Many different types of membership organisations exist, from professional associations such as the Australian Medical Association, trade unions and customer-owned banks; to co-operatives collectively owned and controlled by members. What most of these organisations have in common is the need to grow their membership and serve in the best interest of their members.
“Members are the lifeblood of membership organisations – its why they exist,” says Ivan Zuvela, a partner for Gerard Daniels. “As major stakeholders, members are key to the success of these organisations – their needs and interests must be met for the membership base to grow.”
“Professional sporting clubs are another type of organisation that operate successfully with a member-based business model,” Ivan continues. “Around the world elite sporting organisations set the standard for attracting, retaining and engaging members, with clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona; West Coast, Collingwood and Carlton, leading the charge in their respective sporting codes.”
Here we consider what business leaders can learn from sporting clubs like these, about growing their membership, driving the performance of their organisation, and how the two interconnect.
Meeting the changing needs of members
Across many different industries, the nature of memberships is changing. To survive and thrive, member-based organisations must be able to adapt to the changing needs of members.
“In Australia there was a time when having an AFL membership showed your commitment to the sport and your club, and getting seats for the season and a ticket to each of the games was enough incentive to join,” says Ivan. “Members are still passionate today and want to show their support, but as membership has grown beyond the seating capacity of stadiums, tickets can no longer be guaranteed, leaving members wanting more to continue paying their annual fee.”
Sports organisations have responded to changing membership needs, offering benefits such as:
- Exclusive digital content and online experiences
- Access to secret member merchandise stores
- Targeted subscriptions for sports streaming services
- Lifestyle benefits in the form of discounted fuel, insurance and movie tickets.
A similar shift and response is happening in other member-based industries, as consumers have more choice and become savvier about benefits and the return they want to see on their investment.
“These trends highlight the importance of understanding members and adapting a value proposition to align with their changing needs and wants,” says Ivan. “In doing so organisations must also define value in ways that resonate with members, as they won’t stick around if perceived and actual value don’t align.”
Building a value proposition around community
Attracting and retaining members can be challenging when tangible benefits (like a seat at the game), aren’t on offer. Growing and retaining members is also much more difficult when performance expectations are not met.
“In sport, game day is everything,” says Ivan. “On- field performance is also highly visible, so it will always matter to members and always affect off-field performance too,” says Ivan. “When organisations can’t consistently deliver on member expectations, other strategies are needed to engage and deliver value.”
“Having a sense of community, loyalty and connection is an important part of subscribing to a membership organisation,” says Ivan. “This is why the world’s most successful sporting organisations have community and belonging at core of their value proposition, binding members to a shared vision, passion and purpose. It also explains why some clubs can have periods when their game success is low, but their members retain their loyalty.”
Finding ways to build these values and connections into other types of membership organisation can help to retain and grow their membership, too.
Growing digital engagement
To grow their brand and membership, sporting organisations are increasingly turning to digital engagement. Video streaming channels are being used to grow engagement, with FC Barcelona recently setting the record as the first sports club in the world to surpass 20 million YouTube subscriptions. Over-the-top (OTT) live and on-demand broadcasting platforms are also dominating the sports industries. In 2024 NetballPass (World Netball's OTT Platform) won Best Fan Engagement Programme at the Sports Business Awards.
Digital engagement strategies like these can help membership organisations to:
- Provide additional value to members with access to exclusive content
- Keep communication targeted and relevant, tailoring messaging to member demographics
- Give members a voice and a platform for connecting with the membership community
- Grow the brand and membership base beyond a physical location
- Reach broader audiences and attract new members and subscribers.
“By developing effective digital interfaces, organisations can give members more of what they need and want, enhancing the member experience in a highly targeted way,” says Ivan.
Giving members a voice
Much like shareholders for listed organisations, subscribing to a member-based organisation gives people a sense of ownership and responsibility. Nurturing this commitment helps organisations to build loyalty and to grow and retain members.
“You can’t always give members voting rights for major decisions, but there are other ways to engage and make members feel seen and heard,” says Ivan. “In sport, every game is an opportunity for members to showcase their passion and commitment to the club. In other industries, organisations can host member-only events; create opportunities to volunteer for the cause; create platforms for members to share views or insights; and allow members to represent their interests at industry forums.”
In giving members a voice, membership organisations must balance this influence with the need to set a strategy, and make decisions that won’t always align with member views and expectations. The better the engagement and the more aligned the member value proposition, the easier this will be.
Attracting and developing the right leaders
Developing global brands, building community and defining a value proposition that resonates with members, helps membership organisations to grow. Achieving this requires empathetic leaders able to articulate a clear vision; highly adaptable leadership skills and approach; a high level of digital literacy; and the ability to engage and unite members across multiple platforms and geographies.
“These skills can often be found in leaders that come from high performance environments like sport,” says Ivan. “They are also highly transferrable across membership and other industries.”
To find and develop the right leadership talent for your membership organisation, connect with Ivan or reach out to your local Gerard Daniels team.
