--- title: "A Few Deep Questions for Membership Pros" id: "14100" type: "post" slug: "a-few-deep-questions-for-membership-pros" published_at: "2012-10-31T11:58:07+00:00" modified_at: "2012-10-31T11:58:07+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/10/31/a-few-deep-questions-for-membership-pros/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/10/31/a-few-deep-questions-for-membership-pros.md" excerpt: "Take a short break from dues invoices and engagement efforts to noodle on these membership conversation starters." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » A Few Deep Questions for Membership Pros Last week, I was asked to participate in a survey about a survey. Marketing General Inc. is looking to improve its annual *[Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report (opens in a new tab)](http://www.marketinggeneral.com/resources/benchmark-report/#MemberBenchmark)* by asking association membership marketers for [suggestions for new questions (opens in a new tab)](https://marketinggeneral.us2.qualtrics.com/WRQualtricsSurveyEngine/?Q_DL=brynalPxSUuj9vn_eJ51Artf7zv4PeB_MLRP_77M0b5mbuV39nk9&_=1) to add to the 2013 survey. > Is the job of a membership professional more art or more science? After some thinking, I came up with a few questions, but I’m not sure how useful they’d be in a benchmarking survey context, and they’re not all directly about membership marketing, anyway. But I’d still like to put them out there, so here goes. A few deep questions for association membership professionals: **1. Is your job more art or science?** I see two sides to membership: One relies on community, engagement, customer service, and positive experiences to drive a desire for belonging in members and prospects. The other relies on retention rates, invoice frequencies, lifetime member values, and 1-9-90 ratios. So which is more important? **2. Would you rather your association continue to depend on dues revenue or be free of it entirely?** Which would be better for your association and your industry? And your job? **3. Which is harder to find: a database system that meets your needs or colleagues who are willing to learn how to use it?** Those of you who have led an AMS migration know both halves of this equation well. Which part was more challenging? **4. What’s the single most important skill set for a membership pro?** No one majors in Membership in college. It’s a field that draws on a variety of disciplines. What has been most vital in your career? Or, what do you look for first in potential hires? **5. How many members do you personally interact with each day?** Be honest. Too few? Too many? **6. Would you rather have 100 percent of your potential members join or 100 percent of your current members actively engaged?** A purely hypothetical thought exercise, but still fun to think about. Share your thoughts in the comments, plus any other tough questions you might have. (Brian Hillegas/Flickr) [Joe Rominiecki](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/) Joe Rominiecki is a contributing editor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/) Tags: [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2012%2F10%2F31%2Fa-few-deep-questions-for-membership-pros%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !