According to a new report, association members have a generally positive view of their association, particularly when it comes to professional development.

Unlocking Value for Members: Perceptions and the Evolving Role of Associations, released last week by the AMC Smithbucklin, is based on a survey of 402 association members in the United States. An overwhelming majority—88 percent—said they have a “positive impression” of their association, and 85 percent said they renew their membership annually.

At the core of that enthusiasm, according to the report, is a feeling that associations provide an important support role in members’ careers. The top reasons for joining an association, according to the survey, are “to expand my professional network” (54 percent), “to stay up to date with the latest trends/events in my industry” (53 percent), and “benefits my career development” (49 percent).

“I think one of the core insights here is that [members are] looking for help in navigating the complexity that’s out there,” said Jeremy Van Ek, COO, Association Management, at Smithbucklin and a co-author of the report. “Associations have a really unique opportunity to play that role as a trusted partner to help them.”

Survey respondents also pointed to the importance of the quality of industry information that they receive as members. The highest-rated offerings, according to the survey, all relate to education: professional development (83 percent), continuing education credits (82 percent), and certifications/designations (80 percent).

Van Ek said the finding highlights the need for associations to play the role of an information broker that’s more trustworthy than the internet, while also more flexible than a formal degree program. “[The responses] coalesce around the idea of, ‘I need a good coach here, providing good curated content,’” he said. “There’s so much content out there that it’s hard to know who to go to, what’s trustworthy and what’s not. Associations have a really important role in curating the best of the best.”

In addition to surveying association members, the report also included insights from 1,381 U.S. professionals who are not currently a member of an association. The largest proportion of respondents (24 percent) said they’re not members because they’re unaware of an association serving their field; 22 percent said they haven’t found an association relevant to their current career path.

The report also noted that a very small proportion of that group—4 percent—said nothing could motivate them to join an association. Van Ek said the findings should serve as a prompt for associations to consider marketing opportunities beyond their core membership group, seeking out potential communities that might find value in their offerings, or developing new offerings to serve a wider range of professionals.

“When we’re thinking about outreach for associations and marketing the association, we should be thinking of the world in terms of, How do we not only grow our members, but grow our customers and our audience as well?” he said. “I think that’s the key to increasing exposure and drawing more people in.”