Research by Community Brands suggests that members expect a personalized experience with their association. Members also value different information and benefits through each stage of their career. Here’s how your association can give them the experience they expect.
The Community Brands Digital Evolution Study underscores the importance of personalization in delivering a great member experience. In fact, seventy-nine percent of members surveyed say it is very or somewhat important that their organization provide targeted, valuable content.
Findings also show that members are most interested in targeted recommendations on continuing education and specific programs that align with their interests. At the same time, members value various types of personalized content to different degrees in different stages of their careers.
The Digital Evolution Study also shows that few associations target information and content to members based on their preferences. In fact, only 18 percent of those working at professional membership organizations (“Pros”) say they personalize the content members see. This points to an opportunity for associations to catch up with member expectations.
So, how can you provide a personalized experience throughout your members’ career journey? Step one is making sure you have the right technologies in place so you can collect and use member data to deliver a more targeted, personalized experience.
Your career center technology
Your career center should be a source of engagement and help for your members. Look for career center technology that supports job alerts, personalized searches, and recommendations, plus the ability for members to import their resumes from LinkedIn and log in through social accounts, such as Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. Your career center platform also should allow you to support members at various career stages.
For example:
- Automatically send newly posted jobs to interested, relevant job seekers via email.
- Allow members to quickly apply to jobs from their mobile device.
- Increase engagement and job views by recommending opportunities to job seekers, based on their prior searches.
Your learning management system (LMS)
Members choose their association as the “go-to” source for training and education. Meanwhile, virtual learning experiences are gaining in popularity because members want convenient digital experiences that fit into their busy, mobile-enabled lives.
Here are three things to look for in an LMS to give members the experience they want:
- Flexibility — Look for a system that allows you to grow your online learning program over time to meet your members’ needs. For example, you may want to offer only on-demand learning now, but as your program evolves, you may want to offer livestreaming of your in-person events.
- Interactivity — One of the key elements that makes your on-site events appealing is interactivity: talking with other attendees, asking questions, making comments. Interactivity can be brought to virtual experiences, as well. Look for a system that supports networking and interaction opportunities in your online learning experience.
- Ease of use — Be sure the system you select streamlines and simplifies manual tasks to free your learning staff’s time so they can focus more on delivering the right content to your members when they need it. At the same time, it’s important to allow your members to easily find content. Be sure your LMS allows staff members to tag and categorize content so your members can quickly find the specific content they’re seeking.
Your association management software (AMS)
Use your AMS system to collect and analyze data about your members’ career stages, interests, and behaviors to provide them with the personalized benefits they’re seeking. For example, based on your members’ interests and preferences, recommend new industry reports or new services offered by your organization that will help them in their specific career stage.
Pull it all together for a great member experience
To create a personalized and complete experience for your members, your career center, LMS, and AMS should all work together. Just imagine what this combination of technology can do to support a personalized member experience. For example:
- Your job board visitors see relevant jobs and popular, relevant, or recommended educational courses offered by your association that will help them become qualified for those jobs.
- Members and non-members browsing your LMS course menu are presented with actual and relevant job opportunities they would be qualified for if they took suggested courses or learning paths through your organization.
- Member activity on your job board is captured and stored within the member’s AMS record, giving you additional data and insights to drive more informed and targeted member marketing efforts and member benefits.
With the right technology solutions, you no longer have to imagine these scenarios. Community Brands offers career center, LMS, and AMS solutions as part of an integrated software suite for associations. They work even better together to help you support the complete member journey.
Showing your members that your association understands, and is keeping up with, their expectations is a great way to develop loyal members throughout every stage of their career and their membership with your organization.
Discover more insights on the past, present, and future of member expectations and association technology: Read the Digital Evolution Study
