Thursday Buzz: Do You Have a Membership Blind Spot?

Associations spend countless hours honing their mission, vision, and goals and then creating a communications strategy to get the message out to potential members. Considering all that effort, it’s not surprising that association pros assume that the group’s value to prospects is obvious.

This assumption is a major mistake, says a recent Association Success post  (opens in a new tab). Writer Deborah Rodney shares a story about calling an association to ask about membership but being turned off by a representative who immediately went into sales mode.

“She began by explaining the various membership levels, dues, and benefits at each level and then offered me a menu of discounts that might apply under certain conditions or by certain dates,” writes Rodney. “She tried to pressure me into joining without any understanding of my interests, needs, or motivation.”

Without a clear picture of prospects’ needs, associations risk signing up people who may not be a good fit—or turning away people who would be.  Organizations “have a blind spot, because their overriding objective is to sell memberships,” says Rodney. “They don’t explain what differentiates the organization, what benefits it delivers, or what would motivate someone to join because they’ve made assumptions and haven’t bothered to ask any questions!”

Bouncing Back

Why one of your online courses failed & what you can do about it | WBT Systems https://t.co/zNZPC0Itkm  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab)

— TopClass LMS (@TopClassLMS) February 1, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

How should you respond when an online course you thought was a great idea falls flat? According to a WBT Systems blog post  (opens in a new tab), you have two choices: “You can either move on to other projects and leave this bad memory behind, or you can revive the course and try again.”

If you’re still in love with the course idea, reviving is the way to go, but you’ll need to make some adjustments. Consider whether you marketed the course effectively. The blog post recommends best uses for organic and paid channels. It also makes suggestions for improving course descriptions, pricing, and your platform.

Other Links of Note

Looking to increase your website engagement? Rasa.io shares a few ways to experiment with artificial intelligence  (opens in a new tab) to do so.

Make sure your new members receive a warm welcome. The Web Scribble blog offers up what all new member packets should have  (opens in a new tab).

Nonprofits need donations, but the number of solicitations may be turning donors away. The Agitator delves into why an increase in volume leads to a decline in results  (opens in a new tab).

(welcomia/iStock/Getty Images Plus)