Managing a membership association is no easy feat. Whilst it is important to interact with members on a personal level, it is vital to maintain a bird’s eye view of the entirety of the member base.
Assessing a membership’s demographic and growth is an important part in the development of an association. Understanding member lapse rates gives insight to the association’s retention numbers, allowing you to assess how many members leave each year, and understand reasons as to why they may be doing so.
Lapse rate is defined as an association’s non-renewal rate. This is the percentage of members who choose not to renew their membership.
Member lapse rate can be easily calculated using the following formula:
Number of Non-Renewals ÷ Original Membership Total
Example One:
If this year your total number of members is 7352 but only 7152 renew their membership, the calculation would be:
7352 – 7152 = 200
200 ÷ 7352 = 0.03
Lapse Rate = 3%
Example Two:
If this year your total number of members is 35, but only 32 renew their membership, the calculation would be:
35 – 32 = 3
3 ÷ 35 = 0.09
Lapse Rate = 9%
Keeping track of these numbers will allow you to plan for the future of your association and brainstorm how you can increase member retention, an all-important part of growth and development.
To find out more about member retention and how to calculate click HERE.
