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Each generation has its own
traits, characteristics, and preferences, and Gen Y’s—people born between
1982 and 1995—are no exception. Understanding their needs and interests will be
crucial if you hope to recruit and retain them as members.
The bigger question is: What
are you doing to engage every
generation in your association?
Here are some of the traits to
watch when you set out to build engagement across your association:
·
Baby Boomers
(born in 1964 or earlier) are most likely to value the member benefits
organizations have offered over the last several decades. They’re looking for
discounts and face-to-face networking. They’re eager to attend conferences and
events. They generally prefer standard types of communication, like hard copy
newsletters and journals. They join an association because it’s the right thing
to do, stay because it boosts their status with their peers, and eagerly step
up to volunteer for boards and committees.
·
Members of Generation X
(born from 1965 to 1981) value professional development and education to
further their knowledge. They prefer peer-to-peer learning over classroom instruction, seek certification(s) to advance their
careers, and expect easy access to the information they need. They’re
interested in mentorship—both receiving and offering it—and they expect a
return on the time they spend on committees, as well as the dollars they invest
in their association membership.
·
Members of Generation Y value recognition. They seek instant gratification, results, and
outcomes, expect instant access to free or inexpensive information, and want to
be seen as equals with other generations. As members, they want access to
leadership opportunities on boards and committees, and within their actual
professions. They seek mentors, but they aren’t interested in standard
mentoring formats.
Your in-house database should
contain all the information you need to segment your membership and prospects by generation. (If it doesn’t, talk to us today!) Once you’ve reviewed the data and packaged your member benefits to
meet different generational needs, the next step is to optimize the messaging
on your website. Does it clearly convey the organization’s values and value
proposition? Does it make a clear, compelling case for the
generations you most need to reach? Each page should contain something that
will appeal to each generation.
After that, you can go one
step further and gather testimonials from your members. With the right mix of voices, you can enlist
leaders in each generation to tell your story to their age peers and explain
how much the association means to them, personally and professionally.
