Magazine Monday: Data as Diligence

Member Perception Research Drives Member Satisfaction—and Retention

Member research isn’t new for associations. Many already survey their members for up-to-the-minute data on compensation, industry performance metrics, and other insights. But over the past year, we’ve seen a powerful new way associations are using research to drive satisfaction and retention: member perception research.

Why now? Lifestyle and technology trends are changing what it means to belong to an association, forcing leaders to reassess what members value most and how to deliver that value cost-effectively. These trends include declining memberships since COVID, even at associations that grew rapidly during the pandemic, as well as lagging interest and high churn among younger professionals who want faster, more measurable returns on their time and money.

Also present is a surging demand for how-to instruction, as well as deep dives on artificial intelligence, plus mismatched preferences for content, events, education, and other offerings among member cohorts.

Naylor’s 2026 Association Benchmarking Report confirms these trends. Senior association leaders say their top three challenges are generating non-dues revenue (51.9%); communicating member benefits effectively (49.5%); and using data to guide strategic decisions (47.7%).

That’s where member perception research comes in, providing the insights needed to realign resources with what members and prospective members value most.

How Member Perception Research Works

Associations generally use two different types of data gathering for member perception research:

• Qualitative research. One-on-one stakeholder interviews that explore the value members perceive in an association’s products, services, initiatives, and other offerings. Associations use these discussions to surface preliminary insights and uncover new areas for deeper exploration.

• Quantitative research. Online surveys of members and non-members that measure the value they perceive in an association’s products, services, initiatives, and other offerings. Surveys can also quantify key satisfaction indicators, such as likelihood of recommending the association to a colleague and how long an individual plans to remain a member.

Analyzing responses by demographic cohort typically reveals differing perceptions of an association’s offerings by age, career stage, region, and more. Comparing these results with the revenues, costs, and margins associated with providing those offerings to each cohort helps associations see where their resource investments are generating the most— and least—perceived member value.

For example, some associations are using cohort data to reformat education offerings, balancing a preference for online learning among younger members with a preference for live events among older members. Associations must provide value to both cohorts—but which resource-allocation decisions will satisfy members today while supporting a financially healthy association tomorrow? Member perception data by cohort can provide guidance.

Read the full article in the 2026 edition of Association Adviser magazine!