Keep Your Association Relevant: A Membership Model That Leads To Member Retention

About This Episode
Associations are always busy juggling new member recruitment, member retention, member engagement — but do they have the right mindset to scale their membership? In this thought-provoking episode with our inspiring guest, Randall Craig, CEO of Pinetree Advisors, Randall challenges the traditional wisdom of member-based associations. Listen in as Randall shares his wealth of experience and explains how you can improve member engagement and retention.

About Our Guest 
Randall Craig is a best-selling author and advisor on digital strategy for associations. He has won the Greiner Award from CSAE for making an impact in the association space. He continues to carve a path as a digital innovator and has taught at numerous executive education programs, hosts professionally speaking TV, and frequently appears as an association expert with over 350 national news network interviews. Randall has served at the board level for several national associations and has also been inducted into the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame.

Full List Of Questions We Asked Randall
Tell us about yourself and what you do?

Can you tell us why you think the membership model for many associations is broken?

What do you see as successful strategic planning if not incremental change?

We know that association leaders are very passionate and care, why the hesitancy to try a revolutionary strategic plan?

If an association needed to do digital transformation at this time, where would you start?

Can you tell us why you think the membership model for many associations is broken?

Association leadership is hesitant to make changes that will help their members. Why do you think that is?

Can you help explain for our audience what digital transformation means for associations?

How should we approach our association marketing and what role does technology play here?

What are the different elements of digital transformation that are key to increasing member engagement?

Discuss the problems with one size fits all AMS systems and what are the different tools an association should use to deliver a great member experience.

Let’s talk about the membership website. Which is different from the public website. We believe that a good member portal is instrumental in engaging members. What are your thoughts?

What’s needed in a good membership website?

How to use digital tools to build trust with members at scale?

If part of your membership is not tech-savvy how do you reach them?  

Audience Questions 
We are facing challenges getting organization members to renew. Without them, we would have to sell many individual memberships to make up for the loss of revenue. Should we still focus on changing the organizational members?

With so much free content and other learning opportunities out there, is providing learning opportunities still a priority?

Do we really need a social media presence?

Associations are using a mix of marketing tactics. Which ones do you see as most successful?

Closing Questions
Key takeaway for the audience?

Can you share a personal habit that has contributed the most to your success?

How can people get in touch if they have any questions?

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