4 reasons to be thankful for association members.

Membership work is often a positive experience for you and your association staff. And, your members see value in the work that your association does for their profession, with their dues helping make that work possible.

How you work with your members is unique to the world of associations. Corporations with customers, nonprofits with donors and even clubs with members don’t interact with their audience the way you as an association professional does.

As you prepare for your yearly day of giving thanks, remember to be thankful for your association members. Here’s why:

• Members keep coming back. 80%. That’s the estimated annual yardstick for average renewal rates across the association industry. Members are a built-in, dedicated audience of repeat buyers that most other businesses can’t claim.
• Members believe in you and your mission. While it’s vital to deliver a clear ROI for member dollars, ASAE studies show that professional benefits outweigh personal benefits in importance to your members. They see value in the work that your association does for them and their profession. Their dues are a payment to make that work possible.
• Members are their own product. One of the key benefits of belonging to an association for your members is access to all the other people who belong, whether directly through in-person events and online communities or indirectly through the knowledge and leadership that so many members share. The more members you attract and engage, the better membership in your association becomes.
• Members volunteer. You have many dedicated members who give their time and energy to help make the work of your association happen. From the board of directors down to the sign-in table contributors, their support is exceptional.

There are other reasons to be thankful for your association members:

• They help you build your brand through word of mouth.
• They tell you what they think about your strategy and how to become more relevant.
• They help you innovate.

There’s so much more. Why are you thankful for your association’s members?