5 Proven Ways to Fight Member Lapse and Boost Engagement

From investing in member experience software to crafting programs that enable learners to practice the professional skills they need, your association works hard to recruit members. As such, it can be disheartening to see your member count tick down instead of up.

When it comes to fighting member lapse, the goal should be prevention rather than recapture. This is because it’s generally easier to re-engage members who are still a part of your organization but at risk of lapsing rather than starting communication back up with a member who has already left. 

To help your association lower its lapse rate by catching members before they leave, this guide will explore strategies for increasing member engagement and retention.

1. Provide continuous engagement opportunities.

Members may leave your association not because they don’t enjoy your content and benefits but because they feel they’ve experienced everything your program has to offer. For instance, if a member joins an association to take a particular certification course, they may end their membership after completing the modules they need. 

Avoid this by cultivating content that encourages continued member engagement. To engage members long-term, your association might:

• Use gamification tools. Gamification features act as reward systems for otherwise simple activities, encouraging users to continue interacting in order to earn badges, move up on a leaderboard, or fill a progress bar. 

• Provide ongoing educational courses. Develop content that enables professionals to continue their education and grow their skills, no matter where they are in their careers. This type of content will appeal to your entire member base and can even provide practice modules that invite users to take them again to keep their knowledge fresh. 
• Encourage user-generated content. Your association can only offer so many engagement opportunities. Encourage your members to fill in the lulls between new content with user-generated content. This might take the form of written opinion pieces, reviews, videos, or discussion questions.

Track which engagement opportunities your members participate in so you can gear future content to align with their interests. For example, you might implement user surveys at the end of your courses, asking members about their experience and what other topics they would be interested in taking courses on. 

2. Update your content.

To retain your members, you need to provide content that fits their current needs. Keep your association’s offerings relevant and fresh by:

• Comparing your benefits to competitors’ offerings. Assess what similar associations offer their members. Are they providing content you aren’t? Are they experimenting with different formats and engagement methods? Is their membership interface as intuitive as yours? If you’re losing members to a competitor, benchmarking these organizations should be your first step in improving your own offerings.
• Staying up-to-date with trends in your sector. Trade and professional associations need to provide content that’s relevant to working professionals. Attend conferences, subscribe to industry publications, and partner with other organizations in your sector to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry’s evolution.
• Experimenting with new content. Don’t be afraid to be a trailblazer and make your association the organization offering new, trend-setting content and member engagement strategies. Get creative and assess member needs to invent new ways to deliver content, appreciate members, and encourage participation in your association.

3. Host unique opportunities.

Stand out from your competitors by hosting offerings no one else is. While all of your benefits should align with members’ needs, consider creative ways you can deliver on those needs. 

For example, your busy members might cite challenges with completing full courses, even if they are invested in your educational offerings. To remedy this, you could experiment with microlearning content. 

If you’re looking to scale up your association or offer new content, ensure your management software can facilitate your ideas. For instance, if you plan to host highly interactive events, you’ll likely need a more involved event management tool than a basic Zoom extension. 

4. Create a better user experience.

Sometimes, it’s not about what your association offers but how you offer content. Ask yourself if your content is easy to find and engage with. You can optimize your user experience by:

• Ensuring accessibility. All members should be able to access your content. Follow accessibility best practices by adding closed captions to videos, ensuring text has proper color contrast, and making your membership site navigable by keyboard.
• Making networking easy. Many professionals join associations to connect with others in their field. Tradewing’s guide to membership directories recommends associations ensure their membership base is accessible without sacrificing members’ privacy. For instance, you might encourage networking by providing a directory with direct messaging features but allow members to decide what information they will share and with who.
• Personalizing when possible. In addition to sending members content that fits their unique interests, consider how you can personalize your benefits to each member. For example, as part of your certification programs, you might offer courses that adapt content to members’ individual strengths and weaknesses.

To ensure your website is navigable for new members, hold tests where someone unfamiliar with your website explores your content. Ask them to complete specific tasks and narrate their thoughts aloud so you can see how a new member might interpret your menus and site layout.

5. Cultivate networking opportunities.

When members can network within your association, they are likely to stick with your organization long-term in order to maintain those connections. 

Usually, the go-to method for encouraging networking is to host in-person events. At these gatherings, consider how you can help members break the ice, such as by pairing new members with long-term ones who can show them around and introduce them to their connections. eCardWidget’s member appreciation guide suggests launching a formal mentorship program in which members can volunteer to guide new members and ensure they feel welcome. 

While events can be impactful, most associations only host a handful of in-person gatherings per year. Keep your members connected by investing in community management software that enables them to connect online. This membership management tool creates a virtual space where members can post content, comment on each other’s posts, send messages, and engage with one another on a social media-like platform just for your association. 

By empowering members to connect with each other online, you can prevent potential member lapse between events and give them a reason to log into your membership portal year-round. 

When it comes to creating effective content that engages members long-term, your first step should be to assess your members’ needs. Did they join your association to take high-quality educational courses, make valuable industry connections, or stay up to date on sector developments? 

With the answer to this question, you can then focus on creating content that invites members to return to it, whether it’s new educational content to refresh their knowledge or a get-together for forming new professional relationships. 

Ready to dive deeper into these strategies and unlock your association's full revenue potential? Click below and begin transforming your association's financial future today.