For the second year in a row a majority (52 percent) of associations surveyed for the annual Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report from Marketing General Inc. report a growth in membership. Slightly more than 30 percent reported a decline in their membership for this year’s survey of nearly 700 associations nationwide.

As was the case in the 2012 survey, the top three challenges to growing membership, according to the report, remain insufficient staff, difficulty attracting and/or maintaining younger members, and perception of the association and/or its culture.

Associations say their top two membership goals for 2013 are to increase member engagement and increase both membership acquisition and retention.

The primary reasons members join associations, according to association executives, are networking (24 percent), access to specialized/current information (13 percent), and advocacy (8 percent). The top three reasons members cite for not renewing their membership are: 1) Budget cuts/economic hardship of the company; 2) Lack of engagement with the organization; and 3) Unable to justify membership costs with any significant ROI.

Download a free copy of the report here.

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