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Free Resources

Association Metrics is committed to supporting the professional development of association executives. All of our papers and archived presentations can be downloaded at no charge.

Shorten Your Member Surveys (And Get Better Information) By Eliminating Importance Questions

This paper explains the pitfalls of asking members to rank the importance of various member benefits and activities in member surveys. An alternative is explained that shortens member surveys and provides more reliable results.
Importance

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Generational Differences Among Association Members – 2010 Special Report

This 20 page report examines differences among age generations on why members belong to associations, their likelihood to renew their membership or to recommend the association to others, their participation as volunteers, their social media use, and how they perceive their association’s membership value, dues, and website.
2010GenerationalReport

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Impact / Performance Matrix – A Strategic Planning Tool

The matrix is a visual depiction of how all of the aspects of an association (e.g. dues, benefits, publications, conferences, education, website, advocacy) are interrelated, which areas have the greatest impact on members’ perceptions of the organization, which areas are currently in need of improvement, and how to assign an improvement priority to underperforming areas.
Strategic Planning (PDF)

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Who Volunteers? – A Case Study

Volunteers in two professional associations were compared to non-volunteer members to determine how associations could improve on their ability to recruit new volunteers. Also, non-volunteers reported on what their associations could do that would make them more willing to volunteer.
Volunteerism (PDF)

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Why Members Join Your Association

Individuals join associations for a variety of reasons. This paper explains how you can determine the reasons why members join your association, and how you can segment your members on their reasons for joining (and renewing). This enables you to offer benefits and experiences they value, leading to increased retention.
Why Members Join (PDF)

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Understanding Your Vulnerable Members

Every association has a mix of loyal, neutral, and vulnerable members. This paper explains how you can identify those members who are most at-risk of leaving your association, discover what causes vulnerable members, and what steps you can take to retain those members.
Understanding Vulnerable Members (PDF)

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Are Some of Your Members Captive?

This paper describes a recent study that examined why members felt compelled to renew their association membership, in spite of giving a low evaluation of their membership value.
Captive Members (PDF)

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Using Top 2 Scores to Assess an Association’s Performance

There are two primary metrics used to track an association’s performance – average ratings, and top 2 scores. This paper compares the two metrics and explains why top 2 scores give a more accurate reflection of how well an association is performing.
Top 2 Scores (PDF)

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Why It’s Better to Measure Loyalty Than Satisfaction

Loyalty ratings have replaced satisfaction ratings as the best measure of the strength of the relationship between an association and its members. Loyalty ratings can also be used to measure an individual’s intentions for renewing his/her membership.
Loyalty (PDF)

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Assessing the Negative Impact of Problem Experience on Member Loyalty

This paper explains how you can analyze the problems that members experience with your association: (1) what the leading causes of problems are, (2) which types of problems go unreported, (3) which problems are major (problem prevention), and (4) which problems are minor (problem resolution).
Problems (PDF)

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Moving Beyond Satisfied Members to Loyal Members (Video)

Moving Beyond Satisfied Members to Loyal Members (Speech)
This 50 minute presentation at the Florida Society of Association Executives in June 2010, explains the differences between satisfied members and loyal members, shows why it is better to measure loyalty than satisfaction, and provides detailed information on how to measure the loyalty of an association’s members.
Moving Beyond Satisfied Members to Loyal Members

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Why Should Associations Survey Their Members in a Recession? (Webinar)

During a recession, members are more value conscious and price sensitive when making financial decisions, and that includes the decision to join your association or to renew their membership. This webinar explains how to use member surveys to determine why your members join (and renew), and to determine what your association offers that drives your members’ perception of the value of your membership.
Why Survey (Powerpoint Slides)
Why Survey (MP3)

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