It’s no secret associations are having a difficult time recruiting and retaining members due to a perceived lack of value in benefits and offerings. The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) emphasizes the need to identify an answer to “What’s in it for me?” New and seasoned members need more convincing than ever to join an association and renew membership. Long gone are the days of life-long memberships and dues paid without question.
In order to achieve greatness for an association, Association Headquarters (AH) believes an organization needs multi-dimensional growth, engaged and disciplined leadership, intelligent use of technology and an adherence to mission. Four of AH’s client-partners lived by these core values and exceeded their 2012 membership growth goals by an average of 11 percent. They achieved this by adding value through member benefits, motivating with incentives, fostering innovation, and strategically planning meetings.
Synopsis: According to a 2011 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) survey, associations experienced an average membership growth of only two percent. Associations are being challenged now more than ever to increase membership numbers. When membership development programs at Association Headquarters were combined with added value, innovation, strategic planning and incentives, four clients saw an average of 11 percent increase in membership in 2012.
Add Value through Member Benefits
Members are inundated with groups offering similar benefits, possibly at a lesser cost. If they seek industry information, Google is a powerful tool, and it costs nothing but a few minutes of time. This is why organizations need to provide valuable materials and benefits the target audience can’t get anywhere else.
The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) began to notice decreased member engagement after each annual meeting. The association reviewed its education calendar and re-evaluated its benefits to engage members throughout the year, not just in the months leading up to the annual meeting.
To provide value through an added benefit, AAHFN’s board of directors developed an additional meeting with staff members, which included hot topics in the heart failure community at the beginning of the year to supplement the organization’s annual conference in the summer. This addition kept members engaged and membership numbers up as they received additional discounts and access to networking meet-and-greets with this new educational opportunity. But AAHFN knew it needed to do more.
The Heart Failure Certification program marked its second year in 2012, and the association saw this as an opportunity to further increase engagement. The association added a new publication to its package of member benefits called Heart Failure Nursing Certification: Core Curriculum Review. This content piece is available to members at a discounted rate and contains valuable information to help heart failure nurses prepare for the certification exam. Membership grew because nurses were excited education was being offered in their specialty, and they could now be recognized for their commitment through the association’s certification board.
The thorough evaluation and development of new member benefits directly resulted in their highest annual meeting attendance ever and a nine percent jump in membership.
Motivate with Incentives
Incentives motivate people to join or renew their memberships. In its first year as an AH client partner, the Society for Information Management (SIM) saw a 12 percent jump in membership, exceeding its growth goal by seven percent. One of the reasons for this growth was the result of reinventing the way the group retained members on a national and chapter level. The Society instituted renewal incentives, which increased early renewals. It also offered discounts for early renewals. The discounts decreased as time passed. This enticed members to renew as early as possible to save the most money on dues.
At the chapter level, SIM encouraged renewals through a contest. The chapter with the most renewals before a deadline was awarded a paid speaker of its choice at the next chapter event. Chapters were provided the tools needed, such as suggested social media posts and an online marketing tool kit, to market their benefits and programs. The tool kit contained templates, email best practices and a social media guide.
To increase the number of new members, SIM continued a member referral campaign but incentivized the campaign by giving away an iPad. Each time a new member noted a current SIM member as a reference, the current member’s name was entered into the drawing to win. This was also offered at the Chapter level, with a prize of $500 for the outreach program or scholarship foundation of the chapter with the most new members.
Foster Innovation to Remain Relevant
Associations are constantly challenged to remain relevant in a world where millennials are joining the workforce, technology continues to advance and transform our lives and budgets are tight. To keep an association relevant, one must make innovation a priority. Innovation allows associations to stay ahead of the curve and be at the forefront of members’ needs.
The Dermatology Nurses’ Association (DNA) took a proactive approach to member needs in 2012 to address declining convention attendance. The association collaborated with AH’s Industry Relations and MarCom (Marketing and Communications) team to boost convention attendance and membership numbers. The Industry Relations and MarCom teams surveyed members to find out why they were not attending conference, and the results were simple--nurses cannot take off work for long periods of time, and there is often no travel budget. To combat this common problem among associations, DNA created a virtual conference about Psoriasis. Through the virtual conference, members could network via online chats, access education on-demand and save on travel costs.
The Industry Relations team worked with DNA to coordinate a virtual exhibit hall, complete with sponsors, networking and live Q&A sessions. The event was held on a Saturday with four one-hour continuing education sessions. The event was held once in the morning and again in the afternoon to accommodate demanding schedules and those residing in all time zones. Not only was conference attendance made easy, but the price point was much lower than in-person event registration. The sessions were pre-recorded, and faculty was available at the close of each session for live Q&A. This virtual event was a complement to DNA’s annual convention and in no way dissuaded people from attending the in-person event. Instead, it gave members and non-members a taste of the type of education DNA offers, making them want even more!
DNA is the educational arm for dermatology nurses, and, in order for members to gain continuing education, the association recognized it needed to make this offering more accessible. In 2012, DNA also developed a webinar series spanning the year with topics of interest to the dermatology community. The association gauged member interest, discovered hot topics and executed the series. Some of the sessions included ways to increase public awareness through social media and methods for becoming a grassroots advocate for legislation impacting decisions on healthcare issues. Each webinar was recorded live and made available on demand for members to access at their convenience.
With the increase in educational opportunities presented to DNA’s community, a new brand was developed. The association called this educational series “Dermatology Delivered,” as the organization was delivering the latest and greatest in dermatological education directly to both members and non-members.
Following up with members who have not been more involved with DNA for more than two years (lapsed), as well as the annual renewal push in 2012, was also a focus of DNA’s efforts. The association opted to use a more visual approach with help from the AH MarCom team. An infographic was sent to lapsed and current members as a fun and quick way to provide information in an attention-grabbing and visually pleasing manner. Without reading a lot of text, members could see the benefits and discover information they may not have noticed if the message was sent in a long, bulleted fashion.
Plan your Meeting Strategically
Location, location, location. It’s probably no surprise that one of the most important factors in deciding to attend a meeting is location. The International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS) is represented by more than 40 countries and has been an AH client for a decade. It is a truly international society. Over the years, ILTS has noticed fluctuations in membership were dependent on meeting locations. The ILTS Annual International Congress is an important member benefit, as members receive a discount and unparalleled networking and educational opportunities. A thoughtful approach was taken to accommodate members from all over the world.
In 2012, the Society demonstrated membership growth of 12 percent because the Congress was held in San Francisco--a large healthcare and research hub. The city was strategically chosen for its ease of international travel. Additionally, there is a large transplant and research community established in and around the city. ILTS has a 96 percent member referral rate; therefore, the location was ideal for colleagues of members in the surrounding area to join the organization and conveniently attend the meeting. As an added incentive for members, the money saved on meeting registration more than paid for their membership for the year.
Deliver on Membership Needs
It is clear that determining member needs and delivering on them is important, and these membership growth numbers prove it. Once an association identifies its value and delivers on that value, recruitment and retention will follow. Always remember to focus on quality, not quantity. If an association is able to answer “What’s in it for me?” relevant value will be established. For additional information or to learn how AH can help achieve association greatness, contact us today.
