Valued Members Lead to Valuable Members

Use Membership Reports and Assessment to Improve Member Loyalty

Do I get my money’s worth?
Is this money better spent elsewhere?
Have I grown professionally because of this association?
Do I find attending association meetings to be time well spent?

These are some questions that members of your association might ask themselves when membership renewal comes due. For some, renewal is a no-brainer. It is clear that the membership is valuable and worth continuing.

But there are others who might be on the fence. Maybe their financial situation has changed, and they are reevaluating all expenses. Or, maybe they have not interacted with the association much, and they don’t see the value. These are the members that you need to engage with more pointedly.

The solution to membership retention is not simple, but the most important factor is causing new members to feel valued by the association and, in turn, value the association and view membership as beneficial to them personally and professionally.

Fortunately, your membership management system can be a resource for increasing membership retention. You can use it to find out what your members need — then use the information to improve and increase the value of your association.

How to Use Your Membership Management System to Increase Member Loyalty

1. Capture engagement data

   Always start with data. Your membership management system should provide a myriad of engagement data that you can capture and document. This might include participation in CME activities, attendance at chapter events, usage of professional development and continuing education resources, responses to emails and so on.If you track who and how many are accessing your website, attending conferences, and enrolling in continuing education, you have an easy resource for accurately assessing needs.This data will give you information about how different sectors of your members are interacting with your association. Information like:

• What kind of members have high engagement?
• What kind of members have minimal interaction with the association?
• What programs are appreciated?
• Which offerings need to be updated or replaced?

Member engagement data is the first step in answering these questions

2. Provide loyalty assessments

   Once you’ve reviewed the data, you can take advantage of the assessment feature in your LMS. Request specific member sectors to take surveys about membership value. Start simply – perhaps with first time members, seasoned members, or members in certain regions. You want to get the big picture before you dial into specific niche markets.

Member surveys and assessments reveal valuable information about your members and their perception of your association. Don’t just think of this survey as a needs assessment, think of it as a loyalty analysis. Format your questions to gain critical information about member retention.

Furthermore, by asking your members what they need, they will feel like valued members of a community, rather than an obscure figure in association records.

3. Develop interdependence

Okay, so now you know what member sectors are at risk of leaving the association. And, you’ve figured out what would convince them to stay. Now, you can begin to develop a retention strategy. This means creating interdependence.

Interdependence means each member has his or her identity and livelihood tied to the association. You want your members to feel valued and to find the association valuable. Interdependence is just that — the feeling that neither can succeed without the other.

This may mean increasing membership benefits. Or, maybe you simply need to reformat your current benefits or improve member awareness and exposure to your offerings. Either way, begin your improvements with CME and professional development. Outside of member benefits, continue to develop your brand. Members are more attracted to stay with a well-known and professionally recognized brand.

Improving member loyalty is important for even the largest associations. Membership management systems can provide crucial data and opportunities to develop member loyalty and increase membership value.

EthosCE is the industry-leading, SCORM-compliant learning management system designed to automate and modernize the delivery of continuing education in the health professions. We work closely with leading medical association, academic centers, and health system to optimize their technology infrastructure and create an easy-to-use and intuitive environment for learners and CME administrators alike. For more information about EthosCE, please contact us at 267-234-7401.