Do your members find their membership valuable? While most organizations get an answer to that question based on their retention rates, there are often better solutions for association leaders. Member satisfaction surveys are handy tools that provide a goldmine of information and help organizations understand their members’ experiences and identify areas of improvement. But […]
Your members are on the go, and you want to keep up with them. And while your strategy is built on proven methods like in-depth articles, timely webinars and can’t-miss in-person events, there’s still a good percentage of your audience not engaging. The reality is time is limited, and proving the value of membership often […]
Creating an effective onboarding experience is critical for the success of any association's membership program. Renewal rates for first-year members trend lower compared to those of second-year and beyond, often representing a big chunk of an association's churn. And while most associations send out that routine welcome email, their member onboarding experience leaves much to […]
If you’ve been on social media in the last week, chances are you’ve seen your friends post their Spotify Wrapped. Launched in 2017, it has become an annual tradition that recognizes users for their music tastes, listening time stats and even their listening personality type. But the real lesson is how Spotify uses Wrapped as […]
It’s a law of nature in marketing: Your best prospect is the customer you already have. Research consistently shows that it costs six to seven times more to get a new customer than to keep one, and in membership terms, smart associations understand what that means for retention. A dollar spent on retention goes much […]
As associations continue investing time and resources into solving their member retention concerns, they may overlook one of their most easily accessible tools – member data. However, knowing what to look for and how can make all the difference. There is often a misconception that data analysis requires massive amounts of information and technical training. The […]
Simply put, divergent thinking applies non-traditional, creative ideas to problems and progress in all areas of life. These techniques provide a novel approach that can result in profound positive change for your association. Here’s how. What Is Divergent Thinking? Divergent thinking is one of two mental processes required for creative problem-solving. Convergent thinking, the first […]
Professional development can be so beneficial for your organization. It increases employee retention, productivity and buy in while closing skill gaps and supporting the bottom line. But implementing a professional development program just for the sake of saying your organization has one isn’t going to cut it. So how do you implement a professional development […]
And just like that, my very first ASAE Annual Meeting is in the books, and all I can say is, what an experience. It was a pleasure to meet Sidecar members, readers and many of the association professionals I’ve been working hard to write for, for the past year. Not only did so many of […]
You want more members and adding new benefits is going to get them. Right? Well, maybe not. Before you go all-in on new perks, build out your marketing campaigns and announce them to your members, it may be time to ask – “does my association have a feature bloat problem?” What is Feature Bloat? From […]
