Reflections on the last 6 months

We would like to share some thoughts arising from the work we have been doing since March and the general research that we have carried out with membership organisations of all shapes and sizes, and their members themselves, during that time.

Many of them have been able to adapt reasonably well to remote working and are developing online service delivery, conferencing, webinars and so forth. That said, organisations that offer meeting, work-space and hospitality facilities are inevitably feeling the pinch.

However, we find that the approach to renewals is highly variable; ranging from “business as usual” to “send renewal invites, but don’t chase” to “subscription holidays across the board” (unfortunately, the member is not always aware of this). The evidence suggests to us that a renewal shortfall is brewing.

Although remote access to CRM and other systems can often be problematic, most organisations seem to believe that they remain accessible to, and in effective touch with, their members and are actively supporting them during this “time of need”. However, our research shows that the reverse could well be true.

Whilst the organisation may perceive that it is still engaged with its members, the new, theoretically more agile, working environment is often creating an obstacle to inbound contact from the member. We suspect that there is quite a bit of member frustration out there.

We talk to a wide variety of members on a daily basis and continue to review the unfolding evidence (and our opinions) based on this feedback.

The membership world is changing fast, and we see a need for more thought sharing and information exchange across the sector.

We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions, please feel free to comment below.