Professional bodies and trade associations have a crucial role to play in promoting best practice in their sectors. They help member companies and individuals to become more competitive and achieve their potential, through a range of services and advice. From hosting conferences and networking events, to offering publications, training, educational materials and technical advice; these organisations perform a variety of roles in the working lives of their members. As a result, they require digital solutions that can adequately serve the people they support.
Professional bodies act as the voice of their community, putting forward their collective views to the government, agencies, regulators and the media. But they also offer peace of mind and accountability to non-members; as such, a professional body’s website needs to inspire confidence to visitors, whatever background they come from.
In a recent survey by Memberwise, over half of membership organisations reported an increase in membership in 2016/17. But while these thriving membership bodies recognise the importance of digital, user expectations are evolving rapidly and there’s a danger that, without proper digital investment, these organisations could fall behind.
If membership organisations are to adapt and thrive in the digital age, they need to maximise the potential of their digital estates in order to drive member engagement and development.
Having an in-depth understanding of the sector, and with reference to our work with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), we have identified a number of key factors for membership bodies and trade associations to consider when looking to improve the effectiveness of their digital presence.
Personalised member experiences
The first hurdle many membership bodies have to demonstrate is one of value. How do organisations communicate the value of joining? And how do they communicate the ongoing value of subscription months, years and even decades into membership?
One way is to ensure that visitors consistently see content that is relevant to them. Too often membership websites are structured by department rather than by audience, and with the surfeit of content produced by many organisations, content that might be relevant to a user can become lost in the shuffle.
By focusing on the user experience and employing smart personalisation techniques, organisations can create more engaging and valuable experiences for users.
The key is understanding the different user journeys a visitor may take through a membership body’s website. Broadly speaking visitors will fall into four categories:
New members – need to be encouraged to sign up and be shown the breadth and depth of the organisation’s offering without being overwhelmed by information that isn’t yet relevant to them.
Current members – need to be reminded of the ongoing value of membership and be served with useful, relevant information as and when they need it, according to their special interests.
Long time / elite members – organisations may choose to have a higher tier of membership, or simply reward long-time users for continued support and engagement. These members are naturally more experienced in their field and have much to offer other users.
Non-members – may be seeking information on the organisation for peace-of-mind and assurance.
There are also other factors that might allow for the further personalisation of a website; an organisation may use location data, knowledge of special interests, data from previous event attendances, content downloads and more, all in the service of providing more relevant content in the future. Our work on the homepage of RICS website is a good example of this: the site uses location data to deliver targeted content related to where the user accesses the site – especially useful in a sector where members might be accessing the site not just throughout the UK, but throughout the world.
Responsive solutions
Mobile and tablet usage has been growing rapidly for some time now, with mobile overtaking desktop for browsing among internet users in 2016. With more and more users accessing websites on the go, it’s critical to offer a responsive digital solution that delivers information in an accessible and readable way, whatever screen it’s viewed on.
It’s not just about adapting the layout and font size. A truly responsive solution takes into account how, when, where and why the website is being accessed.
As we’ve already touched upon, RICS members often find themselves working on-site in locations all over the country due to the nature of their work. As such, there’s an increased likelihood that they will access the RICS website by tablet or similar device. It’s vital that the website serves content that’s relevant to mobile users, paying close attention to how they’re likely to use the site.
Data integration
Another one of the digital challenges facing membership organisations is the inability to effectively measure digital engagement.
For these organisations, there’s a need for a toolkit that goes beyond clicks, pageviews and bounces, and looks at how their users are really interacting with the site.
What content is being viewed? What’s being shared? What’s being downloaded? And which pages drive the most sign-ups?
The nature of a membership organisation’s work means that there’s often a great deal of data split across multiple databases and silos; from membership data to event attendance, accounting to training. All of this data may be held in different places, and even different formats, making it difficult for membership professionals to glean actionable insight from user behaviour. There’s also a risk that by incorrectly storing data, organisations may be in contravention of the Data Protection Act.
