Real Value
This is a time when many individuals and businesses need extra support and assistance than ever before; if your membership is declining, chances are, you are not currently providing what your members need.

9 times out of 10, when I look at a membership organization that is not doing well, I can see right off the bat that something is missing in their member benefits: REAL VALUE. Of course there is always the networking and social value which can be a great incentive to entice new members; but during a tight economy, people tend to get really practical and streamline their activities – items not directly related to their bottom line could get cut.

But there is also a great opportunity to entice new members as new businesses are started up by people who lost their jobs. Even if your membership does not consist of business owners, you can attract new members that are networking or looking for job and volunteer opportunities.

First Things First

Things to Do Now BEFORE making any major decisions about your organizational budget

1. Evaluate your membership trends to see what can be attributed to the economy and what can be attributed to other factors i.e. lack of innovative new programs and benefits that directly meet the changing needs of your membership, lack of leadership opportunities for members (See article on Membership Musical Chairs). This may be a very difficult step; it’s much easier to blame the economy than to take a good hard look internally to see where your weak areas are and work on shoring them up.

2. Survey Your Members – this is CRUCIAL but does not need to be a huge affair. Put together a quick survey, with an incentive for responding by a specific date, and ASK them why they will or will not be renewing, why they left and provide a list of potential new programs and benefits that they may be interested in to gauge their specific needs in this economy. Every business expert on the planet will tell a business owner to survey their clients regularly but many membership organizations don’t do this.



3. Use your survey results to ADD VALUE to all your programs and services and member benefits. In March 2009, the NAPPS reported a large increase in their membership specifically because many more people were starting up pet-related businesses. What value do they offer? They use their website and marketing budget to actively promote member’s businesses specifically and the industry overall. Members receive free forms and documents they need for their businesses, many discounts from outside service providers, and valuable training opportunities through an annual conference and teleconferences. You may need to refocus your programs, less on social activities and more on educational opportunities and advocacy issues.

4. COMMUNICATE that value. Most membership organizations aren’t using the main page of their website as a sales pitch for membership. Yes, you need to show the upcoming luncheon schedule to your current members but the majority of your space should be aimed at attracting new members. Get rid of the president’s message, the boring mission statement and really show the benefits of joining. And don’t just list the benefits; really think about what your potential members need right now and focus on that – find someone with marketing experience to help you write the copy. Tell people how you can help them address economic issues. You also more than EVER need to communicate more regularly with your current members through enewsletters, email and phone calls.

Related Articles:
The Economy Blame Game
Membership Musical Chairs – Identifying factors that may be hindering membership retention and growth
Membership Area – Don’t make me memorize another password unless you’ve got something really cool in there

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