Associations: Face Your Challenges Head On

Are you challenged with retaining members? Experiencing less attendance at your events? If so, it’s unfortunately no surprise. Because of the down economy, fewer employees are receiving subsidized membership and event fees. According to the American Society of Association Executive (ASAE)’s 2008 Operating Ratio Report, meeting registrations account for 12 percent of associations’ revenue, while meeting expenses are 11 percent of their annual budget. So suffice it to say, small changes in attendance can greatly affect any association’s profitability. (You can see more about the affect of the economy on membership here, in another recent study by the ASAE.)

You may be asking, what can we do to face our challenges of retention and profitability? It’s critically important to make sure you’re on the same page with your members and to give them frequent opportunities to share their changing wants, needs and concerns. With this information, you will have the knowledge to consistently have very satisfied members. And online surveys can be a big help in understanding what your members think and how successful your events are without breaking your budget. (See how online surveys have helped this member organization.)

Here are two ways to stay in tune with your members and keep them involved:  

1. Regular member satisfaction surveys. Are members getting value out of reading your emails? What do they want to hear about? Do they receive your newsletter too often or not enough? How happy are they with their member benefits? Are they getting enough value from their membership? What member benefits are they aware/unaware of? What could you do or offer to better serve them? What would they like to see more of and what should you change? What will make them renew their membership?
   
   Getting feedback straight from your members will give you the accurate knowledge you need to be a better resource for them. And not only will you know what resources to provide your members with in the coming months, but by asking members for their opinions, you will strengthen their connection with your organization. Giving them a voice shows them you care about their thoughts and concerns. By using an online survey tool, getting and analyzing the results will be quick and easy.
   
   So, shortly after administering the survey, create an action plan based on members’ feedback, and keep them updated of changes being implemented based on that feedback. That is where you can greatly increase member satisfaction, loyalty and involvement.
   
   
2. Event planning and satisfaction surveys. Beyond having high overall member satisfaction, consistently delivering high-value member events are also a vital piece for associations to engage members in their organization. How have members benefited from your quarterly events? What would they recommend for improving the value of your events? What’s most important to them when deciding if they want to attend an event — price, location, topic, speaker, etc? What day and time is the best for them to attend events? Do they have suggestions for topics for future events? Do they know of a good speaker for future events?
   
   By asking members these questions with online surveys you will learn what kinds of events will get the most interest and revenue and will be worth the association’s time and money.

If you want more suggestions for what questions to include in your member surveys, or for the best way to ask what you want to learn, take advantage of the editable templates inside of Constant Contact’s online survey tool. There’s even a category in the templates just for associations. The templates I recommend are membership experience, event planning, and event participation or event satisfaction.  

Questions, comments? Click the comment link below. Happy growing!

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