of years, but evidence indicates that by diversifying outreach and communication channels, and by investing in enhanced digital programming and innovation, membership professionals can effectively drive growth, engagement, and retention.
We hope you found these insights and strategies from MGI’s 2022 Membership Marketing Report helpful – keep them in mind as you work on strengthening your association’s membership program and fostering an engaged and loyal member base.
Learn more about our digital solutions to enhance your association membership program by booking a free, no-pressure demo today!