Your association’s customers: who are they? 

Get to know your customers day is October 21, so let’s use this day to get to know the “customers” of your association better.

Who are your association’s most important customers?

By Christine Bergeron, Marketing Coordinator, Community Brands

Just like a business that sells goods in exchange for compensation, your association participates in customer/seller activities every single day. Your association offers your “customers” unique value, but do you know who your association’s most important customers are? How well do you know your association’s customers? 

Here are some typical customers that your association works with daily and how getting to know them helps your association to continue to move forward. 

Members

• The first, and most obvious, is your association’s members. Your members make up the largest portion of your customers. Your members don’t just purchase membership, they interact with every aspect of your association. Your members attend meetings and events, they participate in continuing education opportunities, they communicate with other members in your association’s online community.   

Non-members

• This one may not be as obvious, but non-members are also important customers of your association. Non-members are people that have showed interest in your association in the past and are qualified to become new members. They have attended past events or participated in previous networking opportunities. Getting to know and engaging non-members has great potential for your association to transform them from one-time customers to repeat purchasers. 

Sponsors

• Your sponsors are another customer of your association. Your sponsors purchase value from your association, such as: event sponsorships, continued education programs, year-round marketing and advertising opportunities. Building sponsorship programs with sponsors that align with your association’s purpose can help to increase non-dues revenue.  

Strategic Partners

• Similar to your sponsors, your association’s strategic partners are important customers. Strategic partners work together to help better both parties. Your association’s strategic partners can include other association’s or organizations that serve a similar audience.  

Donors

• Your donors care deeply about your association and its mission. Donors are also customers of your association. Non-dues revenue, such as donations, is critical to the success of your association. Both one-off and repeat donors become customers of your association because of the unique value that you create for them. Taking the time to get to know and recognize your donors can be a great opportunity for your association to increase donations.  

TECH TIP: YourMembership association management software can be your association’s one-stop shop for all your “customers information”. YourMemberships all-in-one system has the capability to easily manage members and their data. 

Your association cannot thrive without all your important customers. We hope you take the time to celebrate Get to know your customers day on October 21 this year. This is a great opportunity for your association to improve your membership experience and nurture more engaged, loyal “customers”. To learn more about getting to know your members, read 7 tips to get to know your association’s members better.