I love sports analogies. Anyone who has worked with me has heard me say about associations that you have to go for the big play to the end zone, but you can't do it on the first play or on every play.

Clients often come to us with requests to do a Member Satisfaction Survey. After a discussion to gauge what their true research objectives are, we often steer them toward a Member Indispensability Study instead. But why? Satisfaction doesn’t equate to longevity. In our research experience, we have seen that satisfaction isn’t a strong driver of […]

MGI recently released our 2019 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. While it’s filled with nearly 80 pages of data, one stat in particular stood out. 22% of associations experiencing an increase in the number of new members this year recently adopted a new membership model. IPMA-HR, the leading public sector human resource organization, knows the impact […]

We recently released the 11th edition of our MGI Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, the industry’s most comprehensive membership marketing study. This year, 824 unique individual, trade, and combination associations responded to our survey, answering questions covering the spectrum of the membership cycle. We also added questions delving into innovation, membership models, and value delivery.

Flowers are blooming, butterflies all aflutter, and days are getting longer, which can only mean one thing. It's almost July 2. With 182 days before it and 182 after, July 2 is the exact middle of the year. If you're wondering where the time went, you're not alone. The good news is that right now is the perfect time to look at your 2019 plan and ask yourself if this year's results are meeting expectations. If you wait until your year-end review, you are missing out on more than 6 months to course correct.

If you answered "no," you are likely missing out on an opportunity to engage your members by referring their colleagues and friends, while promoting your association. How, you might wonder? With one of the oldest forms of advertising—"word of mouth." According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know. When you are looking to introduce your association to potential new members, existing engaged members make great trusted sources; engaged members know the benefits of your association and how they have personally used their membership to grow their knowledge and network.