Evaluating Your Members' Feelings

Updated: May. 19, 2015  |  Categories: Member Communications  

We’ve all had a friend who schedules a coffee meeting and then cancels at the last minute.

The first time, you will probably cut some slack and realize there may be a one-time conflict. But when last-minute cancellations become the norm, it starts to feel like you aren’t a priority in your friend’s world. That can hurt.

Friends like this may not want to verbally tell you they have higher priorities, but are clearly showing you with their actions.

Do members treat your association the same way?

They may not have the courage or even motivation to speak up about their dissatisfaction. Instead, they stop being engaged with the organization.

Here are three places to take a look to discover if your members have lost that loving feeling.

Attendance

How many members are attending the association meetings and events? How does that number compare to the past?

Knowing the ups and downs of attendance can show you which members are engaged, and which topics are attracting attendees.

Use StarChapter’s attendance tracking options to stay on top of no-shows and non-participating members. In your StarChapter administrative area, the Meeting Manager registration buttons and the Charts and Reports will help you evaluate attendance.

If you notice a member’s attendance has changed recently, consider contacting them to make sure everything is fine with both them and their attitude toward the association.

Willingness to Volunteer

Is getting volunteers continually a challenge for your leaders? A lack of willingness to volunteer can signal an apathetic membership.

Members will be more interested in assisting an organization where they find value. People inherently feel the need to reciprocate when they receive something.

If they don’t feel like they are gaining value from the association, they won’t feel the need to give back to it.

Bringing Guests

Another great indicator of how members feel about your association is how often they bring guests.

When members are really excited about something, they will want to share it with their colleagues and friends.

Take a look at how often members are bringing guests, to get a feel for their level of excitement about the group.

Combine Action and Words to Get the Full Picture

While these actions may indicate members’ affection toward the organization, remember there are other circumstances that may be influencing member behavior.

For example, have snow days kept parents from attending lunch time meetings? Or perhaps there is a big industry exam coming up.

Using both behavior analysis and direct feedback from members is a good strategy for gaining an overall picture.

TIP: Use StarChapter’s survey tools to obtain more information from members. The more data you can collect, the clearer the picture becomes. For help setting up a survey, check out our training video on Surveys!

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