What I Wish I Knew Then
Imagine going back to high school knowing what you know now. What would you do differently? (This is a great idea for a novel!) What do you know now that you wish you'd known then?
You would probably care a lot less about what other people thought. You might stress less about the future because, generally speaking, things work out. You would probably be better at picking great friends.
Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired magazine, wrote a book called Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier, which got me thinking…
When I was a baby association marketing and membership director nearly 20 years ago (20 YEARS ago? 😱), there’s a lot I didn’t know. Today I’ve got a mountain of member research, thousands of conversations with clients and even more with their members, and a much more holistic view of our great industry—so what do I wish I'd known then that I know now?
Value matters to members, but not as much as we think!
I thought value was synonymous with engagement. I thought that if I could correctly explain all the value a member had access to, they would engage and happily become lifelong members. I was stuck on explaining the value proposition, creating value, and eliminating things that no longer delivered value. And as I said, value is important, but I was missing half the equation.
Most members can’t perceive the value available to them until something else happens first. They need to trust the association. Well, “trust” is not quite the right word. They need to become receptive, curious, and open.
I’m pelted by spam email, ads, and offers all day. The spam email artists are getting better with AI, more personalized. They sound like they’ve read my book, like they know me, or are friends with a trusted colleague. I’ve been burned, and my guard is way-way up. Sometimes it’s hard to spot the legit inquiries. I’ve become skeptical, and we all have.
Okay, so a normally skeptical person joins an association, and unconsciously they’ve got their skeptic filter flipped on. How do you break through?
One easy way is with warm welcomes. A quick but lovely welcome email. A short, happy welcome video. Offer to connect via Zoom or phone. Chapters can heartily welcome members, especially new members at meetings. Chat ambassadors and the host can welcome people to a weekly or monthly virtual orientation event.
Warm welcomes lower the skeptic filter so the value messages can get through.
Prioritize welcoming to make a great first impression, and the rest becomes so, so much easier.
What else do I wish I knew then that I know now? I’ll share more in the coming weeks!
