Feb 06, 2025
5 Thoughtful Ways to Welcome New Members to Your Association
How many complicated forms, confusing online portals, or unhelpful instructions do you encounter each week?
As a membership organization, creating a boring (or worse, outright frustrating) experience for new members should be the last thing your association wants to do.
However, though most associations understand its importance, maintaining a fresh and well-designed onboarding experience can easily fall toward the bottom of a busy team’s to-do list.
Thankfully, there are many ways to improve your association’s initial member experience. We’ll explore five foundational best practices, roughly ordered by their ease of implementation.
Why is the member onboarding experience so critical?
First, some context. Why does your association’s onboarding experience warrant attention and investment?
Each new member’s initial experience sets the tone for the rest of their relationship with your organization.
By demonstrating to new members that you’re committed to providing them with valuable experiences and resources, you’ll be able to keep them engaged and boost member retention.
After all, an association’s purpose is to connect members, provide educational resources, start conversations, and advocate for changes in its field. However, members may rethink their decision to join if onboarding feels isolating, other members are silent, resources are difficult to find, and the overall culture seems stagnant. Your association may become more of a chore or just another bill than a valuable resource in their lives and careers.
A stellar onboarding experience starts the flywheel of long-term engagement and value for members. It pays off for your organization, too. Here are some of the benefits of taking a more intentional approach:
Improved member retention over time
More effective membership marketing through testimonials and word-of-mouth
Healthier finances thanks to increased retention and more interest in non-dues revenue streams
Higher participation in programs, initiatives, and advocacy campaigns
What steps can you take to improve your onboarding experience and tap into these benefits? We’ll start with the easiest option that any association can implement today.
Ask for new members’ feedback.
Gathering input from recently joined members is an easy and direct way to show that your association values their thoughts and participation.
Quick surveys can include topics like:
Members’ impressions of your association and their experience so far
Favorite and least favorite aspects of the onboarding process and why
Reasons why they chose to join
The resources or events they’re excited about or plan to use the most
Particular areas of interest
Then, you can easily use this information to improve members’ experiences, both in the short- and long-term.
Immediately consider any feedback about the onboarding process itself and whether you need to make any quick changes. Use information about individuals’ membership preferences and goals to shape your strategies—for example, rely on members’ preferred communication channels or add them to particular newsletters or groups based on their expressed interests.
Develop helpful welcome materials.
How exactly do you welcome new members to your association? What resources and guidance do you provide upon joining? You likely already use an onboarding or orientation packet, but when was it last updated or improved?
As organizations grow and evolve, these kinds of materials can naturally become outdated. They just need regular attention to continue delivering maximum value for your members and your organization as a whole.
Take stock of the resources you currently provide new members. Are they up-to-date with your current membership tiers, offerings, processes, branding, and overall messaging? How easy is it for members to find and use these resources for the first time?
If you identify gaps in your current materials, take the time to make improvements. New or improved onboarding materials may include a:
Guided video or module-style tour of your association’s website and engagement platform
Clearly written ‘Getting Around’ document summarizing key member resources and how to access them
More comprehensive member handbook detailing all the must-knows
Roadmap-style resource that outlines the full onboarding process if you have a more intentional orientation curriculum or benchmarks that new members must complete
Even just a few hours spent improving one resource at a time can pay dividends. To prioritize your efforts, look at members' feedback and see if they’ve called out any particularly confusing or frustrating aspects of their experience.
Note that this process may involve more general improvements to your association’s website and digital experience.
For well-established associations with tight budgets, it’s not uncommon for websites and member portals to remain largely unchanged over the years, but try to look at them with fresh eyes. Do your systems run slowly or look outdated? Are you missing key features on your wishlist, like in-platform virtual events or forums?
If your association is making (or has made) a recruitment and/or retention push, consider budgeting for a larger round of web design improvements. Improving the primary channel through which you engage members will safeguard all the hard work that goes into attracting and keeping them.
Create a distinct welcome journey.
A thoughtful welcome journey helps prevent information overload and creates a more intentional, streamlined experience for new members.
The easiest ways to set up a welcome journey involve configuring an email stream or a guided series of online modules. After sharing an initial welcome message, walk new members through key topics like:
‘Getting started’ instructions for setting up their account and filling in their profile
Introductions to the association’s leadership team and stories from other members about the value they’ve seen from membership
How to use your website and member portal
An overview of your association’s resources
Logistics and guidelines related to dues, renewals, etc.
Consider taking the extra step of adding interactivity to the journey in key spots. For example, your association can shout out new members in social media posts or set up new member meetings with a staff member or senior member for a personal welcome and Q&A session.
Many platforms today make it easy to automate parts of these journeys, and they can make fantastic impressions while laying the groundwork for long-term member retention. If you’re not sure whether your current tools will allow for automated journeys, check your association’s email and member engagement tools for message stream or module creation features.
Intentionally connect your members.
Nothing beats one-on-one interaction to foster a feeling of inclusion. We’re used to impersonal online processes in our daily lives, so intentionally connecting new members with others in your association can be a simple way to stand out.
You can take one of two general approaches:
Group new members into cohorts and encourage them to interact with special events, meetings, resources, and perks.
Recruit volunteers from among existing members to serve as mentors or buddies for new members during onboarding.
Either way, encouraging connection sets new members up for sustained engagement and satisfaction with your association. They’ll see friendly faces the first time they attend any in-person event and have a designated person or group to turn to for advice, encouragement, and discussion.
Make the most of your tech to support long-term engagement.
Technology has come up in several strategies discussed above, which makes sense. Many associations today exist largely online without a majority of members in a single location, with some having pockets of members dispersed across the country. Tech naturally plays a critical role in connecting members and facilitating service and resource delivery.
Of course, this is no surprise. Your association most likely already uses some form of association management system (AMS) and other online engagement platforms to operate smoothly.
However, AMS platforms can be quite expansive. It’s easy to forget underused features, or if you’ve used one outdated tool for many years, you may not realize the more modern features you’re missing out on. For example, digital badging for certifications and endorsements is an easy way to boost engagement that many legacy systems might be missing.
Today, associations should focus on a broader conception of “engagement management.” An engagement management system (EMS) offers suites of features that support the full scope of tasks and tools you need to engage members long-term. Think of EMS platforms as comprised of three key areas of association technology:
An AMS with member management and engagement features
A CRM (constituent relationship management) solution or database with robust data storage and analysis tools
A CMS (content management system) solution to design and manage the online experience offered by your association
Using a more holistic system, it becomes easier to effectively manage the complete member experience, reduce data silos, and keep your eye on the bigger picture of engagement and retention. Plus, for onboarding purposes, a centralized management approach provides a more intentional and organized journey for new members. It also ensures more accurate, real-time visibility into not just onboarding progress but also long-term engagement and membership trends.
Key takeaway: Piecemeal solutions with separate platforms for different member engagement purposes quickly become ineffective over time, often without associations realizing it. Many membership organizations increasingly prefer more comprehensive systems that ensure consistency and quality in the member experience.
While many elements contribute to the ultimate experience that new members have with your association, the key to improving that experience generally comes down to being more intentional.
Take the time to improve your onboarding materials and how you deliver them. Double-check that your technology helps rather than hinders your efforts. Take things offline (or incorporate more interpersonal tactics) by encouraging feedback and connection between members. You’ll develop a more engaging process and build a thriving membership in no time.