It is a well known fact that membership benefits are important to your members, but did you know marketing those benefits may be just as crucial? Your association may have the strongest membership benefits of any association, but if people don’t know about them they are doing no good. It’s important to intentionally come up with membership benefits, but it may be equally as important to have a system in place to communicate what they are. Here are 4 ways to market your membership benefits:
1. Knowledge
The first step in successfully marketing your membership benefits is to know what your current ones are. This seems pretty simple, but if you think hard about it, do you truly know every single perk and benefit members of your association have? You may say yes, but if you get together in a brainstorm session, you may be able to come up with even more. The next part of this is knowing what members are looking for. A membership benefit does no good if members aren’t interested in it. If you are unsure, create a quick survey to current members and find out what they value most.
2. Website
A well-designed website is another key step in communicating membership benefits to potential members. The first place people search for information is often the Internet. Consider dedicating a page on your website to outline what being a member is about and what potential members would gain from membership. The website can serve as a one-stop destination to find more information on your association, as well as the perks to joining it.
3. Testimonials
When I need to hire someone for a service or when I’m deciding on a restaurant to go to, I not only look at the website, but I also look up reviews. I want to know what other people’s experiences have been. For people like me, testimonials are a huge asset to have available. One way to gather testimonials is to send out surveys to members after a conference or after a year of membership. This will give you overall feedback on the association and with their permission, give you a testimonial to use. Another way is to connect with long-time members and ask some of them to create a video testimonial. Videos are more personal and can be used on the website and social media.
4. Marketing Materials
Being prepared to share what your association can offer is crucial to taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. This is where marketing materials come into play. Have a one-sheet of facts about your association easily downloadable or in physical form. You can do the same for brochures as well. Marketing materials can be a resource to potential members as well as new staff, board members, and volunteers. Going back to the first point, knowledge is key.