WHAT IS A MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT AUDIT

Membership Benefit Audit

When people ask what I do for my career, the simplest explanation is: I heighten membership experiences by offering services at fee that matches or exceeds value.  Obviously, there are many angles and variables to that the previous statement. For example, if you pay for a gym membership, your expectation can/should be that there is workable equipment that allows you to exercise and or enhance your fitness routines.

In the trade association world, these benefits likely involve more benefits to elevate one's livelihood. For example, you could be Remodeler and maybe your fee includes discounts on power tools, or a certification course to better market yourself, or networking with remodeler-adjacent companies to create more job opportunities.

This sets us up for the purpose of a Membership Benefit Audit. A solid Association Executive, in concert with your Membership team, should weed out the values of what you have to offer. So many times, in my career, I’ve scratched my head and wondered why would our membership need or desire this benefit? How does this help them? How does this help them thrive? Also, how does it help our membership grow? More importantly what’s the angle here? Is this a royalty-base perk, which is also a dangerous terrain to traverse into. 

Sometimes it feels like an episode of “Hoarders: Member Benefit Edition.” The best way to navigate this area is very straight forward. I suggest a team meeting. Lay all these benefits out on the table and discuss what stays and what gets sun-set (tossed).” Ask important questions? Do our members need this? Do our members utilize this? What could be an alternative option? Once you have this stream-lined, you can run a more efficient operation knowing that you are offering your members quality over quantity in terms of value-added services.