When membership organizations make bad decisions, we can learn a lot from their mistakes. Here is a tongue-in-cheek look at ten easy ways to smother member loyalty and engagement.  About a 7 minute read.

My role as a marketing consultant has allowed me to work with all types and sizes of membership organizations. From large organizations with a million or so members, to small non-profit and trade groups with just a few thousand members. Most organizations seem to get it. They’ve figured out how to adapt to meet the unique needs of their members, and they can seamlessly integrate our discount platform into their existing suite of member benefits and privileges.

A few others -- dare I say -- are unprepared for success.

They have so many fundamental problems with how they run their organization that adding a powerful engagement tool like ours will actually make matters worse.

After more than a decade in working with various groups, I’ve noticed some important patterns among the few groups that struggle the most. The ones that have a knack for suffocating member engagement.

I think there’s great value in learning from the mistakes of others, so here’s my list of the ten easiest ways an organization can smother their member loyalty and engagement: 

When it comes to running a member benefits or loyalty program, your mama had it all figured out.

In honor of mothers everywhere (including mine who's been a mom for 71 of her 90 years), I’d like to share some life lessons learned from the mother hen herself – and how they can be used as best practices in running a successful membership discount club or loyalty program. 

Gary Toyn is a client marketing consultant for Access who frequently shares his experiences, research and insight into the world of member benefits - everything from discount platforms to engagement. In this article, he speaks to the value dining discounts contribute to member rewards.

Why are restaurant discounts so critical to the success of your member benefits program?

Not all member discount programs can really attract and engage your constituents like they promise. Here are 20 of the most important elements to look for in an effective (and compelling) discount program.

About a 4 minute read

Why are more and more member-based organizations, employers, associations offering their constituents a private discount program as part of their benefits?

Because if it’s done right, offering compelling consumer discounts has almost universal appeal with virtually any demographic,  young or old, male or female. 

Membership groups are trying to adapt to the increasing demands of members who want personally relevant value from the organizations they join. Here’s why organizations are embracing membership discount platforms to drive ongoing engagement.

About a 4 minute read

Let’s face it.  Many membership professionals have struggled with low engagement for so long, some may wonder if their program has been damned to membership purgatory.

It’s not easy to build a successful membership organization. And it’s even harder to maintain sustainable membership levels, especially when so many other competing groups vie for your member’s attention.

As experts in member benefits, engagement and loyalty, we wanted to look further into these ongoing issues. We recently conducted a nationwide survey of leaders and members from trade and professional associations, non-profit membership groups, alumni organizations and unions. Our research identified a significant gap between what members want, and what leaders are willing to offer. (You can see the full study here.)

The study also revealed many new insights into the mind and spirit of today’s members. Consequently, we’ve identified a few uninspired practices that are downright blasphemous when it comes to member engagement. The result is that many organizations are unnecessarily being removed from the good graces of their members.

So, forgive me for my sinfully frequent references to heaven and hell, but I’m sure you’ll be blessed if you avoid these 7 Deadly Sins of Member Engagement: