Everyone likes to be appreciated, and your members are no exception. Your association wouldn’t be the same without its members.
What better time than the present to make your members feel more appreciated? Taking time to say “thank you” shows that you appreciate your members, and it will go a long way toward delivering a great member experience and boosting member retention.
Remember that sending members an automated “thank you” message for renewing their dues or registering for an online event is a common courtesy and a kind gesture. Showing you care about your members will significantly impact their member experience.
Read on for more ideas that will help you show your appreciation to your members and demonstrate your care.
Why is Member Appreciation Important for Associations?
Your organization relies on its members. Whether they are hosting presentations, attending events, or sharing key information, they carry out essential operations daily. Member appreciation and recognition demonstrate to your members that you acknowledge their actions and efforts, and are grateful for everything they contribute.
While appreciation makes individuals feel good, it can also impact your association and how your member community looks. When members feel appreciated, they are more likely to get involved and continue partnering with your organization. If you show your gratitude for specific member involvement, you can encourage higher levels of engagement. This system can help you achieve more goals with your involved members, providing resources you can depend on.
Involved and appreciated members are also more likely to remain with your organization. Members also know they are the cornerstone of your organization. If you recognize their impact, you increase the likelihood that they will renew their memberships.
Additionally, more involved members can more easily find their place at your association, helping them become community members. When they are more connected to other members and associates, they are more likely to stay a member as well.
Here are five steps to take to increase member appreciation at your association:
1. Develop a Member Engagement Strategy
One of the key factors in increasing association membership retention rates and engagement is a strategic approach. A comprehensive plan, encompassing everything from outreach to onboarding and ongoing engagement, can keep your members interested and involved in your organization.
Developing a membership retention strategy can also provide you with the tools to achieve positive outcomes in multiple areas, ensuring that you offer your members support and recognition for their contributions.
2. Leverage Member Testimonials
Excited and engaged members are your organization’s most powerful asset. Word-of-mouth recommendations and testimonials offer powerful personal accounts that can appeal to potential members. Give your members benefits they’ll want to tell their friends about, and you may receive organic interest to grow your membership base.
3. Implement Marketing Strategies
When you have a personal strategy for association membership engagement and appreciation, you can make members feel more enthusiastic and involved in your organization. Have a plan for marketing strategies to specific segments of your member base and offer personalized benefits to get them excited about being a part of your organization.
Strategically reaching your membership and offering them exclusive, customized benefits can help build strong and lasting relationships.
4. Leverage AI
It costs less to keep existing members than to attract new ones. Member retention is arguably as necessary as, if not more important than, acquiring new members.
Consider leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics to help your association boost member retention. With point-and-click AI and predictive analytics tools, the Marine Corps Association & Foundation (MCAF) successfully renewed 25% of its members who were at high risk of lapsing.
5. Keep Your Member Process Simple
Ensure your onboarding and renewal processes are navigable and simple. It’s essential to guarantee that joining and continuing involvement in your association are convenient for all members.
With a welcoming and straightforward process for becoming a member and renewing, people can stay engaged and grow within your organization. Create a system that attracts members and makes continued membership effortless.
Showing Member Appreciation Boosts Member Engagement
Several powerful strategies can enhance association membership engagement with your organization. Make sure your association is following these five practical approaches:
1. Reach Out to New Members
Send a “thank you” email to new members from your executive director. You could also handwrite an appreciation letter or give them a call. The personal touch shows that you genuinely value their membership and gives your relationship a strong start. Whatever you decide to do, ensure that your communication sets the tone for a welcoming and accommodating interaction.
Establishing a positive start to your relationship with members can encourage them to get involved and remind them of the reasons they joined your organization. Even the smallest gestures demonstrate that their decision to engage as a member affects your internal operations. They will likely seek out other engagement opportunities when you support their step from nonmember to member.
2. Ask For Member Feedback
Your members have unique perspectives that can lend essential insights into your membership process, operations, and mission. Let your members share their opinions and consider their feedback.
Whether it’s through surveys, emails, or other mediums, offer your members an easy way to provide their ideas and opinions on their experience with the organization. Giving your members a voice in your association can help them feel like a part of the community and more valued in the organization. You can also use this data to help create a strong membership retention plan or template.
When you implement membership-driven improvements, your members will see how their actions and feedback influence changes. They will feel more connected to your organization and its decisions, regardless of whether they are interested in taking on leadership responsibilities.
3. Deliver Targeted, Personalized Content
The latest Association Trends research underscores the importance of personalization, reporting that targeted, valuable content is the fifth most important member benefit.
Consider leveraging an online community platform to deliver a personalized content feed for all members. Your association can shape individual member journeys with customized content digests tailored to each member’s interests and activities. Drive member engagement and retention with a trailblazing online community platform.
4. Simplify Membership Onboarding
Present your members with information and next steps that address their needs. Let them know what communications they can expect to receive from you. The more you can welcome them and show immediate value, the more likely they will begin feeling appreciated.
Ensure your members know what to expect and have a clear understanding of the steps. Keep the process straightforward and easy to follow. To help them feel comfortable and at home, express your support and offer convenient ways for them to communicate with you, get answers to their questions, or learn more about topics related to your organization.
5. Offer a Great Tech Experience
Technology plays a crucial role in demonstrating to members that they matter to your organization. Members won’t feel appreciated if they have an outdated or frustrating online experience with your association. Furthermore, your members may face challenges in getting involved if your interfaces and tools are difficult to use and navigate.
Association Trends research highlights the vital role technology plays in your organization. Members who view their organization as early adopters of technology are more satisfied, more connected, more likely to renew, and more likely to promote their organization.
