The people business

As membership dues shrink as a proportion of association revenue, the temptation is to look elsewhere to shore up income. But what if you’ve just been getting membership wrong? Here, three experts give their take on the puzzle still vexing associations…

Give members the freedom to uncover what they need

Developing non-dues revenue sources does not, and should not, mean doing away the notion of membership dues. Membership is still inextricably linked to the existence of associations. People understand that they need to support organisations to receive certain benefits. And they still want to connect and belong to something, maybe now more than ever.

But today everyone is simply too busy. This requires associations to progressively pursue the à la carte approach to membership. Giving members the freedom to uncover what they require at а specific stage of their career or life will be a good indicator of the flexibility of professional bodies and their readiness to adapt to the priorities, interests, and needs of their members. Devising and offering several packages targeted at designated groups or categories of members might increase the number of sign-ups and, consequently, the revenue accrued from dues.

Ideally, it could also make the association more active as some members will be ambitious to participate in and contribute to various projects. Switching to à la carte membership will be easier after diversification of revenue sources. Offering online courses, inviting people to participate in social media campaigns and publications, or starting new projects funded by sponsorships or grants will create benefits, which will then be included in the association’s membership packages.
The latter, of course, need be revisited and revamped periodically to address, as adequately as possible, the needs and wishes of the membership body. In a world in which information spreads so quickly that we can no longer cherry-pick what we want to absorb, creating more opportunities for people to reflect and make choices will be invaluable.

Reverse engineering the membership model

A lot of associations still have a very rigid, one size fits all approach to membership – one package, one price, take it or leave it. But the way people want to engage today is much more on their own terms. People want to personalise their experience with an association.

The world we live in is all about choice, and it is very easy for people to engage with corporate brands in a way that reflects that. Associations have forgotten the famous ‘what’s in it for me?’ question. There needs to be a more open approach, a multiple choice of entry possibilities. That means thinking of membership in a broader community sense, not just those who want voting rights and decision-making power as members. The traditional membership package is linked to votes and rights. There needs to be possibilities that do not carry all that weight.

Imagine you have someone is attending a virtual event or virtual learning experience: he or she is not a ‘traditional member’ of your association, but they have paid their fee and joined online. Why not welcome that person as a ‘participant member’? They do not have to pay any more for this designation, but you do not have to give them any more as an association either. But you communicate with them and put in front of them ‘some other content that you might be interested in’ – just like Amazon and Netflix. That virtual participant gets exposed to your content and slowly realises that if they buy a bit of content here, or a meeting there, the VIP package suddenly looks very attractive, so it is a complete reverse engineering on the hard upfront sell of VIP membership.