Just 58% of members of professional associations receive messaging from the organizations at least weekly, which is well below alumni associations at 75% and trade group 63%.
Of course, being a season tickets holder of a professional sports team tops everything at 85% receiving at least one weekly message.
“New member acquisition” was the top priority among respondents across all organization types to a report “The Benefits Of Belonging” by iSeatz, a New Orleans-based association and rewards firm. Building community was the key priority for membership organizations, with engagement-related goals and priorities also surfacing from our survey data. Revenue/dues growth was the second-most important goal, the data showed.
While value and money-saving are still important factors, another important motivator is their connection with the organization, according to researchers. “Whether they belong to a professional association so they can network with others in their field to advance their career or a social/service club to volunteer or expand their community, consumers who belong to membership organizations are driven by shared interests and values at a greater rate than consumers who belong to more traditional loyalty programs,” the researcher opined.
The researchers concluded that while to some extent, member-based organizations do recognize interests and strive to deliver a valuable membership experience to constituents, they haven’t focused on what major consumer brands have already realized — that a compelling loyalty program can spur member engagement and boost revenue — even if the organization itself is not related to travel or rewards.
Top areas for investment during the next 6 to12 months include marketing 60%, personalization 37%, AI and machine learning 30%, and, engagement features 26%.
This data was generated by a survey conducted in December 2023 of 251 professionals in the United States who manage or direct membership organizations or are responsible for member attraction, retention, or engagement, as well as 2,130 American consumers who currently belong to a club, association, trade group, or other private membership organization or are members of a subscription program. The composition of the consumer survey pool was representative of the U.S. population in terms of demographics, and the professionals surveyed included decision-makers at for-profit and nonprofit membership organizations.
According to the researchers, survey data shows that while value remains important to members, the traditional transactional approach to loyalty will only go so far toward engaging and retaining them. Even in commercial environments, transactional loyalty is better suited to converting new customers to repeat customers. A loyalty strategy that reinforces advocacy and social loyalty will be more effective for membership organizations where member affinity already skews toward emotion.
