the challenge​

A professional association was seeing concerning declines in membership renewals along with lower levels of new membership. The team needed to understand why members were choosing not to renew and how the organization could make membership more relevant to both existing and prospective members.

our approach​

• Interviewed industry thought leaders to understand how the association was perceived, how the role of associations was evolving, and how member expectations were changing.
• Identified the member segments contributing most to the decline and conducted virtual in-depth interviews focused on non-renewal, competitive alternatives, and perceived membership value.
• Conducted a quantitative study with targeted members to validate and broaden the qualitative findings.

the impact

The research clearly outlined the drivers of low renewal and prioritized value-added benefits that could strengthen retention and acquisition. It also identified competitive benefits drawing members away and uncovered friction in the renewal process itself.

By improving the renewal process and communication, the client saw a bump in renewals. The organization also updated its membership offering around the benefits members valued most and narrowed its target for potential new members.