Here at Think we make it our mission to help membership bodies deepen relationships with members. We’re not just about communication, we’re about connection.
That’s why, almost 14 years ago, we created our Re:member research, which we hoped would help to enrich our understanding of membership and support the sector with valuable insights.
For those of you who haven’t seen our famous graphs and maybe even eaten our iconic ‘doughnut of discovery’, let’s rewind. We began this research for one crucial reason, namely that the proliferation of communication channels had brought with them more choice but not necessarily more resource or budget. We wanted to find evidence of effectiveness, so as to give organisations the ability to make informed decisions about how to communicate. And we wanted that evidence to be tailored to those working in membership. For over a decade, with more organisations participating, we’ve been providing just such evidence.
The last Re:member research was undertaken at the end of 2022 and early 2023. A key finding that this research uncovered was that while people were positive about recovery post-COVID, they were less so about their organisation’s approach to innovation. The pandemic forced member bodies to pivot at pace. When the world opened up once more, some organisations went back to doing what they did before at the expense of digital transformation.
Re:member returns
Our next Re:member survey will launch at the end of this year. To help inform the content, we ran a mini poll in June, asking membership professionals: ‘What do you predict will be the three biggest changes to membership engagement over the next 1-3 years?’
Leading membership bodies raised the following considerations:
• Member Value Proposition: Have a strong offer – as well as the content to promote it.
• Declining attention spans: Members are no different to membership professionals. Everyone is busy. Everyone has too much to do.
• Demand for personalisation and immediacy: Learn to balance the need to create content for different generations while not neglecting older audiences.
• Leading change: Recognise that the skills needed in teams of the future will be different to the skills of the people leading those teams – and that’s OK.
• Role of technology and AI: Membership bodies are built on trust. How can AI support rather than undermine this position?
• Industry disruption: Agile competitors shake up the landscape.
• Collaboration: Understand the need for cooperation among member organisations – pointing to each other’s resources rather than duplicating content.
So, what do we think the next Re:member research will tell us. Here are a few predictions:
1. Digital-first communications: More organisations will define themselves as digital-first in the way they approach content.
2. Confidence in content strategy: More organisations will have identified what they can say and do better than anyone else and be creating structures and processes that best tell that story.
3. Streamlined approach to content: A shift away from organisations publishing under multiple sub-brands towards more directly commercially aligned content marketing that puts the brand centre stage.
4. Quality over quantity: Doing less, but doing it better.
5. Data ambitions: Greater experimentation with AI and personalisation, and huge leap in the mastering of data.
6. Community focus: A rise in trusted online communities as alternatives to platforms such as LinkedIn. Membership organisations, by their very nature are trusted spaces. These are needed now more than ever, in a world where everyone can share their thoughts even if they aren’t always that valuable.
7. Events under scrutiny: Cost pressures and sustainability are forcing people to think hard about what events they attend – and at what price. Will there be a possible shift towards regional activations and centralised learning?
8. Email experimentation: From onboarding series to increased segmentation, organisations will still be working hard to make this channel even more effective.
9. Podcast popularity: Leveraging podcasts to start conversations and engineer community engagement will continue apace.
10. Commercial challenge: The ongoing move to digital spend with a real focus on ROI and targeting will put pressure on technology and sales teams.
If you’re reading this and nodding along, wondering how you’ll juggle improving data, engaging audiences, creating personalised content and motivating your teams – all while enjoying a good night’s sleep – don’t despair. The Think team and our consultancy division are here to help.
If you’d like to find out more about Think’s consultancy services and how we can help transform your member communications, please contact Hannah Sarsfield at hannah.sarsfield@thinkpublishing.co.uk.
And if you’d like to participate in our next Re:member research, simply sign up to our newsletter to receive exclusive updates, survey information and the latest insights.
