Guest Blogger: Debbie Bradley, Group Account Director, Zadro Agency.

Recently I have been working with numerous Associations and not-for-profits on strengthening their member communications. The same questions arise over and over again:

1. How do we better retain and engage our members?

2. How do we acquire new members?

Members are, of course, at the very core of why Associations exist and therefore if you can create a strong membership base this is the very crux for future success. The best way to create strategies to retain and engage your members and acquire new members is to ask the following questions:

1. Who are my members?

a. What are their demographics?

b. What jobs do they do?

c. What are their roles in their organisation?

d. Are they a company or an individual?

This information will help you profile and segment your audience. It is likely there are a number of different membership groups that your organisation may serve for instance: student, active career members, and life-time members – therefore you should segment and discover how many of these members you have already and also which is the most valuable to your organisation in the future.

2. What reason do they have to engage with my organisation?

a. What are their workplace challenges?

b. What are their training and education needs?

c. Do they want advocacy or representation in the macro environment?

d. Do they want to network and connect with their industry peers?

e. Are they looking for thought-leadership, advice and/or tools to help them better do their jobs?

f. Are they looking to us to help them further their career?

Here is where you can start thinking about what you offer your members and how much they value your service? Again you will need to look at different member segments and decide if they want different things from you - segmentation is key. An example would be that new entries to the industry may want different levels of education, while active career members may be looking for networking events rather than training.

3. Where do they do business?

a. How do they engage with us?

b. What type of communications channels do they use?

c. Is their business on social media for work?

d. Do they like email newsletters?

e. How do they engage with media – newspapers, digital media, trade magazines?

f. What other activities and wider stakeholders do they connect with?

Answering these questions will help you understand the types of communication channels that are relevant for your audience. If you have a younger demographic they may no longer want to receive a print journal or publication, they may want digital messages. However the reverse may also be true – your printed publication may be very valid for some audiences and therefore creates a great add value for members.

Once you have fully understood your audience you can begin to establish a strong product and service offering and also demonstrate membership benefits and value.

The next step to engaging your audience is to create solid membership offerings and communications. Make three lists:

1. The products and services you provide to members
   
2. The products and services you provide to non-members
   
3. The benefits of being a member of your organisation

Creating these three simple lists will clarify exactly what you offer and don’t offer your members and wider customers. It will also help clarify what your key membership benefits are so you can clearly communicate to your audience the value of joining your organisation.

In conclusion

You now know who your members are, what they want and how they like to be communicated with. By ensuring your products and services are tailored to what professionals in your industry need this will present a strong value proposition for future membership growth.

If your communications and value proposition are membership centric then you are well on your way to successfully retaining, engaging and acquiring new members.

About Zadro Agency

Zadro are an integrated communications agency working with Association and Not-for-Profit organisations across Australia and specialising in strategic planning, member research and surveys, marketing, public relations, branding and graphic design.

If you want to activate a member marketing strategy today then call Zadro on 02 9212 7867 or email debbie@zadroagency.com.au.