This can often be the result of legacy CMS, CRM, billing and data capture solutions, due in part to the longevity of many membership bodies. But by integrating an organisation’s data systems into their website – as part of a wider programme of digital transformation – an organisation can regain control of their data and use this holistic view of interactions to better serve their members.
Community matters
Building a community forms a huge part of a membership organisation’s remit. Digital technology can be a powerful tool in bringing your audience together. But with a raft of channels to maintain, and audiences fragmented across them, it can sometimes be a little bewildering for members in search of easy, reliable sources of information.
Last year, Memberwise reported that around 30% of organisations now employ a dedicated person to manage their social media, up 6% on the previous year. But Memberwise warn organisations to be wary of putting all of their eggs in the social basket, noting that messaging on social networks only actually reaches around 10% of members.
Social isn’t the be all and end all of creating a community for your members. This is where, in addition to being a valuable source of information, a website can become a hub of member-driven activity.
User submitted content such as blogs, video, and images can give your members a voice in their professional community, allowing them to share industry experiences and offer support to fellow members. There’s also a chance for long-term (or ‘elite’) members to share their wisdom through Q&A sessions, live web chats and the like. A robust, flexible digital solution can offer the versatility to host all of these invaluable discussions in one place, rather than scattered across different channels.
Which isn’t to say that social has no place in the community management of a membership body; organisations can, for instance, facilitate social sharing through their website, auto-generating social posts when users sign up, register for events, complete surveys and more. All of which serves to drive conversation with the organisation leading the debate.
Events form a huge part of an organisation’s community offering, but they can’t happen independently of any digital activity; a professional body’s events plan must be aligned and integrated with their digital strategy. Microsites and web apps can give users a useful hub of information on a particular event, all of which is vital on mobile; the format in which most visitors would be viewing your content during the event. By offering such content, organisations can add massive value to their events, and to their overall membership, all while leading conversations and forging a tangible sense of community.
Self-serve / self-learn
Perhaps as a result of growing up in the internet age, Millennial and Gen Z internet users have become accustomed to self-serving through online banking and ecommerce sites. It’s not just an expectation of younger users either; everyone has grown used to the idea that they should be able to update personal information, manage subscriptions and make one-off payments at any time of the day. But modern users don’t just expect to self-serve; they’re also used to self-learning.
Users have grown up Googling new skills, watching YouTube tutorials and reading how-to guides. So while they value the immediacy of a live event, they also desire the flexibility to learn at their own pace.
Membership bodies need to run their courses digitally as well as in person, making full use of videos and webinars, and making learning materials; syllabuses, slideshows, lecture notes and more; all available online for members.
With over six million sessions a year, the RICS website is a key touchpoint for members and those looking for more information on the work that the organisation carries out, particularly their selection of professional development courses and materials. Their previous Training and Events user experience was complex and difficult to navigate and on top of this, the ability for users to book events or courses was often hidden, meaning opportunities to secure bookings, and generate revenue, were being missed.
Following an in-depth review of the Training and Events offering, this became the first part of rics.org to be redeveloped. The guiding principles for the revamped experience were to simplify, signpost and prioritise:
Simplifying – grouping related courses and events by type; making the right course or event easier to find through improved page layouts; the introduction of a clear, uncluttered design; enhanced search functionality and the introduction of an intuitive filter.
Signposting – clearly identifying course/event types, detailing the subject matter, date, location, cost and providing clear booking Calls to Action; clearly indicating if an event/course contributes towards a members CPD and by how much; clear identification of face-to-face vs online events or courses.
Prioritising – providing flexible page templates to enable promotion of key events/courses.
The new Training and Events experience, which launched in February 2018, has been positively received by stakeholders and users alike, and is a major milestone on RICS’ journey of digital transformation. It also shows the degree to which digital can vastly improve the user experience for members in a way that reaches far beyond the website itself.
In closing
As websites become more advanced across the board, users’ expectations rise to meet them. Whatever the industry, there’s no time to stand still when it comes to digital technology, but for a sector as people-focused as membership bodies, it’s especially important that digital solutions are effective in spreading trust and confidence throughout the community and beyond.