3 ways to align association goals and technology with your ideal member

How does your association define its goals? As you seek to reach your organizational goals, it’s crucial to take a step back and consider what drives your association. Member engagement and delivering a member-centric experience are integral to all organizations—therefore, it should be a priority in determining your association’s goals.  

Here’s how you can use membership aims and innovative technology to successfully surpass your association goals.  

How do you determine who is your ideal member?
To gain further perspective on which goals your organization should set, you’ll need to evaluate the type of members you hope to recruit. Start by reflecting on how your association defines an ideal member. What qualities make for the best member?  Here are three areas to focus on when determining your ideal member:  

• Do your members value professional development and learning opportunities? According to the Community Brands Association Trends Study, industry training opportunities are the second most valuable membership benefit, with 50% of association members favoring professional development options. If your ideal member prioritizes learning opportunities, be sure to invest in various training options. Try including live webinars, webcasts of live events, recommended courses, and videos. 

• Do your members seek chances to volunteer or advocate in your industry? Some individuals join organizations to give back to their community or advance their industry. If you seek members who are invested in advocacy or volunteering, ensure you have meaningful opportunities available at your association. Survey your members to understand their volunteer motivations and connect them to the best volunteer or advocacy options.  

• Are your members invested in association events? If your ideal member participates in a wide array of association activities, you’ll want to guarantee your organization offers a robust variety of events. Involve the member perspective in event planning by creating a committee of member volunteers. When you involve members in the planning process, you ensure events are relevant to the member experience and likewise drive engagement.  

How do you measure goals and success through member engagement? 
Now that you have a sense of your ideal member, you can set relevant association goals. Try creating SMART goals to make the process manageable and keep your association on track for achievement.  

You can also leverage innovative technology to boost member engagement and measure the success of your organizational goals. Here’s how: 

• Drive member engagement with relevant reminders. Spread the word about upcoming association events and training opportunities by promoting activities on social media. Use AI and predictive analytics to assess which individuals are most likely to attend upcoming events. Use the results to personalize email reminders to members.  

• Promote engagement through online communities. To foster a deeper connection between your association and your members, ensure you develop a vibrant virtual community. An online community can keep members engaged outside of events or learning opportunities and provides advanced networking capabilities. Set up different channels and subgroups for new members, early careerists, volunteers, and committee members to connect all individuals at your association. 

• Track member engagement through your AMS. Measure the success of your association initiatives and see if you’re hitting organizational goals by measuring member involvement. Keep track of which events members attend, how many hours they volunteer, which committees they join, and how frequently they donate to evaluate organizational success.  

Learn more

Are you looking for more tips on how to leverage technology to nurture your ideal member? Check out our helpful guide: How to Use Technology to Improve Membership Engagement

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