Send out a member survey to gauge your members’ digital behavior and their interaction preferences. Explain to them that you’re conducting the survey to help meet their expectations and improve the member experience. They will see you care about their feedback and online experiences.
11 Association Member Appreciation Ideas
Showing gratitude can be invaluable to fostering lasting relationships with your membership base. Thanking your members can be a powerful way to make them feel welcome and appreciated. It also sets the tone for an outstanding member experience. It tells them they are a valued part of your organization and motivates them to continue their engagement. When you assure members that they matter to your association and care about their contributions, you naturally build a warmer, stronger relationship.
Showing appreciation can also remind members of what you do and encourage them to continue to support you. In many ways, thanking your members can have a lasting impact that benefits both you and them. Keep in mind that sincere thanks can go a long way; therefore, take the time, thought, and effort to demonstrate your gratitude. Additionally, enhance your association’s membership by providing personalized attention through thoughtful membership appreciation ideas.
Try these member appreciation ideas:
1. Personalize Communication
When you interact with your members, personalize messages and details. Leverage automated tools to add names to emails, letters, and other communication efforts. Even though it’s a small detail, it helps your members feel more connected to your organization.
You can also include personal details and interests, especially when they just join. If you send out a welcome message, be sure to address the reason for their joining.
2. Send a Welcome Gift
Consider sending new members a welcome gift. Something customized with a unique touch from your organization gives them a small memento of your appreciation and welcomes them into the group. Consider creating a welcome package to guide them through the initial stages of their membership, including a thoughtful gift from you.
Celebrate new members by listing them in your email newsletter, making them feel recognized and welcomed by everyone in the organization. Ensuring your members know you care about their connection with the group and allowing them to feel part of your community can help them get more involved. Create an environment that truly feels like a community, offering opportunities for visible recognition for joining and participating.
3. Acknowledge Membership Renewals
Membership renewals can be a great way to highlight your appreciation. Anything you can do to thank returning members goes a long way. For greater impact, consider adding a personal touch, such as acknowledging their past involvement with your organization or thanking them for their participation and ongoing membership.
If you have a solid budget, you can send gifts to members with annual milestones. For example, make it a tradition to celebrate the first, fifth, and tenth-year members. These prizes serve as a tangible expression of appreciation and a lasting reminder of their time with your organization.
4. Highlight Member Success Stories
Ensure that members are aware that you have noticed their contributions and engagement and that it matters to the organization. Another great way to celebrate members and their efforts is with a Member Appreciation Month.
Share about how others have enjoyed membership benefits, and be sure to celebrate member successes. Help them discover the value of engaging with your association.
You can use social media and your online community to highlight membership involvement and appreciation. Share pictures of events, highlight members in spotlights, and track progress toward goals. Members can share posts on their feeds, showing their accomplishments and engagement with their loved ones. You might even recruit new members this way.
5. Promote Networking Opportunities
Your members want to make professional connections. Leverage an online community platform to boost member engagement and increase virtual connections. Utilizing an online community provides additional networking opportunities for your members and attracts new members to your organization.
6. Provide Career Advancement Resources
Members are seeking career insights and opportunities to advance in their fields. Consider integrating your association management software (AMS) with innovative career management software that utilizes a job board, placement services, career coaches, and a career pathing resource.
Prioritizing the right tech will make you an industry leader in career insights, showing members you value them and their careers.
7. Offer Continuing Education
Research shows members value continuing education opportunities where they can earn credits or receive certifications and credentials in their field. Show members you value them by investing in quality technology to enhance your learning program.
Look for learning management software (LMS) that offers on-demand webinars, self-paced courses, and webcasts to let members effortlessly complete their certificate or credential program.
8. Provide Training and Professional Development
Did you know some members join associations to complete training courses and professional development classes? Help your members upskill by offering an engaging training platform with interactive content, gamification elements, self-paced learning, and a diverse learner community.
Offer compelling training courses at your association, and you’ll demonstrate to your members that you value their ongoing involvement.
9. Give Members the Benefits They Want Across Their Membership Journey
Another way to thank your members is by delivering the benefits that matter most to them. After all, that’s why they joined in the first place. Assess how well your organization is delivering on the most important member benefits.
The Association Trends research study found that the top three reasons members join an association are networking opportunities, job prospects, and certifications and credentials. However, member priorities will shift throughout the member journey and career. Be sure to consider your members’ needs and expectations today, as well as how they evolve throughout the member journey.
10. Survey Members
Learn as much as you can about your members by asking them for feedback via surveys. Remind members of their benefits and highlight those they haven’t yet utilized. This gesture shows members that your organization cares enough to ensure they get the most out of their membership.
Incorporate changes to benefits based on your self-assessment and member feedback. Share the changes with members to let them know you’re listening and understand their needs. And, don’t make it a one-time thing. Plan to continually gather information about their interests and needs, and then use it to inform your services and programs.
11. Increase Involvement Opportunities
Nothing says “thank you” like letting your members know you want to see more of them. Encourage your members to get more involved by inviting new members to join an online forum or a virtual meetup event specifically designed for them.
Ask more seasoned members to serve as mentors or hold leadership positions. The more involved they are, the more engaged and appreciated they’ll feel, and the more likely they’ll be to stick around.
Momentive AMS Can Help Show Member Appreciation and Boost Engagement
Are you looking for ways to enhance member engagement further? Showing members that you understand their expectations and that your association can meet their needs is a great way to let them know you appreciate them.
Momentive AMS helps you manage membership operations, from implementing member portals and automating personalized content to offering predictive analytics and managing finances.
