Association industry research by Community Brands suggests that members expect a personalized experience with their association. They also want help advancing their careers.
So, how can you provide a personalized experience that helps your members grow professionally?
First, let’s look in more detail at the association research findings. Then, let’s consider the technology that can help your association give your members both the experience and the career support they seek.
What members want from their association
An association industry report by Community Brands underscores the importance of personalization in delivering a great member experience. It shows that seventy-nine percent of members surveyed say it’s very or somewhat important that their organization provide targeted, valuable content.
Findings from another association trends study by Community Brands show that job opportunities and career advancement are among the top reasons that members join an association.
The technology you need to deliver a personalized experience and help your members grow their careers
Now that you know what members want, how can you give it to them? Step one is to make sure you have the right technologies in place so that you can collect and use member data to deliver a more targeted, personalized experience.
Online career center technology
With the right technology foundation, your online career center can be the go-to resource for member career planning. Look for association job board software that:
- Automatically sends newly posted jobs to interested and relevant job seekers via email.
- Allows members to quickly apply to jobs from their mobile devices.
- Increases engagement and job views by recommending opportunities to job seekers based on their prior searches.
Also, make sure your career center technology includes a career planning portal that offers career-building resources to help your members grow professionally.
A learning management system (LMS)
Members often choose their association as a 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 learning 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 content they’re seeking.
Association management software (AMS)
Use your AMS system to collect and analyze data about your members’ career stages, interests, behaviors, and preferences 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.
Pull it all together for a great member experience throughout the career journey
To create a personalized and complete experience for your members, your online 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 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.
You can also present members with content specific to their career stage. For example:
Students/new graduates – These members are typically looking for internships and other ways to stand out from the crowd. If your organization offers resources, such as an online internship board or career fairs, you can highlight these on your association’s website, newsletter, and career center. You can also help these students and new graduate members understand that your association is the perfect starting point for their career paths.
Early-careerists – As your members enter the workforce, they’re searching and applying for jobs. You can send them communications to get them using your career center, networking opportunities, and educational offerings to take their careers to the next level. This is also a great time for those early in their careers to connect with fellow members in the industry and find mentors to help them grow professionally.
Mid-careerists – When members get to this stage, they’re looking to accelerate their careers. Share tools and information, such as:
- Certification and credentialing opportunities – Help your members continue their education.
- Industry events – Point them to networking events, such as socials and annual conferences.
- Industry news – Provide resources so that your members can always have the most updated industry content.
- Industry updates – Alert them to legislative issues affecting the industry.
Late-careerists – As members move into the later stages of their careers, they’re looking to hire new employees and grow as a leader. You can point them to your career center to connect with the mentees, interns, and job candidates they’re seeking. You can also survey them to see what other resources they might be looking for, helping to personalize their experience and career needs even more.
Learn more
Showing your members that your association understands, and is keeping up with, their needs and expectations is a great way to develop loyal members throughout every stage of their career and their membership with your organization.
With the right technology solutions, the scenarios in this article are all within reach. Community Brands offers career center, LMS, and AMS solutions as part of a connected network of solutions for associations. They work even better together to help you support the complete member journey.
