Member loyalty and engagement trends are strong, but could they falter? Here’s how to make sure they don’t.
Association industry research shows positive member engagement and loyalty trends. However, the same research suggests that associations might need to work on their member engagement strategies to ensure they don’t put those trends at risk.
Member loyalty and engagement trends
Part of the 2023 Association Trends Study by Community Brands delves into member loyalty and engagement trends to help understand how members are feeling about their association. Findings from the study show that member loyalty and engagement remain solid – with member intent to renew up slightly from 2022.
However, when association professionals in the study were asked about member engagement, the findings weren’t as positive. Only a quarter say they have an organization-wide engagement strategy. When asked to rate their organization’s member experience, less than a third express strong confidence in their organization’s strategy, and only a quarter say their organization is “very effective” at delivering an industry-leading member experience.
So, while member engagement and loyalty remain positive, there’s a risk that they could falter without a stronger and more strategic focus on member engagement.
Two tips to keep association member engagement and loyalty trends positive
To keep member engagement and loyalty strong, it’s important to have a comprehensive member engagement strategy in place. Here are two tips:
1. Work within your organization to create a member engagement strategy that:
- Includes all departments for a more consistent member experience across the entire organization.
- Emphasizes high-value member engagement activities. Community Brands research indicates that these types of activities include working with a mentor, taking a certification or accreditation program, belonging to a student chapter, and taking continuing education classes.
- Prioritizes the engagement channels that members prefer. The 2023 Association Trends Study shows that the top two engagement channels are email and online member community.
2. Invest in technology that will help you execute your member engagement strategy:
- Provide your members with an online community to connect, learn, share ideas, and become loyal advocates. The 2023 Association Trends Study includes several data points that indicate an online community can drive member engagement and loyalty. For example, nearly half of members in the study (47 percent) have used their organization’s online community. Those who have used it report higher loyalty metrics. They also report a strong sense of community (52 percent) versus those who don’t (20 percent).
- Use association management software (AMS) with modern engagement tools, such as process automation, engagement scoring, built-in text messaging capabilities, and built-in online community functionality.
- Look for association software solutions – including AMS, learning management system (LMS), event management, and career center solutions – that integrate, bringing together all of your member engagement data in one place (your AMS). This gives you a more complete picture of your members to help you deliver a better member experience.
