Welcome to Association Chat Podcast. This is the podcast for the association community where each episode brings something new and exciting. I'm your host, KiKi L'Italien. Before we get started, I want to give a big shout out to our visionary Voyager sponsor, Big Red M. Big Red M is your association growth partner. Big Red M offers consulting, sales, research, and publishing services for associations that want to grow. If you want to learn more about Big Red M, visit BigRedM.
com or reach out to me and I'll connect you with the right people. Big Red M stands for membership. And it could also stand for money to support your mission. Check them out. Check them out. Bigredm. com. All right, let's dive into this week's episode. It has been an incredible week and it's also been a short one because I am actually releasing this one earlier than usual in the week, because tomorrow is Independence Day in the United States.
And this week, I already interviewed Jeff De Cagna about the three stewardship imperatives for fit for purpose association boards, which I mean, that's a meaty topic in and of itself. And also one that has talking for one full hour. It really helps have a little processing time. You know what I mean?
Yeah, so today I want to focus on some questions we received from our amazing community because this is our shorty episode and so first up, we have a work related question that came from Emily and Emily asks, what are some effective strategies for retaining members? in associations. It's a great question because membership retention is a huge deal. It's crucial for the long term success of any association. Here are a few strategies that can make One, consistent communication.
I am not talking about just programming your automation, your email automation and getting your like, yes, we all like our drip campaigns and stuff like that. I've actually been thinking about these touch points, not just with member in terms of membership, but also with any kind of communication and your personal relationships and these touch points of communication can be really meaningful for folks. And they can be even more powerful when they're simple and consistent.
What about consistent communication that where you're not asking for a lot of time or energy, you're actually communicating in a positive, consistent, and rewarding for the member kind of way. I share a picture of a cup of coffee that I'm having with a friend of mine every single morning. And it's this check in, right? It's a check in to say, I care about you and I'm here. It's positive. It's consistent. It's rewarding and it just communicates care, right?
How are you doing that same sort of thing, that same sort of positive, consistent and rewarding communication for your members? All right, so I went deep on that one. Of course, you want to provide programming and like events that are going to provide real value That align with your members needs and interests. So always thinking about what do those look like? Doing regular assessments to see are they still connecting? Are they still the right mix? How can we improve them?
And making sure that the format for those things work. Should they be retooled? Should they be reimagined? Member recognition, acknowledge and celebrate your members achievements and contributions. Say, thank you. Say, good job. Do this through awards. Do this through spotlights. Do this through special mentions. People love to be recognized for the things that they contribute.
And I think that it's a really powerful way that we can regularly show our support and give people the acclaim and the attention that they deserve. And then feedback mechanisms. That's a thing that I think is regularly missing from a lot of associations a way to provide regular feedback and to show that you're listening, what do you do with that feedback? How do you make improvements based on the suggestions? How do you basically report on your own progress with this?
Is there some sort of Process, system, mechanism in place where you are able to regularly show your community that you're listening, you're thinking about what they're saying, and then you're putting some improvements into practice. And then facilitating member to member connection. That's such a huge driver for value for association members. When you facilitate relationship building, that fosters growth and opportunity for your members.
You win loyalty, and as you should, because when you're creating these relationships that have value for people that wouldn't exist otherwise, then what could be more meaningful than that? Now let's move on to the fun question, this one comes from Mark from Facebook. Mark asks, if you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? If I could have any superpower, I would like to order it up right now. It would be the ability to learn any skill I needed to learn instantaneously.
It's I remember what was it? Matrix and the Matrix? It was in the Matrix, right? Where Keanu Reeves character Neo learned, he can be like, I know, I don't know, I can't even remember, it's been too long, I'm too old like ninjutsu, I'm now a karate master, I don't know, but the ability to download any sort of skill and just learn it instantaneously. Imagine being able to instantly play piano beautifully. Or I've been trying to learn how to juggle for a long time.
I would love to be able to do that. juggle, or just suddenly have the skill to edit this podcast episode to a genius level without spending a bunch of time on it. It would be amazing. Instantaneous skill knowledge. That would be my superpower choice. So before we wrap up make sure to check out our episode with Jeff De Cagna early next week. If you enjoyed this, please leave us a review please, it matters so much. And don't forget to sign up for the Association Chat Newsletter.
This is where I share my top five association podcast listens every week. Next week, I'm excited to bring you an interview, a live stream to interview with executive coach and career strategist, Jen Lewi from passion to paycheck, turn your side hustle into a full time dream. And this is for anyone considering taking a leap forward into entrepreneurship or considering doing a career pivot. I've done a couple career pivots in my life.
And it's also for somebody who might have a similar And they're like, should I do this? Should I not? Should I, should I just stay with what I'm doing? Is it time to branch out? Especially in the association industry. There are a lot of people who dance back and forth between I'm an association executive. I'm a consultant, I'm a consultant, I am an industry partner and, work in this space. Thanks for tuning in. Remember to stay curious, keep asking questions to learn every day.
As Joseph Campbell once said, the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. Have a great rest of the week, everyone.