Imagine you’re looking to join an association in your industry. You narrow your options down to two different programs with the following membership benefits:

• Association No. 1: events, professional development, discounts
• Association No. 2: exclusive networking events, monthly webinars with industry experts, 20 percent off event ticket pricing

Which would you rather sign up for?

Chances are, Association No. 2 caught your attention more than Association No. 1. While they may offer similar benefits, Association No. 2 adds more details and frames its benefits more enticingly, encouraging prospects to register.

This guide will help you take a similar approach to developing and promoting membership benefits for your own association so you can attract and retain more members.

Understand Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience — both future members you’re trying to attract and current members you’re trying to retain — allows you to tailor membership benefits to their interests and needs. Since your association focuses on serving people within a specific industry, your messaging and offerings should reflect that.

Better understand your target audience by:

• Conducting surveys and focus groups. Go right to the source to learn exactly what members want to get out of your association. Send surveys regularly and conduct focus groups after launching new benefits or initiatives to dive deeper into members’ experiences with your organization.
• Analyzing member data. Use the data you’ve collected from members to explore their interests and apply them to your strategy. For example, you may learn from survey data that some members are interested in receiving more educational content and, as a result, expand your professional development resources. Alternatively, you might use location data to identify a large group of members in the Houston area and decide to organize more in-person events there.
• Creating relevant segments. Leverage your nonprofit CRM to place members in relevant groups that will allow you to personalize their experiences and offer hyper-relevant benefits. Continuing the previous example, you may create segments for different cities and invite members to nearby events.

Additionally, keep track of in-person conversations your staff has with members at meetings and events to unlock insights from these more casual interactions.

Create Membership Tiers With Clear Value

Develop membership tiers with differing benefits and prices to appeal to a wide range of supporters. As members become more involved or have a greater capacity to contribute, they can upgrade their memberships and boost revenue for your association.

Name your tiers and assign benefits to them accordingly. For example, your tiers may look something like this:

• Basic: monthly newsletters, online resource hub access, members-only job board access, 15 percent off conference and event registrations
• Standard: everything included in Basic membership plus exclusive members-only content, priority registration for events and conferences, discounted access to webinars and workshops, and mentorship program participation
• Premium: everything included in Standard membership plus invitations to members-only events, discounted career development courses, and access to specialized research and industry reports
• VIP: everything included in Premium membership plus exclusive networking opportunities with top industry professionals, free access to events, VIP event perks (seating, food, merchandise, priority auction bidding, etc.), and priority job board access

Regardless of the specific offerings you include in each tier, clearly communicate the value of each one to encourage people to sign up. For example, you may add up the dollar value of all benefits within a tier and compare that value to the actual membership price to emphasize the deal members receive.

Use Technology to Manage Your Program

Once you’ve developed your membership tiers and benefits, you need a solution to deliver these benefits, organize program logistics, and enhance the member experience. Bloomerang’s nonprofit membership management software guide recommends looking for a platform that allows you to:

• Organize member information to identify connections between members and create segments for more personalized communications and benefits
• Manage multiple programs and membership levels to ensure members get the benefits they’re entitled to
• Simplify sign-up so new members can easily register and access benefits right away
• Send updates and reminders via email, direct mail, and text to keep members informed
• Track renewal deadlines and automate renewal reminders
• Automate annual renewals to streamline the process and boost retention
• Track non-deductible membership fees to avoid compliance issues and inform members of the amount they can deduct from their taxes

The right solution makes it easier to set relevant benefits, provide them to members, and organize other program aspects to keep members satisfied and engaged.

Evolve With Your Members

As your member base changes and grows, so should your membership benefits. Continually survey your members to improve your strategy over time and regularly meet with your team to discuss ways to innovate your program.