--- title: "Where Associations Saw Their Membership Grow In 2013" id: "22504" type: "post" slug: "where-associations-saw-their-membership-grow-in-2013" published_at: "2014-04-03T16:00:40+00:00" modified_at: "2014-04-03T16:00:40+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/04/03/where-associations-saw-their-membership-grow-in-2013/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/04/03/where-associations-saw-their-membership-grow-in-2013.md" excerpt: "Early results from a new study show that recruitment, not renewals, drove member growth for many associations. Also: the consistent craft that drives innovation." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "career growth" - "labor organization" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Where Associations Saw Their Membership Grow In 2013 For many organizations, membership is looking pretty solid these days, thanks to all the new faces. That’s according to early results from the *2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report*, shared by Tony Rossell, senior vice president of Marketing General, Inc. He reports that 53 percent of organizations in MGI’s most recent survey have seen growth in their membership numbers, and 24 percent saw increases above 6 percent. Where’d the growth come from? “Interestingly, the growth again this year did not come from increased renewal rates, but from higher levels of new member recruitment,” Rossell writes. “Overall, 59 percent of all respondents said that their new member input had grown. But of those associations showing an *increase* in total membership, 70 percent said that their new member input had increased. While only 17 percent of those associations showing a *decrease* in total membership said that their new member input had increased.” The full report comes out in June, but you can read more early details from the study [on the Membership Marketing Blog (opens in a new tab)](http://membershipmarketing.blogspot.com/2014/04/association-membership-growth-surges.html) . ### Innovation as Craft > We practice a craft. Why not practice innovation? [http://t.co/H2GlMgJYKR (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/H2GlMgJYKR) > by @SmoothThePath [#AssnChat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/AssnChat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#ASAE (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASAE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#CSAE (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CSAE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — Amanda Lea Kaiser (@AmandaLeaKaiser) [April 2, 2014 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/AmandaLeaKaiser/status/451460472857178112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Like [specialty beers](http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/definition-matters-app-helps-craft-beer-fans-avoid-crafty-beers/) ,** innovation takes many shapes and forms, but ultimately there’s a craft that helps drive it. In a piece for [her Smooth the Path blog (opens in a new tab)](http://www.smooththepath.net/2014/04/02/why-innovation-is-a-craft-and-what-that-means-for-associations/) , consultant Amanda Kaiser argues that innovation has to be an ongoing element of an organization’s work. “It is a hard thing to pull out and dust off when business metrics are declining,” she writes. “Innovation is something that people and organizations do better when they are constantly working on it.” Read on [for more of Kaiser’s insights (opens in a new tab)](http://www.smooththepath.net/2014/04/02/why-innovation-is-a-craft-and-what-that-means-for-associations/) on innovation and culture. *(ht @[SmoothThePath (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/SmoothThePath/status/451460472857178112) )* ### Other good reads **Just in time** for the [death of Windows XP](http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/come-microsoft-nags-windows-xp-holdouts-upgrade/) , Microsoft announced [it’s bringing the Start Menu back (opens in a new tab)](http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-to-bring-back-start-menu-windowed-apps-to-windows-7000027988/) to an upcoming version of Windows, ZDNet reports. **Next time you find yourself** depriving yourself of sleep in the name of work, [check out this graphic on creative routines (opens in a new tab)](http://infowetrust.com/2014/03/26/creative-routines/) from the*Info We Trust* blog and remind yourself that a lot of pretty smart people generally got a full eight hours of sleep. Well, except for Mozart, who only needed five. **Who’s leading the way on social media** in your C-suite? According to a new IDG study reported by *CMSWire*, [it’s the CIO (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/cios-take-the-lead-with-social-media-024700.php) . **BlackBerry just [broke up (opens in a new tab)](http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-blackberry-cuts-ties-tmobile-botched-promotion-20140402,0,578569.story)** with T-Mobile, the *Los Angeles Times* reports. **According to Virtual Inc.’s Andy Freed,** there’s no reason to cut ties with old board members entirely. [That’s where an advisory board comes in handy (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.virtualmgmt.com/association-advisory-board/) . (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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