Association leaders pour time into crafting robust member benefit packages — but sometimes, what members really want gets lost in the shuffle. When benefits miss the mark, engagement and renewals suffer.

Let’s explore common disconnects between associations and their members so you can align your offerings with what truly drives member satisfaction.

More Benefits Don’t Necessarily Mean Greater Value

While it might seem like more is better, offering too many low-impact membership benefits can actually overwhelm members and dilute your association’s value proposition.

Here’s where things often go wrong: Benefits tend to be added reactively without a clear strategy. This can lead to information overload, where members don’t know where to start or how to prioritize what’s available. As a result, many offerings feel irrelevant or too difficult to access, causing disengagement.

To refocus on what matters, you can:

• Conduct a benefits usage audit. Use your association software to review engagement metrics and feedback to identify which benefits are actually being used. Eliminate or revise underperforming ones to avoid bloating your offerings.
• Map benefits to member personas. Tailor your offerings to different career stages, roles, or interests so members see immediate relevance. Then, use segmentation to market specific benefits to the groups that would most appreciate them.
• Create member benefit guides. For instance, you might keep a running list of member benefits in your membership management software that tells members exactly what their benefits are and how to leverage them. Or you might use a simple “Top 5 Benefits” guide format that quickly highlights your most valuable and widely used benefits.

After refining your benefits, highlight the top-value ones in your onboarding materials. eCardWidget’s guide to welcoming members recommends creating a welcome kit with a personalized letter, organizational information, membership card, event calendar, relevant benefits, and more to help newcomers identify the most valuable opportunities from the start.

Cutting the excess and clarifying what truly matters helps your members engage meaningfully with the most valuable benefits.

Networking Involves More Than Conferences

Your members want to connect, share knowledge, and find career advancement opportunities. In-person events like annual conferences are great for forming these connections. However, there’s more you can do to encourage frequent networking.

iMIS’ member engagement guide highlights several ways to nurture connections, including:

• Host a range of networking events like local coffee chats, lunch-and-learns, or webinars with breakout rooms.
• Launch mentorship programs that connect seasoned professionals with newer members for guidance.
• Create special interest groups for members to find peers who share niche goals.
• Offer a member directory that allows members to find and contact one another based on role, expertise, or location.
• Facilitate discussions through moderated online forums. Your online community is a key part of the member engagement equation.

A digital-first approach empowers members to build connections whenever, regardless of location. They can ask questions, exchange ideas, and connect without waiting for the next big event.

A digital space can also drive post-event networking. For instance, after an in-person event, members can use your directory to reconnect with peers they met and continue building those relationships. Your team can also maintain momentum by posting relevant discussion prompts in your online community, encouraging members to reflect and share takeaways. This keeps your networking channels warm and fosters a more connected member community.

Learning Opportunities Should Be Flexible

Members join associations to develop skills and connections, but many learning opportunities aren’t built for how professionals actually learn today. Here’s what today’s members are looking for:

• Clear value for career advancement, including certifications or micro-credentials
• Career-stage relevance — early-career professionals need different resources from senior executives
• Flexible, on-demand formats like webinars and video lessons

To meet these expectations, offer different learning opportunities, such as lower-lift options like webinars, written content like white papers, and full-length video courses. Go the extra mile by crafting custom learning pathways tailored to different roles and experience levels. This allows members to access content related to their current goals.

Implementing a learning management system (LMS) can help power these programs. In fact, 43 percent of interviewed organizations have or are planning to invest in an LMS to manage their learning programs. That’s because these systems make it easy to create your own courses, leverage pre-created ones, award credentials, track learner outcomes, and more.

Your Next Steps: Learn What Members Actually Want

Every association has a unique membership base. Instead of blindly guessing, use your engagement management software (EMS) or other membership tools to analyze which benefits members actually use. You can also ask by creating a benefits advisory board, running focus groups, and surveying your members.

Want a quick win? Ask a few members which benefits they use the most and the least. You might be surprised by their answers if you haven’t been paying attention to your engagement data.

Overall, delivering meaningful member benefits requires listening closely. When you strip away outdated expectations, your association can create benefits that attract and engage members.