2014 celebrates the sixth anniversary of MGI’s Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. Based on input from nearly 865 respondents, 2014 results show that membership organisation numbers continue to rebound. In this report detailed information is provided on:

• Primary challenges to growth
  
• Changes in dues
  
• Uses of social media
  
• Successes in recruitment and engagement
  
• Tactics in renewals and reinstatement
  
• Marketing budgets
  
• Changes in membership categories
  
• And much more
  

The 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report is easy to read and easy to digest, and will be of value to anyone involved in membership marketing or association management.

Download your free copy here.

2014 Benchmarking Report confirms associations gained strength

The majority of membership organizations that were hit hard by the 2009 global economic meltdown have continued their slow but steady recovery into the first quarter of this year. More than half of those surveyed in early 2014 report increased total member counts and nearly 60 percent report new member growth over the past year. The continued steady recovery of association membership headlines the findings in the 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, the fifth annual survey of leading association indicators conducted by Marketing General Incorporated.

New membership

This year's benchmarking survey found that 58 percent of the associations sampled report new member growth, which is a significant improvement from the 42 percent reporting new member growth at the depth of the recession in 2010.

Why the numbers are important

Most membership organisations use three key indicators to measure trends in their overall health: total membership, new members acquired, and members renewed. These data help gauge performance compared to the industry as a whole, as well as identify areas of strength and weakness in their membership marketing efforts. This year, 865 membership organisations completed the survey, the leading study of its kind to examine the practices associations commonly use to recruit new members, retain current ones, and reinstate those who have lapsed.

Renewing membership

If there is a weakness in association health revealed by the survey, it lies in renewals. Just 31 percent of the associations polled report improved renewal rates in 2014. That is slightly higher than the 27 percent of associations that report a decline.

Most important goals

When respondents were asked their association's most important membership goals, 67 per cent indicated "Increasing member engagement," 64 percent "Increasing membership retention," and 60% "Increasing membership acquisition."

Want to learn more?

MGI makes the annual benchmarking report freely available in print and online for the benefit of the greater association community. MGI is able to customise the benchmarking report for your individual association with most information available in considerable and actionable detail. Contact MGI Vice President Erik Schonher at 703.706.0358 or email him at Erik@MarketingGeneral.com to learn more.

Disclaimer: Because an activity or practice has a statistical correlation with a change in membership rates, MGI is not claiming that any one behaviour in and of itself causes this outcome. There are literally thousands of variables that impact membership results.