It’ll be interesting to see how this statistic develops over the next few years. But in 2013, the 173 respondents who completed the Pulse Report survey saw education and professional development declining as a reason for prospective members to join their associations.
And with that change, Canadians’ motivations fell more closely in line with the results of a similar association survey in the United States.
A Sharp Decline
Of all the questions from our 2012 Pulse Report that we repeated in 2013, this was the one that showed the most dramatic change.
Last year, our survey of association managers, leaders, and executives identified education as the single most important factor in members’ decision to join, with 24.4% citing it as a top reason. Networking placed third, at 16%.
A year later, education had plummeted to fifth rank, with only 7.4% of respondents listing it as a top motivator, while networking surged to the top of the list, at 24.3%.
Two years of data can paint an incomplete picture. But if this trend carries on through future editions of the Pulse Report, it will point to shifting member expectations that put more emphasis on business relationships and less on professional or personal growth.
Top Reasons to
Join a Canadian Association, 2012–2013
|
||||
2012
|
2013
|
|||
Rank
|
%
|
Rank
|
%
|
|
Education
|
1
|
24.4%
|
5
|
7.4%
|
Access
to specialized information
|
2
|
16.8%
|
2
|
19.1%
|
Networking
|
3
|
16.0%
|
1
|
24.3%
|
Advocacy
|
4
|
10.9%
|
3
|
14.7%
|
Affinity programs
|
4
|
8.8%
|
||
The Bigger Picture
With some of the questions we ask in the Pulse Report, it’s interesting to cross-check the results against the annual Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report by Marketing General Incorporated (MGI). And in the U.S., an emphasis on member networking is nothing new. For the second year in a row, the MGI report found that education took fourth spot, with only eight percent of U.S. respondents identifying it as a leading reason for their members to join.
Top Reasons to
Join an Association, Canada and U.S., 2013
|
||||
Canada
|
U.S.
|
|||
Rank
|
%
|
Rank
|
%
|
|
Education
|
5
|
7.4%
|
4
|
8.0%
|
Access
to specialized information
|
2
|
19.1%
|
2
|
12.0%
|
Networking
|
1
|
24.3%
|
1
|
22.0%
|
Advocacy
|
3
|
14.7%
|
3
|
12.0%
|
Affinity programs
|
4
|
8.8%
|
||
Interpreting the Results
There are a couple of possible conclusions to be drawn from the survey results.
Canadian association executives may be right that their members are putting their professional development on hold. Knowledge and education are still important—they may be more central to members’ performance and success than ever before. But it’s hard to maintain your business or professional standing if you don’t have a job, so networking might be the prime focus in a tough economy.
But there’s another possibility. If associations are listening to the tone of the times, rather than the needs of their members, and positioning themselves accordingly, they may be missing an opportunity to boost member engagement and retention. If their programs and marketing emphasize networking, when members are really interested in education, organizations could lose ground with their single most important audience: the people who pay membership dues and trust their associations to represent their best interests.
Time will tell, but there’s a way to find out without waiting for next year’s Pulse Report. If you’re not entirely certain of your members’ programming priorities, a focused, well-designed survey could be the best investment you make over the next year.
Greenfield Services Inc. will release the 2013 Pulse Report at the National Conference of the Canadian Society of Association Executives, September 18-20, 2013 in Winnipeg. Contact us today to receive your own copy by email.
