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3 Key Association Membership Growth & Retention Tactics

If the biggest issue you face as an association is membership retention and growth, then congratulations - you’re in the majority.

key_strategies_to_grow_membership.jpgIt’s an interesting dilemma as a marketer. In many ways, your association is a B2C - business to consumer - service product. But I prefer to think of associations as a B2B - business to business - product, and one that shouldn’t be expendable. After all, you bring many benefits to your association members’ businesses, not just to them. The problem, of course, is in the membership marketing you’re doing (or not doing) and the perception that your members have of your organization.

Changing the perception that a member has of your association isn’t easy, but it can be a calculated, strategic process. The best part is, you can actually calculate the ROI of your association marketing efforts when it’s done in a strategic way. Here are some keys tactics for membership growth and retention that you can implement in your association’s marketing and outreach immediately.

1. Meet Members’ Needs

Know your members well, including what they’re looking for in a membership, issues they’re struggling with, goals they have, and tools they can use. Then, use the information to help grow your membership numbers:

  • Provide educational content on your website
  • Bring in excellent business-focused speakers to help them solve the issues they’re facing, and
  • Schedule events tailored to their interests and networking goals.

Watch this testimonial video for an association speaker with actionable topics.

There are some additional ways you can do this utilizing inbound marketing best practices, which help attract new members while also retaining the ones you already have. For instance:

  • Highlight members’ stories on the site or in your newsletter, creating a positive community online
  • Use free content, such as a blog or newsletter, to provide education about business pointers that members can use day-to-day
  • Offer downloadable ebooks or white papers with research pertaining to your members’ businesses. This will also encourage non-members to trade contact information for your content, which enables you to reach out and discuss membership with them one-on-one.

2. Talk About Benefits, Not Just Metrics

In your communication, clearly define the benefits your association brings to its members and, more importantly, to its members’ businesses. Metrics such as membership statistics, year over year growth, and percentage of business types involved in your organization, are great for your board room, but members probably don’t care as much as you do. Those are benefits for you.

Instead, showcase the benefits for your members: how much money members make due to networking at your events, how much they’ve saved due to membership perk packages, positive feedback members have about association speakers or training courses, and more. Here are some additional ideas:

  • Create a case study about a member’s successes thanks to your association.
  • Feature quotes, stories, and videos from senior members about why they keep up their membership in your organization.
  • Host members-only events that are of high value to your target base, encouraging current members to bring a guest and new members to join.

These ideas focus on how your association brings value to your members’ businesses, not just how they bring value to you.


3. Make It Personal

Finally, be sure to make your outreach as personal as possible. This is closely related to my last key tactic: talking about benefits, but make sure they’re personal benefits.

For example, if your association has members in all areas of business, be sure to segment your email outreach so the message is as personal as possible for the recipient. I don’t just mean adding a <<first_name>> token in the email subject; I mean making sure the content aligns with their position, industry, and reason for joining.

monthly_newsletter_exampleA great opportunity for this is in your monthly newsletter. If you’re sending the same, generalized content to everyone on your mailing list, chances are, you’ll lose some of the members who don’t feel you’re speaking to them. Why? You haven’t brought them specific benefits because your message is too broad.

Instead, segment your list based on industry, and the content inside should reflect the recipients’ industry. If I work in HVAC, I should receive an HVAC-targeted message. The same applies for if I’m a lawyer, grocery store owner, or financial advisor. The communication should match the recipient.

The next step is to ensure you’re tailoring your message to a person’s business goals or problem areas. Surveying your members every quarter will help keep this information up to date, help you address it better, and allow you to bring a positive impact to their business based on their needs.


When you’re making the benefits of membership clear to both current and future members, your association membership rates will grow. Find out more tips in our ebook, Insider’s Guide to B2B Inbound Marketing.

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Topics: Personalization association membership