Experiences Before Value Equals Engagement

I loooooove chicken or egg conundrums, but before we get into the juicy philosophical debate, let’s set the stage.

Two elements comprise member engagement. Members engage when there is value for them and when they have great experiences with or because of the association. When I say great experiences, I’m talking about things like being personally welcomed into the online community, seeing the spectacle of the opening session for the first time, or even the experience of looking at the homepage with fresh eyes.

My simple formula is Value + Experiences = Member Engagement.

Let’s assume that value is the chicken and experiences are the egg. Some natural questions to ask are: which comes first? And why did they cross the road? (😆 sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

Back to the question of which comes first, value or experiences? Which should we prioritize first, so a new member or first-time attendee has a better chance of engaging? The answer: hands down—experiences!

Experiences trigger emotions, and emotions start the engagement engine. People will be far more willing to engage when they feel the community or organization is friendly, warm, kind, open, and generous (replace my adjectives with the optimal words for your special members). Experiences warm new members up so they can begin to perceive the value you have to offer them.

Starting the relationship with members by educating them about benefits is counterproductive (and yep, I realize that the preceding statement is counterintuitive as well!)

So how do we engage members by putting experiences first?

I’m so glad you asked because I wrote a whole book about this, and it’s called Elevating Engagement: Uncommon Strategies for Creating Thriving Member Communities!

I’ve compiled a guidebook—using data from 477 member interviews, hundreds of conversations with association leaders, and my experiments with engagement.

This map into your member’s hearts and minds will walk you through the six stages of the member journey and show you many new ways to engage them at each step.

Are you excited to learn more? Great! Because I’ve got a special offer for you. Pre-order through February 13th to be eligible for the companion workbook!

Buy the book at your favorite online bookseller and sign up for the workbook here.