Get a nonprofit exec talking about membership, and you're sure to hear about their struggles. They might tell you that young people aren't joiners, and aren't willing to pay to belong. And yet all kinds of membership organizations are thriving–look at CrossFit Gyms, premium LinkedIn accounts and luxury vacation or travel clubs like Inspirato and Executive Resorts.
Nonprofits such as museums, religious institutions, schools and professional associations have been built on membership models, but they are suffering as consumers increasingly have other more appealing options.
As more and more for-profit companies move to membership models, for everything from car-sharing to software to dating, they are developing creative new ways to build loyal, profitable relationships with customers. Here are the five things that old-guard nonprofits could stand to learn from the new membershihp trends.
1. We all want to belong–Feeling a sense of being part of something meaningful and valuable–this is the core benefit of most nonprofit subscriptions. Within any one group there may be several sub-groups, each with unique hopes and drivers for joining. When was the last time your organization looked at the segments of members and thought about how they wanted to be connected? Is your organization building communities, and making it easy for people to find and connect with one another?
2. We all want to feel recognized–Within any community, some people are held in especially high regard. It is this feeling of recognition that retains many people in membership organizations. Major donor lists, boards of directors and awards dinners have historically been ways of keeping active members committed, but today's subscription businesses often incorporate badges, competitive games and levels of membership into digital communities, conferring status for skill, participation and duration. Very few nonprofits have developed new ways of demonstrating appreciation for their most valuable members.
3. We all want to mitigate risk. Sometimes the risk is a feeling of not having access to valuable or inspiring content. Somtimes the risk is tied with the burden of ownership. Sometimes the risk is tied to overspending. And sometimes, the risk is of being left behind. Most nonprofits don't seem to fully recognize the risks that their members might hope to mitigate by being part of the group–and miss opportunities to build a more loyal following. And, too often, the benefits they provide to mitigate these risks aren't the right risks. For example, the fastest growing churches in the US are more focused on helping people find jobs and succeed in school–worldly risks that seem to be the magnets attracting new members, who move on from career and academic outreach programs to participate more fully in bible study, choir and other traditional services.
4. Once we're committed, change is hard. Museums, religious institutions, schools and professional associations alike have inertia on their side. While any decision to spend time or money might require some deliberation, and can feel challenging to the organization hoping to get that investment, canceling the subscription is often just as hard. New billing solutions optimized for subscriptions, like those offered by Vindicia and Zuora, leverage data and technology to dramatically increase retention, minimizing cancelations due to changes in credit card numbers. However, when retention rates drop, it's usually a sign that there is a big (not little) disconnect between pricing and value–usually because a disruptive competitor is offering the same or greater value, often at a lower cost. Member attrition should be seen as a wakeup call– a signal that there is a big problem in the value proposition.
5. The Social Network has changed everything. This is the biggest issue facing nonprofits. Being able to connect and stay connected all the time, as well as being able to generate and share video and other content, are things that we all expect. And yet, most nonprofits have been slow to create interesting mobile apps, build vibrant communities of parents, practitioners or art-lovers. These communities are developing, but often via for-profit organizations.
Nonprofits enjoy tremendousgoodwill and loyalty not often seen in forprofit organizations. They need to continue building services and providing unique access to experiences, both live and on social media, that meet the changing expectations and needs of their members.
