Calendar

 This is our quarterly dive into the state of the membership, where we reveal trends, highlights and what's going on.

The beginning of 2022 has proven to be an extension of the clear patterns in the membership market that were evident at the end of 2021. With a world of digital technology evolving rapidly, membership continues to prove an solid and steady income generator as we've seen the membership business model flex its stability in recent days.

Highlights

Growth in membership continues

In Q4 2021, we noticed a substantial increase in new member acquisition. The trend continued to grow and increased into Q1 2022, even as consumers were coming off holidays and returning to school, work and their regular schedules. A time of year where consumer attention is typically more difficult to get, there was notable strength for new member acquisition across all major categories of membership - particularly in the months of January as well as February.

Resilience during headwinds

In March, we experienced significant amounts of uncertainty injected into the broader economic landscape and had an impact that was noticeable on consumer behavior. Inflation and the conflict in Ukraine were the two main reasons which led consumers to become more cautious. The changes have slowed those areas of growth that we noted in January in February.

These macro-trends definitely have impacted the world of membership, we've seen the effectiveness of the business model really shine through in the face of these headwinds.

At this time, most of the change we've witnessed is primarily confined to new member acquisition. Member retention has remained steady, highlighting the resilience of the membership and its significance within a wider business strategy.

It also reinforces the importance of structuring member benefits to ensure that the benefit engages members regularly. Memberships that are able to establish benefits into a member's regular routine have less turnover and more retention even during times that are more uncertain, thereby providing sustainable revenue as well as growth for members.

What's going on?

A fresh scene

The landscape for membership is constantly changing. The digital landscape is changing even more quickly. As our customers explore possibilities for growth in the future, the importance of diversifying their member acquisition strategies is never more apparent. Ad costs are rising. Engagement on social media has reached a plateau. Consumers are becoming less receptive to conventional marketing and acquisition strategies.

What is the reason? Over the past two years, all of us spent more time online than we thought was possible. It was an excellent time for content discovery and membership all around. But, the extended internet experience has caused the perception of ad fatigue in consumers (your possible customers).

The public has been exposed to poorly targeted ads for many years that they don't ever notice them - or even take any steps to remove these ads. Is advertising dead? No. In the context of the changing landscape, the economics and cost aren't favorable to the advertiser.

Member-driven growth

We see the next chapter of growth in membership is being driven by the existing members. Genuine messages, trustworthy opinions and personal experiences build immediate confidence that motivates action.

Our recent introduction of Referrals is the first step toward creating evergreen solutions that can increase the loyalty and satisfaction of your member base to generate additional sales.

Referral strategies of customers are not only seeing reduced costs for joining but also more members staying. This increase in retention can be attributed to referral members who receive discounts on membership when they make a successful referral.

Rewards for members who earn recurring payments for referring others are significantly less likely to be churned and they are continuously driven to refer more people. Incentivizing your customers with referral rewards allows them get out and begin conversations with appropriate people, resulting in higher sales and lower cost.

The main takeaway

The shift in the landscape during Q1 is a clear illustration of the necessity of continuously building sustainable base within your membership. These foundations become a safe haven during periods of uncertainty , and permit you to carry on doing your best work and run your organization with confidence.

While the landscape of membership is constantly evolving and growing it will remain a opportunity to grow as well as the base of your existing members. A constant focus on serving them first will establish an atmosphere of trust which eventually leads to them becoming your biggest supporters.

Be aware of the tiny foundations within your organization. It's those small foundations that can bring you the most significant wins.