5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Association Memberships

Associations and their members should have a symbiotic relationship that benefits both groups equally. Your organization must keep members engaged by providing them with unique benefits and opportunities. In return, your members help keep your association operating by paying dues, participating in activities, and recommending your membership program to others. 

When your association provides valuable memberships, you’ll not only retain current members but also grow your association, boosting its reputation in your community and increasing your authority in your sector. 

To help your association achieve these benefits, this guide offers actionable recommendations for increasing your membership program’s value.

1. Establish Your Value Proposition

First, you need to be able to articulate why your membership program is valuable, who your audience is, and why that audience should join your association over similar organizations. 

This 1–2 sentence explanation is your value proposition, and it should guide how you build and market your membership program. Tradewing’s guide to member acquisition breaks down this concept into three essential pieces:

• Audience needs. What does your target audience need? For trade and professional associations, this is often networking opportunities, credential programs, or sources of up-to-date industry information. 
• Program benefits. How does your membership program address your audience’s needs? Assess your current offerings and compare them to your audience’s goals. For instance, if you’re in an industry that requires professionals to have certain certifications, then your learning and credentialing courses may be your most valuable benefits. 
• Association differentiators. What does your association offer that makes it unique? This should not just be how your membership program differs from other associations’ offerings, but why that difference matters to prospective members. For example, you might have more online offerings than competitors, making your association more accessible to professionals who are constantly on the go. 

Forming your value proposition may require audience research and a thorough evaluation of your current membership program. For instance, you might analyze what benefits other associations provide or survey your members to learn exactly what they want from an association membership. 

2. Offer Member-Only Discounts and Perks

Member-only benefits are the entire reason why individuals join your association. Keep member engagement high by providing a range of perks in addition to your core offerings. These might include: 

• Discounts. For products, services, and events open to the public, give members a discount on their purchases. You could even work with vendors and sponsors to provide members with sales codes for their offerings. 
• Early access. Provide members with early, unlimited access to content that would otherwise be gated. For instance, tickets for events might open earlier for members, or members might have full access to your content archive, whereas the general public has a limited number of article views. 
• Exclusive perks. Host a range of members-only event content and activities, as well as members-only opportunities at public events. For example, during a livestreamed event, you might have a members-only chat where your community can ask questions, interact with one another, and potentially have their messages read by presenters. 

Seeing these perks can entice new members to sign up, too. When non-members see that members get front-row seats to additional opportunities, they may develop a fear of missing out and consider joining. 

3. Provide Networking and Community Opportunities

Many professionals join associations specifically to connect with others in their industry. Whether it’s newcomers looking to build their networks or established professionals exchanging ideas with other respected leaders, an active association community benefits all members. 

To help your members build and maintain connections with each other, consider creating these networking opportunities: 

• Maintain an online community. Many associations host only a handful of in-person events a year, limiting members’ opportunities to connect with one another. By building an online community where members can post content, comment on each other’s posts, and form group chats, you enable them to continue networking year-round. 
• Start a mentoring program. Help new members get a jumpstart on networking by pairing them with mentors. Ask members who have been with your association for some time to volunteer to mentor others. Consider incentivizing members to become mentors by offering additional perks, such as free event tickets for activities they take their mentee to. 
• Schedule virtual meetups. Create an event calendar filled with both in-person and virtual meetups. This ensures everyone, regardless of where they live or how easily they can travel, has opportunities to socialize with other members of your community. 

Additionally, ensure members who want to take networking into their own hands can do so easily. For instance, you could maintain an online member directory with profiles for your entire community. While each member should be able to control their profile’s privacy settings—such as setting it to members-only—there should be at least some contact information so other members can reach out to them.

4. Enhance Member Recognition and Involvement

When members participate in your association’s community, recognize them. This not only encourages them to engage with your valuable benefits but can also transform them into active donors.

Recognize members when they contribute to your community, hit membership milestones, and achieve professional accomplishments through: 

• eCards. Sending members fun, eye-catching virtual greeting cards is an option for some association. eCardWidget’s guide to engaging new members emphasizes how virtual greeting cards  can be used to thank members, invite them to events, welcome them to your association, share discount codes, and more. 
• Spotlights. When members make major contributions to your association, achieve a professional accomplishment, or otherwise do something notable in your field, consider spotlighting them to the rest of your community. You might even conduct featured interviews for some members, which you can turn into shareable blog posts. 
• Awards. Create awards to recognize positive behaviors in your community. For instance, you might present certificates to celebrate members’ five-year anniversaries and honor their long-term commitment. You could also present multiple annual awards, such as “Most Active Community Member for [the previous year]”, to recognize individuals who actively participate in your community. 

Keep in mind that community awards and credentials serve different purposes.  You can award members who complete specific courses with credentials to display on their profiles. In contrast, you can use community awards to recognize general participation in your association.

5. Focus on Member Feedback and Personalization

If you aren’t sure whether your membership program is meeting members’ needs, ask them. Gathering feedback helps you identify opportunities and change course if something isn’t working. Plus, just reaching out to members shows that you care about their experience.

Survey members to collect individual responses and consider hosting focus groups to workshop specific aspects of your membership program. For example, if you’re considering launching a new benefit, you might assemble a group of members for a focus group to test it and gather feedback before the program’s rollout. 

Additionally, as you get to know your members, carefully note their preferences in your membership management database. Use this information to better personalize your interactions and create valuable content that’s relevant to their unique interests. 

The more valuable your association’s membership program is, the easier it will be to attract new members and boost member retention rates. That said, don’t forget that your strategy for making your membership program more valuable isn’t set in stone. Feel free to tweak your action plan as you see fit, using your members’ feedback as a guideline and if you need more help or guidance reach out to AMR today to see how we can help your association change the world.