Typical topics
- Information and communication
- Advice and support
- Advocacy
- Events
- Training
- Networking
- Research
Discover what members need and value
Member Research
Understand what members need, value and expect from your association.
Use structured member research to improve services, support decision-making and identify the priorities that matter most to your membership.
Typical outputs
- Member satisfaction reports
- Member needs analyses
- Service evaluations
- Segmentation analyses
- Strategic member insights
The goal
Understand what your members need, experience and value
Member research helps associations understand member satisfaction, service usage, priorities and future needs.
Research can support strategic decisions, service development, member communication and advocacy activities.
Unlike benchmarking programmes, member research does not always require individual participant feedback. In many cases, the association is the primary user of the results.
Typical objectives
- Measure member satisfaction
- Understand member needs
- Evaluate services
- Support strategic planning
- Collect input for advocacy and representation
Member satisfaction is only one form of member research.
Associations also use research to understand:
- Future member needs
- Service usage
- Strategic priorities
- Policy topics
- Training needs
- Communication preferences
The research design should follow the decisions the association wants to support.
Member satisfaction: how well does the association serve its members?
A member satisfaction study can assess both the quality and availability of services.
Typical measures
- Satisfaction
- Importance
- Usage
- Improvement priorities
Looking at all four dimensions often provides more useful insight than a single satisfaction score.
The benefits
From opinions to decisions
Research should support decisions.
Before creating questions, determine which decisions the association may make based on the outcome.
This helps focus the questionnaire and ensures the results remain actionable.
Look beyond the overall satisfaction score
An overall satisfaction score rarely tells the full story.
Results can be analysed by:
- Member type
- Organisation size
- Region
- Membership duration
- Other relevant segments
The goal is not more analysis, but better decisions.
Not every study requires individual feedback
In many member research programmes, the association is the primary user of the findings.
The objective is to understand the membership as a whole rather than provide individual results.
Research outcomes are typically delivered through:
- Research reports
- Segmentation analyses
- Strategic recommendations
Added benefit with our Survey Tool
What the Survey Tool can support
Design questionnaires
Create structured member surveys with conditional questions and different routes where needed.
Collect responses
Support recurring survey communication and monitor response progress.
Analyse results
Calculate agreed indicators and compare relevant member groups or research periods.
Report findings
Give the association a current view of results and selected breakdowns.
A helping hand
Frequently asked questions
What is member research?
Member research is structured research among the members of an association or professional organisation. It can examine satisfaction, needs, priorities, service use, opinions or other information the organisation needs for decisions.
What is a member satisfaction survey?
A member satisfaction survey examines how members experience and value the association and its services. It can look at overall satisfaction as well as the quality, availability, use and importance of individual services.
Can we measure both the quality and quantity of our services?
Yes. The questionnaire can distinguish how members assess service quality from whether they believe enough is being offered. Questions about use and importance can add further context.
Can we use member research for topics other than satisfaction?
Yes. Examples include member needs, strategic priorities, service use, policy input, event feedback, advocacy information and other structured data collection among members.
Can we compare different member groups?
Yes, where the available data and research design support a meaningful comparison. Segmentation should be relevant to the decision and sufficiently robust for appropriate reporting.
Can we repeat the same research every year?
Yes. A stable core of recurring questions can be used to monitor developments over time, while additional questions can be changed when new issues arise.
Considering a member research programme?
Tell us:
- what you want to learn from your members
- which decisions the research should support
- how often feedback is required
- how results should be reported
We'll help design the right member research approach.