Asking for feedback is an important step in development. An association’s membership is its backbone and the key to its growth, which is why it’s so important to ensure that your association is serving its purpose, and what you are offering is specifically catered to meet your member’s needs. If this is done, then members are much more likely to stick around when it comes to renewal time.
Engagement levels are a great indicator of how well your association is doing. Higher engagement levels prove that you are doing the right thing. Asking for feedback opens the floor up for members to voice their opinion on what they are benefitting from, and what gaps need to be filled.
Allow your members to inspire you and use that to edge ever closer towards fulfilling your mission statement. Gathering feedback can be done in many ways and doesn’t necessarily need to be an email that gets moved to the spam folder, or a phone call that is ignored.
How to gather feedback
Surveys
The most direct route you can take to gain feedback is through surveys. These can be done online using virtual forms, or in person at events or training courses an association may provide. Try to cover all bases and include a space for members to add any extra information if they wish to do so.
Newsletters
Newsletters and bulletins are a convenient place to ask for feedback. You can afford to ask about more specific topics throughout different sections of the newsletter, including links to more than one survey. These can span over various aspects that your association covers, but make sure you are including enough informative content to balance this out. By doing this you will increase engagement rates, as members can pick and choose which survey applies to them, making each individual much more likely to interact. All the while you are avoiding spamming your members with multiple email requests, as these can all conveniently fit into one newsletter.
One-to-One support
Offering one-to-one support reinforces your commitment to communication and openness with your members. An Association’s Board should always be accessible to the membership. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Board members must always remain a virtual call away, but the option needs to be there for members if they need to raise concerns and offer their feedback directly.
What to ask
Training Courses & Events
Event specific feedback can really help an association improve its practices. Not only will it help develop the content that is being delivered, but you can also ask for a critique on the venue and the guest speakers you invite. This kind of feedback can help shape future events and can give an indication of what changes you may need to make moving forward.
Overall feedback
Social media posts are a particularly handy place to ask for feedback on your association as a whole. Hopefully you will be able to generate a conversation with (and between) members about what they particularly like or ideas they have for making the membership even better. Perhaps create an opportunity to reflect on why members joined in the first place, and what can be done to retain them. Find out what specific needs they have and if they are currently being met.
Cultivating a list of important questions to gather vital information from members is a sturdy step towards growth. Listen to what needs changing, what needs to be introduced and what you’re doing well. Acting upon this information will ultimately lead to a greater member retention rate.
Let us know in the comments how feedback has helped you in the past, and how you’ve improved because of it.