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State of Member Experience: Executive Perspectives
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State of Member Experience: Executive Perspectives

Members are seeking places to connect with their peers and doing so on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. But those public platforms aren’t necessarily fit for asking questions, having respectful dialog, and engaging in social learning. Your professional associations is uniquely equipped to build community that fosters safer and more meaningful connections.  

“If you can drive people to your community, that’s where the magic happens,” said Terri. “Most of our members are looking to learn from each other, so we’ve built a community where social learning is at the core.”

In a session during the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition, held in August in Nashville, Tennessee, Forj gathered association executives to explore these insights and other findings from the survey. The panel, moderated by Forj CEO Kurt Heikkinen, convened: 

Sid Bhatnagar, Chief Operating Officer, American Society for Quality (ASQ)

Terri Hinkley, Chief Executive Officer, Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) 

Emily Kirkpatrick, Executive Director, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

During a dynamic discussion, these leaders shared their perspectives on today’s MX trends, where they’ve invested to elevate MX, and how they’re cultivating an MX mindset across their organizations. The experience and vision they shared were inspiring for session attendees. Here, we share some of the session highlights.  

What should be top of mind for leaders looking to drive MX?

Cultivating an MX mindset—and delivering an experience to match—requires commitment from more than one or two staff members. Sid noted that driving MX starts at the top by creating alignment with the board of directors and leadership team so that it cascades across the association. 

While buy-in is important to begin the journey, inspiration is just as critical to creating an MX vision. Members of the panel encouraged taking a broad view, looking outside the association’s four walls. 

“One of the things I love doing is analogy thinking, or external scanning,” said Terri. “I look at organizations like Google and Amazon, and I ask: how are they so sticky? how do they provide such a good experience? and how can I make that applicable to my nursing audience to increase their engagement?”

As you gather insights from outside to transform the member experience, it’s also necessary to keep a pulse on how your membership is changing in its make-up, behaviors, and expectations. Emily and the team at NCTE saw that the population they represent was shifting, demanding greater ease and access to resources in real-time. In response, the association redefined the experience they offer.

What’s been a challenge during your transformation, and what have you learned?

Members of the panel shared challenges that many association leaders can relate to as they strive to accelerate innovation and transformation: unfocused strategy, lagging technology, and partners pushing cookie-cutter solutions. 

Culture is critical to adopting an MX mindset, and sometimes cultural change requires a creating better balance between operational and strategic thinking. Helping leaders—and especially the board—get out of the weeds and take a long view of the future is the first step. Then, the focus can shift towards identifying the right technology and partners to make your vision a reality.

When it comes to technology, you’re likely coping with siloed systems, outdated processes, and underfunded strategies. The panelists acknowledged that budgets are hotly debated, and too often, infrastructure investments are aimed at improving back-end processes that never touch the member. They encouraged session attendees to flip the equation and champion tech investments that not only improve staff’s day-to-day work but also enrich the member experience.  

 “We pushed [our] platform as hard as we could to create an actual experience for our people, and in many ways, I think that led into how we’re seeing member experience,” said Emily. “We see everything now as creating an experience. Is that experience one that opens the imagination and affirms and ignites your passion for the profession, or does it not?”

Shaping such an experience through technology requires strong partnerships. The panelists noted an encouraging trend they’ve seen in their search for the right partners: providers are beginning to change their responsiveness by moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to co-developing solutions. 

“If your partners are invested just as much as you are, they’ll make it happen,” said Sid.

How have you alleviated members’ frustrations with technology?

The State of MX survey discovered that while technology presents opportunity to elevate member experience, it’s also a common source of frustration. Association leaders are in constant search of solutions to create greater ease for members, and the panelists offered advice from their quests.

Emily noted that NCTE has embarked on a digital-first journey, moving its resources into responsive, interactive formats. This journey began in 2020 with the decision to pivot their annual convention to an experience that supports members 365 days a year. Since bringing that event online, they’ve adopted an “always-on” approach that allows members to engage when, where, and how it’s convenient and comfortable for them.  

As other association leaders made the same sort of shift, they recognized a common theme: community plays an important role in shaping the member experience.

“We’re hearing with increasing volume how thirsty our members are for positivity,” said Emily. 

Members are seeking places to connect with their peers and doing so on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. But those public platforms aren’t necessarily fit for asking questions, having respectful dialog, and engaging in social learning. Your professional associations is uniquely equipped to build community that fosters safer and more meaningful connections.  

“If you can drive people to your community, that’s where the magic happens,” said Terri. “Most of our members are looking to learn from each other, so we’ve built a community where social learning is at the core.”

Words of wisdom to elevate MX

The panel’s parting insights sum up an association’s MX journey from beginning to end, offering wisdom on where to start and how to map your path.

Emily offered session attendees advice to reflect on the member experience at the end of each week, asking what you and your team can do differently to improve it. It’s a repetitive, continuous conversation to enable movement in the metrics. 

Terri encouraged association leaders to “just start.” Spend time envisioning future state but acknowledge that you can’t accomplish everything at once. If you begin to make incremental changes with the end goal in mind, progress is certain to follow. 

Sid sagely reminded leaders in attendance that they’re responsible for the future of their association. With this accountability in mind, you’re in a position to align and inspire others to ensure you’re driving in the right direction. 

The State of Member Experience Report 2022 offers actionable intelligence to help association leaders unlock their potential to grow membership, increase non-dues revenue, and boost brand advocacy. Download your free copy of the full report. 

 

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