The State of Association Member Experiences

The 2024 Association Member Experience Report, conducted each year by Higher Logic, gives associations critical insight into how they can better engage and retain members when the competition for time and attention is intense. The report is designed to help you answer the question: What do members want?

We surveyed nearly 400 current association members to learn their preferred member benefits and communication channels, what makes them think about canceling their membership, and more! Here’s a sneak peek…

What Do Association Members Value Most?

What member benefits are members looking for now? Top member benefits fluctuate over time – we’ve seen slightly different results each year we’ve surveyed association members and done this report. It’s important to periodically check in and see what members are looking for from their association, and what they feel provides value. Why do they join, what makes them feel engaged, and why do they renew? In this year’s report, we found that the top member benefits were:

1. Email Digests and Newsletters (these remain the #1 member benefit since last year).
2. Member Discounts.
3. Private Online Communities and Virtual Education were tied for third.

Members also said they most regularly interact with their association via these benefits, which makes sense!

Personalization Makes Association Members Happy

Members want regular communication, but communication that’s relevant and informative. The more personalization you can bring to your email, community, and educational strategies the better.

When asked, 71% of members said a personalized member experience is important to them, but unfortunately only 64% think they’re getting that experience from their association. Your content and outreach should reflect each member’s interests and preferences.

But what does personalization mean to association members? We asked – they answered!

• News, education, professional development, and communication tailored to their needs
• Targeted program recommendations
• Networking opportunities that align with their professional goals
• The opportunity to share feedback

As you work to provide the personalized experience your members are looking for, remember to segment your audience and tailor your messaging and offerings to what they’re looking for. That might mean using marketing automation to trigger specific emails to specific groups based on their interest categories, past participation in similar programs, or even engagement scoring. In your community that might mean setting up targeted access groups or communities. One-size-fits-all is not the experience members want – make the effort to learn what different segments are looking for and point them to it!

Increased Member Engagement

Good news from the report: member engagement has increased. In 2024, 36% of members interacted daily with their association (up from 17% in 2023). Overall engagement also rose from 59% in 2023 to 67% in 2024.

Why did this happen? Associations have gotten more sophisticated with the tools and strategies that foster engagement.

But here’s a warning, members cite lack of engagement and lack of value as top reasons for considering leaving their associations. Retention calls for a mix of benefits and leveraging platforms like private online communities that seize the initiative to keep members actively involved.

Member Communication Preferences

No surprise, email continues to dominate as members’ top communication channel. But don’t stop reading there, because there’s more you should know. Most members are happy to get 1-2 emails a week, but the percentage of respondents feeling overwhelmed by emails rose from 34% in 2023 to 50% in 2024. That’s not a small jump.

Avoid inspiring email fatigue in your members by making sure you’re:

• Personalizing email content to individual member interests. (Picking up on a theme yet?)
• Spreading communication across your various channels (online community, social media, mobile app).

It’s about balancing volume, channels, subject matter, and formats.

Conclusion: The Whole Member Experience Report is Better Than a Blog Post

The Association Member Experience Report offers insights associations can use to enhance their member experiences heading into the new year:

• Personalize communication and benefits to meet shifting member needs. (Last time we’re going to mention personalization, promise.)
• Diversify engagement opportunities across platforms like online communities and educational events. Not everybody wants to engage in the same way.
• Listen to members. The report shows 52% of surveyed members want their association to ask for their input more often.

We invite you to download the full report and/or watch our related webinar on demand, because this post has only scratched the surface. There are additional stats, findings, and charts to help guide you as you seek to create memorable and effective experiences for your members throughout the coming year.