Presented and Written by Isaiah Perez, Membership and Marketing Manager and Amanda Schellinger, Membership and Marketing Coordinator
What Do Members Really Want?
In the association world, there is absolutely nothing more valuable than your members. They make up the backbone of the organization, and their insights can ensure that the organization is going in the right direction. So, how do you find out what they really want? The answer is simple – ask them!
Value, Purpose and General Types of Surveys
Member surveys can be the key to unlocking your members’ interests, preferences, challenges, and needs. Three types of surveys are recommended for optimal understanding: preference surveys, satisfaction surveys, and annual surveys. Preference surveys are a great way to find out immediately why new members have joined and what they hope to gain from your association. Satisfaction surveys are important to promote engagement for established members and to check-in with them to gauge your performance in their eyes. Annual surveys are invaluable for evaluating the entire membership at once. Annual surveys tend to be longer as you are looking for insight that will help guide your membership strategies in the future.
Frequency and Response Rate
At a minimum, it is important to survey your membership at least once per year to confirm that you are meeting member expectations. Ideally, you would check-in semi-annually, about every six months. Sending surveys too frequently can have negative impacts, as your members may get survey fatigue and stop completing them altogether. So make sure you plan your timeline accordingly.
It is important to note that survey response rates for the industry are generally between 3-5%1, according to Mary Baehr of Trailblazer Market Research. To garner the most engagement, incentivize participation in a way that resonates with your members, whether that’s a gift card, a free conference registration, a complimentary year of membership, or something else. Additionally, when distributing and marketing the survey, it is important to use brief and concise messaging with a time-bound, clear call to action. Lastly, consider following up with a “You Talked, We Listened” campaign to show you are taking action on the feedback received and potentially increase future participation. Remember: members who feel understood, heard, and valued are more likely to renew and stay engaged with the organization.
Survey Question Best Practices
Ensure your questions are optimized for your unique membership. You will want to ask questions that give you new insights. For example, if you know that most of your membership attends your annual conference, there is no need to include a question about whether they find the annual conference to be a valuable member benefit; the value is already clear from the attendance numbers. Furthermore, keep your questions brief, closed-ended with pre-defined choices. Be sure to include an other/comments option for each question in case your member wishes to elaborate on their selection. It’s always a good idea to include an optional open-response question to capture any feedback you may have overlooked. Including too many open-ended questions can make the survey seem long and difficult to complete, which will disincentivize participation while also making it difficult to quantify the feedback for dissemination to your organization’s leadership.
Overall, the key for associations is keeping your finger on the pulse of what matters most to your members. Surveying your membership is an efficient, data-centric way to do this while making your members feel like their opinion really matters. With this member feedback, your organization will be primed for growth and opportunity with limitless possibilities.
1 Baehr, M. (2016, December 12). Survey says: Member research needs to come before reaction. ASAE. Retrieved February 15, 2022.