Most associations are wringing their hands about where their future members will come from. Are they in the profession yet? Are they students or young professionals? What kinds of services and benefits will they want? What is their unique value proposition? How are they different from our current members?
They are right to be concerned. Association membership is under attack. Many associations' educational offerings have been replaced by free information found online or from service providers. Even before COVID, travel and conference budgets were being cut back. Communities can be replaced online by Facebook and LinkedIn.
That being said, we believe there will always be a strong appeal for association membership. We just have to try harder to find those future members instead of relying on them to find us.
I put together a unique strategy for a legal association with which I’ve worked. Instead of making assumptions about their members, I started with an in-depth analysis of a typical member’s career trajectory. It was remarkably consistent from member-to-member: After law school, this particular type of attorney spends about 7- to 8-years as a law firm associate in one of several practice areas before choosing to go in-house at a corporation. After a few more years, they specialize, falling into this particular type of law. That’s when they finally find this association for all the typical reasons including education on the day-to-day functions of their new job and developing a network of people who do the work they do.
This group wanted to move the discovery of the association back a few years. We developed a “Next Gen” strategy to introduce to the profession (not the association ) as a career option while they were still a junior associate at a law firm. The strategy is that they’ll consider it as a profession instead of falling into it and choose to transition to it earlier, with more purpose and intent.
Joining is not the primary ask made of these younger prospects. Rather, awareness of the profession is the goal. Since this association is the only one serving this profession and since they’re the one who introduced the profession to the young prospect, the hope is that the connection made will result in acquisition. This is a long-term plan. Results aren’t expected right away.
The tactics used in this case are a very high touch invitation - using several different channels including email and a personal phone call - to a tailor-made event. Importantly, the event itself isn’t just a mixer for under 40 year-olds, there are also a dozen or so invited elder stateswomen and men there to work the room. Access to these more established professionals is something everyone, especially those earlier in their careers, are clamoring for. Some of them also give short talks on the value of the profession and the importance of this association in their careers (a very soft sell).
Every association is different. The career path for members may mean targeting students or older career-changers. But it’s always a long term strategy, starting with careful analysis and then a well-tailored outreach plan.
