Poll Results: Members Value Direct Interaction With Peers and Discounts the Most

By Association Adviser staff

If you think it's been tougher to find hotel rooms and good seats at association conventions lately, you're not alone. Even in this digital age, many associations are reporting an uptick in attendance at their live events. What's more, research shows members still place a high value on face-to-face interaction with their peers.

According to the latest Association Adviser reader poll, nearly 40 percent of respondents said their most powerful benefits are those that foster direct interaction with other members such as professional networking or conferences and other live events. Perhaps a sign of these tough economic times, Membership Discounts and Affinity Programs garnered the second highest number of responses at 18 percent, followed by Education/Career Development at 17.2 percent, Member Publications at 15.6 percent and Vendor/Supplier Connections at 13.1 percent. 

More than 120 readers have responded to the poll as of press time.

Sure, live events take an enormous amount of time, energy and resources to produce. But think twice before you cut back on opportunities for your members to make eye contact and exchange handshakes in real-time. Good ol' F2F. It's still one of the most powerful ways for organizations to build and maintain trusted communities of like-minded individuals. And that's what associations have done better than anyone else going back hundreds of years.