Benchmark Your Membership Marketing Success.

 

The ASAE book 7 Measures of Success documented that remarkable associations collect and use data to build success. One measurement tool that I believe is fundamental, but not fully utilized in the membership area, is benchmarking.

There are five key benchmarks for a membership program that should be captured each month and they can be presented on a single sheet of paper in what is called a “Membership Dashboard.”

Just like a car dashboard gives the driver the key data that’s needed to keep the car on the road moving forward in a safe manner, a membership dashboard highlights key statistics for an association.

The membership dashboard includes the key items that drive the growth or possible decline of an association’s membership. These will include:

• Total Membership
  Current Membership
  Membership the same month in the previous year
  Percentage increase or decrease in year-to-year membership
• New Members by MonthCurrent New Members
  New Members the same month in the previous year
• Membership Conversion (Renewal of First Year Members) by MonthFirst year members eligible to renew
  First year members who actually do renew
  Conversion renewal rates (renewing new members / eligible to renew new members)
• Year Two and Subsequent Renewals (Y2+) by MonthY2+ members eligible to renew
  Y2+ members who actually do renew
  Y2+ renewal rates (renewing members / members eligible to renew)
• Total Renewals by Month
  Total members eligible to renew
  Total members who actually do renew
  Total renewal rates (see post from July 5th for assistance with calculating renewal rates)

If an association has different levels or types of membership, the top level of the dashboard can show the aggregate membership of the association. However, the dashboard also can include additional spreadsheet tabs for other categories of membership.

Once a dashboard is in place, a wealth of information will jump off the page of each month’s report. For example, the dashboard will identify where membership is “leaking” members. Is it first-year members or multiyear members? And why is membership growing? Is it because new members’ input is up or because of increased renewal rates?

I have put together a sample dashboard in an Excel spreadsheet.  Send me an email and I will be happy to share it with you.  My email is: Tony@MarketingGeneral.com.

Tags: Membership Lifecycle, Membership Marketing, Membership Renewal, Membership Renewals, Membership Retention, Tracking Membership

This entry was posted on Friday, October 22nd, 2010 at 5:38 pm and is filed under Tips & Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.