Do you know why members value your organization? Is it because of the educational offerings? Frequent updates on industry trends? Or maybe it’s access to your job board, membership directory, or active member portal? Whatever it is, make sure you know. If you can consistently improve the aspects of your membership that members value, there’s a higher likelihood of them renewing for the next year.
How Can You Share Your Value With Prospects?
Knowing why members return year after year also helps how to present your group to prospects. For example, If the majority of your members use the member portal to access special documents, it’s likely prospective members will find value in it as well.
So what if you’re not sure? Gather feedback from different groups within your association. Ask them what peeked their interest initially, why they’ve continued to renew, and what they’re looking forward to.
What To Do With Survey Results?
Now that you’ve got concrete information on why members join and why they renew, you’re ready to build successful strategies.
Eliminate the useless
As an association admin, you do your best to serve the unique needs of each member. In reality, however, there’s no way to create experiences that work for everyone. As you filter through survey results, pinpoint items that have little to zero member interaction. Could this module / experience / offering be eliminated to save admin time and money? Do a cost analysis and see where you could trim the long list of to-dos.
Improve the best
If a majority of your members list the career center as one of your top 3 offerings, focus efforts on improving this module. Look at ways other organizations are using their own job board – how can you mimic their success or avoid their mishaps? Configure a short poll in the member center that collects feedback on specific job board needs.
Add something new
Leave a comment section in your survey for additional feedback. Is there something your group is missing? What benefits could you add to improve your membership?
If a particular member or group provided a large chunk of feedback, consider reaching out to conduct a more exploratory interview. If they’ve been with your organization for many years, they’ll probably provide some pretty insightful feedback.
It can be challenging to always know exactly what a member values about your group and how that affects their experience and likelihood to renew. Stay on top of it by frequently requesting feedback with surveys, polls, and interviews.
