Membership Marketing in a Digital Age: Evolving Tools, Unchanging Principles

Imagine transporting a membership marketer from 1988 to 2024. They would marvel at our digital tools—email, websites, social media. However, looking closely, they would realize that the core challenges and opportunities are unchanged. The foundations of membership marketing have remained remarkably consistent over the decades. The core principles of providing value, planning effectively, and testing remain the levers for growth as they did in the past. 

The Evolution of Marketing Technology

Here is a short list of the most significant marketing technology developments over the decades. 

• Email. This ubiquitous marketing tool did not come into common usage until the mid-90s. Today, the median number of weekly emails sent to members is three, and associations rate email as the most effective recruitment channel.
• Internet. The ability to make purchases and conduct financial transactions began in the late 1990s, with the first recorded secure transaction in 1994. Today, virtually all associations allow members and customers to purchase through their websites. 
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Google founded its AdWords program in 2000, focusing on keyword-based advertising and pay-per-click (PPC). Today, 32 percent of associations have search engine marketing as part of their marketing mix.
• Social Media. The ways we now commonly connect online developed in the early 2000s, with LinkedIn in 2003, Facebook in 2004, and YouTube in 2005. Today, 68 percent of associations use social media for their membership recruitment marketing campaigns.
• SMS. Companies began to use text marketing in the mid-2000s. Today, 13 percent of associations use texting in their marketing efforts.

This evolution of marketing technology is a crucial aspect of our field, and staying informed about these changes is essential. However, let’s also look at examples of how leading association marketers in the past have described the core aspects of membership marketing. They remain relevant to us today. By combining the opportunities presented with technological innovations and actively addressing the foundational principles of membership marketing, we can make significant progress in building a powerful membership program. 

The Enduring Need for Membership Value

Decades ago, the critical need to maintain a powerful value proposition was at the forefront of association challenges. In the 1995 publication Keeping Members: The Myths and Realities, Arlene Farber Sirkin and Michael P. McDermott highlighted the critical requirement of a powerful value proposition. They wrote, “Simply put, members will want to retain membership in your organization if they believe it’s valuable to them.” 1

ASAE’s 2007 landmark study, The Decision to Join, affirmed the critical nature of membership value. The study's data confirms, “As you might expect, the failure to deliver the expected value is by far the most prevalent reason for dropping membership.” 2

The value issue also dates back to the earliest Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. The 2009 Report noted that the number one reason members did not renew was the “perceived lack of value.” Focusing on a powerful value proposition continues to serve as a priority to establish and sustain membership growth.

The Ongoing Challenge of Effective Planning and Sustained Outreach

Planning challenges were also present decades ago. Even in a somewhat less complex period, the paralysis of analysis plagued the implementation of marketing efforts. The ASAE book Membership Marketing highlighted this challenge. In the chapter on planning by Lauren L. Corbin and Rick P. Whelan, they explained to readers that “Doing something is better than doing nothing. Don’t let the process of producing an annual marketing plan take the place of marketing. Marketing must be a continuous process in today’s marketplace.” 3

The Continued Importance of Tracking, Testing, and Analysis

The critical requirement for market testing and tracking goes back to the 1920s. Claude Hopkins, one of the first direct marketers, maintained that “Mail order advertising is traced down to the fraction of a penny. The cost per reply and cost per dollar of sale show up with utter exactness. One ad is compared with another, one method with another . . . So no guesswork is permitted.” 4

For years, the need for these practices held a critical place for many associations. In the 2008 edition of ASAE’s Membership Essentials, we see the essential nature of market testing and tracking. “Perhaps the most important but most overlooked discipline in membership recruitment is testing and then tracking the results of marketing tests. Effective testing and tracking point you to where you can best deploy your resources most effectively and economically among the vast array of marketing options available.” 5

Without testing and tracking, we cannot discover the best approaches and offers to acquire new members.

The landscape of membership marketing has transformed dramatically with the rise of digital tools like email, social media, and search engine marketing. Yet, despite these innovations, the core principles—delivering a solid value proposition, sustained recruitment, and regular testing—remain as crucial as ever. As association marketers, we must embrace the latest tools while staying grounded in the principles that drive growth.

This article is an edited excerpt from the forthcoming book, The Seven Deadly Sins of Membership Marketing.

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[1] Sirkin and McDermott, Keeping Members.

[2] Dalton and Dignam, The Decision to Join.

[3] Nicholais, Membership Marketing.

[4] Hopkins, My Life in Advertising & Scientific Advertising.

[5] Jacobs and Assante, Membership Essentials.