Association management is vital because you’ll be able to open valuable opportunities for your members while maintaining existing projects. With an effective plan, you can encourage your constituents to stay engaged within the organization, which instantly boosts retention rates.
On the other hand, not having an effective association management strategy may cause you to get involved with parties having controversial reputations. At the same time, you might not be able to offer networking events for your members, which might cause them to look for better alternatives.
Since association management is essential, you must emulate these five best practices:
An efficient communication strategy ensures that all parties within your association are aligned with the same objectives. When you provide them with an avenue where you can communicate about relevant topics, you’ll be able to increase member engagement rates. In addition, your customer service staff can respond to questions and complaints in realtime. This allows you to continuously implement good credibility.
When developing a communication strategy for your association, you must offer a positive welcome program for new members. Use technology like Impexium and others. On this platform, you may send your latest constituent invitations for a welcome event. This gives them a chance to introduce themselves to other members and the board. Alternatively, you may use this channel to send personalized messages to prospective members by splitting the information depending on their demography and interests.
Creating a referral program is an excellent way to increase your membership. It involves your existing members in promoting your association. Instead of directly introducing your organization to qualified leads, this strategy will help you gain the trust of your prospects by listening to their colleagues. Aside from that, rewarding a successful referral will encourage the old members to be more participative in activities. Thus, boosting engagement rates.
When developing a referral program, you must figure out how to reward your members after they send you recruits. For instance, you may choose to give gift cards, discounts on dues, raffle tickets, branded association swags, or a coupon for a fancy dinner at a local restaurant. Besides that, you can give shoutouts to the top three referrers in email newsletters to make them feel special as you appreciate their efforts.
Besides incentivizing referrals as a promotional strategy, you must use different advertising channels to attract more leads. Doing so will help you strengthen your brand perception within your community. Thus, giving you the ability to target high-paying leads. In addition, marketing will also remind your existing members of the value of your organization and why they’re part of it.
When promoting your association, you have to develop a mobile-friendly website. Here you can provide the necessary information to prospective members. Next, you have to optimize your social media pages by publishing content related to your organization so you can reach a wider audience. If you have a budget, you must invest in paid ads. These allow you to retarget online users who visit your pages to persuade them to join your association.
Budgeting for an association is crucial. You should be able to allocate and monitor your funds carefully. Without doing so, you can’t meet the expectations of your members. Low expectations might affect your organization's credibility. In turn, you might lose your highest-paying members. Their leaving can create a negative impression for investors and potential leads.
When planning for association finances, you must organize a conference with the board of directors, treasurers, and managers. During the meeting, you’ll discuss factors like budget allocation for membership renewal processes, promotions, and annual event costs. Once you have this finance management strategy, your organization will stay within the budget. Thus, helping you sustain a solid monetary position.
Hosting in-person events is one of the best ways to build awareness around your association. These events also allow you to improve your recruiting efforts. During these social gatherings, you can share the most attractive membership benefits you offer. Thus, enticing non-members to subscribe to your organization. In addition, you’ll be able to open networking opportunities to keep association members engaged. It also enables them to meet stakeholders.
When planning for association events, you may organize a community-wide donation drive to inspire the volunteerism of your members while bringing them together. As you encourage them to attend, you must ask them to get goods to donate like school supplies, toys, non-perishable food, and books.
As an association owner, you must ensure that you’re properly managing your finances, promotions, and the satisfaction of your existing members. Therefore, you should consider emulating these five practices to create positive experiences for your constituents. Once you do so, you may attract additional high-paying leads and increase the engagement rates of your current members.
