The Greater Good in Membership

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Recently, I spent more money than I normally would on a pair of earrings. After I purchased them, I had a moment of buyer's remorse. As I contemplated returning them, I remembered that a portion of my money went to a community need - helping youth experiencing mental health issues. 

In the end, I thought, it's not just about the earrings, it's about a greater good. 

Associations are constantly doing good for communities and industries, but it’s rare for associations to frame it that way. Instead, it's about what you receive as a result of buying the membership: professional development, advocacy, or networking. This is a very transactional mindset. 

Member engagement is not transactional. While it is about purchasing something, there’s added value because it was going to something bigger than oneself. 

That is truly what member engagement is, it’s not transactional. It goes deeper - it's emotional. 

An association’s messaging should be tweaked to highlight that each membership purchase is making a meaningful impact. By emphasizing the ways that they’re making a difference for members and their community. 

This emotional impact is driving the market right now. Both Millennials and Generation Zs are very troubled by current events, whether economic, environmental, or otherwise. Because of this, they show a desire to have a return on impact, to know that their dollar is a part of something bigger than personal gain. 

There is an endless variety of initiatives that need attention and help, but associations must be intentional with their marketing. It's crucial to tie your missions and marketing together to create something unique.

As a real-world example: 

A few years ago, I was working with an association specializing in commercial real estate, and they wanted to host a regular fundraising 5K. However, I urged them to ensure their event was tied back to their mission. 

The associations’ members are instrumental to the urban development of their city, and they are driving commercial real estate development and purchases. So, I recommended that they host their 5K where there's lots of commercial real estate, highlighting the members who worked on different projects along the route. 

With this added depth to their fundraiser, they were able to tie back to their mission and their membership. It reminded people of the greater good their association and its members were doing.

Overall, it's all about preventing buyer's remorse through marketing and messaging.

Make sure you're telling your community about your impact. When you do that, your members aren't going to have buyer's remorse. 

Thanks for reading the Membership IQ! 

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