American Engagement Index 2017 | MCI UAE | EN

Membership Alone is a Drag on Growth

The 21st-century American association faces a host of serious engagement challenges. Membership at many organizations has stagnated or decreased as professionals find the products, services, and experiences they seek elsewhere. Increasing competition from related nonprofits and corporations siphons off dollars that normally would have flowed to the association. Members look for personalized, high-touch relationships that associations aren’t well-equipped to deliver, and the variety of platforms that members use (and expect an association to use) has only increased. In short, the familiar association business model—membership dollars topped off with nondues revenue from education, networking, and publications -is increasingly obsolete. 

And yet, there is little research in the association community about the structure of an effective new engagement model for US American members and non-member customers.  

• How strong are US member relationships in different segments, and how well do they compare to non-US members? 
• How do exposure and usage of actual products and services correlate with the quality of the relationship? 
• How do member relationships evolve in the membership lifecycle? 
• How can real membership advocates be identified? 
• What are relevant drivers that most impact engagement? 
• Which qualities and motives for membership need to be considered in order to implement more tar-geted activation and communication strategies? 

The AEI is designed to answer those questions. 

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