What Does It Mean to Be A “Member?”
Few museums can articulate the purpose of their membership program. Can yours?
What would happen if you asked 100 of your members, “What does it mean to be a member?”
Would you expect to hear the same answer from all 100 people? What do you think you might learn by asking this question?
In her book, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, Priya Parker talks about the importance of purpose when designing a gathering. In many ways, we can think of membership as a kind of gathering.
What is the purpose of membership at your museum?
(Hint: Revenue may be a goal, but it is not a purpose.)
Is the purpose of membership to create a sense of belonging? To encourage more frequent visitation? Perhaps the purpose of membership is to fulfill each individual member’s “job to be done.”
There is no wrong answer to this question. Each museum leader will need to define the purpose of membership for their own institution. And it is incumbent upon each museum leader to ensure that the marketing strategy, pricing strategy, and membership product portfolio aligns with this objective.
As you begin to explore the idea of membership as a gathering, I encourage you to think about the following questions:
Who do you want to invite? As Parker writes, “...thoughtful exclusion, in addition to being generous, can be defining. It can help with the important task of communicating to guests what a gathering is.”
How do you want your members to show up? Specificity has the power to transform a gathering. The more specific you are about the purpose of the gathering, the more people will know who it’s for and how you expect them to show up.
How might you create a more intentional member experience from beginning to end? You have the opportunity to shape each member’s journey, keeping in mind that a gathering begins the moment your audience first learns about it.
We need to ask better questions.
Today, museums market to and serve members as if they all share the same motivations, values, and needs. But what if we were to design membership in a way that helps people get a specific job done such as learning something new, being a good parent, or emotionally recharging? Of equal importance, we haven’t taken the time (or are too afraid) to ask ourselves, “What kind of member do we want to attract?”
I believe simply asking these kinds of fundamental questions has value.
If you’d like to dig deeper into these questions, I invite you to join me at an upcoming Research Parlor Chat on February 8 at 4:30 p.m. EST where I’ll be sharing more about a first-of-its-kind research study aimed at answering the question “Why do people become members?”
The goal of the Member Motivations Study is to deliver critical insights about the hidden drivers behind the decision to join. This research will provide objective data to help museum leaders like you make informed decisions about your membership program.
Warmest,
Rosie
P.S. If you’d like to dive deeper into the purposes of membership, please join me in the MAP Community’s Membership Innovation Group, where we spotlight exciting work happening in membership programs in cultural organizations around the country.
