Increase membership. Attract more early- to mid-careerists. Provide industry advancement resources.
The average person will change careers 5-7 times throughout their working life. When you offer your association members a place to actively plan career changes in an informed way through multiple data points and various planning tools, you provide a valuable member benefit that will keep them renewing their dues year after year while becoming an advocate for your association.
A recent Momentive Software research study revealed that 35% of members join professional organizations within the first five years of employment. Half of the respondents also believe that their association is more important now than before the COVID-19 economic impacts.
Members place increasing value on other virtual ways to connect and learn year-round. In fact, members who are interacting with their organization more than ever before place greater emphasis on online networking, online continuing education, and social networks than on large virtual events or webcasts. Offering more of these types of smaller, more personalized options are key to keeping members connected and loyal.
The events of 2020 have led to a shift in importance of many benefits in Members’ minds, but as seen in our study, member priorities do not always align with an association’s focus. Members are most focused on “must-haves,” including industry information and raising awareness – both considered more important now than before.
On the flip side, training, certifications, networking, and fueling innovation in the industry rose in importance to members this year, but continue to be undervalued by association professionals. In open-ended responses, members explain that they are seeing a return on investment in the career advancement that comes from certifications and trainings.
The Career Planning Portal, available only in YM Careers, offers an unbeatable combination of tools that your members will rely on for career development and advancement – from beginning to end. Integrated with all of your membership systems, you can offer the latest data on virtually any career, helping you to attract even early careerists.
Members access career insights such as salary benchmarks, occupation outlooks, “Day in the life” videos, and more based on job titles they hold or want to achieve, offering even more value to their membership than ever before.
Once members have gained industry insights, they can apply that knowledge while mapping vertical and lateral career moves based on their overall goals on the Career Journey page.
The Career Journey solution empowers members to plan out their next career steps with confidence. The pathing experience offers great ROI for associations as well by linking two revenue engines, your organization’s job board and learning management software.
Acquire new members and learners.
Make limited access to career advancement features a part of your roll out strategy. Capture the interest and contact information for non-members and use it in marketing efforts to drive membership conversions.
Be sure to promote your association’s learning programs and courses during this time with member and non-member pricing to not only help users planning their professional growth, but also grow your association’s non-dues revenue.
Course suggestions from your learning library will appear throughout your career advancement offerings. The job board displays course suggestions based on keyword job searches, and the career mapping tool lists courses based on various job titles.
Get the word out!
Don’t forget to spread the good news! Let your members know about the new features you’ve added to aid in their professional growth.
Need help crafting the perfect marketing strategy? Discover four ways to deliver content to members and prospects to drive additional traffic to your website and features in one of our newest digital guides – The Association’s Guide to Marketing in 2020.
After implementing these career advancement resources, plan your marketing strategy to grow member acquisition and retention in 2021.
