MemberWise Digital Excellence Report 2023/24

The highly anticipated MemberWise Digital Excellence Report 2023/24 was published earlier this month and once again proved to be an insightful deep dive into the current systems landscape of the membership sector.

This year’s report covers the widest range of digital focused areas and dives deeper than ever before to establish digital focused trends and benchmark current and proposed future activity. Insight were drawn from over 600 membership professionals to help better understand the existing and emerging technologies being used to retain and recruit members, provide enhanced online member value, and optimise member engagement.

Key Findings

• Nearly 60% of membership organisations need help integrating core platforms like association management systems (AMS) and content management systems (CMS).
• Almost half remain unsatisfied with their website and digital agency relationships - costly rework persists.
• Adoption of online member communities languishes under 50%, despite 92% agreeing they boost engagement and retention.
• Over 70% lack documented strategies for critical areas like member engagement and data management.

Top Priorities & Challenges

• This year new member acquisition has become the #1 priority, surpassing member engagement. However, engagement remains critical for small and large organisations alike.
• Formal strategy and planning usage has declined, allowing solutions like our Membership Experience Platform, MemEx, to provide structure.
• Inadequate integration between core platforms like AMS and CMS remains a top challenge, impacting self-service and personalisation.
• Data issues persist around management, reporting, and effectively measuring online engagement.

Strategic Approach Required

The reports statistics reveal enormous opportunities. Progress requires taking a holistic view across 4 key areas:

• Making member value the primary focus, not acquisition alone. Engagement and loyalty drive retention.
• Tackling integration, data, and outdated systems that currently prevent positive change.
• Carefully adopting digital channels to complement, not replace, human connections.
• Blending innovation with pragmatism. Move ahead iteratively, not chasing each trend.

The path forward challenges organisations to balance vision, pragmatism, and keeping the member experience centre stage through inevitable turbulence ahead.

What do we think?

Andrew Vance, Wattle's Chief Commercial Officer, commented:

"The report clarifies that foundational challenges still hold many membership organisations back, even as new technology innovations emerge. Issues like disconnected systems, data silos, and fragmented digital experiences directly encumber the member experience and limit organisational flexibility. This presents a truly enormous opportunity for membership organisations willing to take decisive action."

"The way forward requires a holistic approach – methodically addressing legacy barriers first before attempting to add new innovations. Superficial improvements will ultimately fail without modernising the underlying technology foundations. But, done right, and with a solutions-focused partner, overcoming these obstacles unlocks new potential to engage members and drive real impact."

Katie Molloy, Wattle’s Head of Delivery, added:

"The fact that nearly 60% of membership organisations continue struggling to integrate core systems shows these challenges are more endemic than many of us appreciate. Solutions like our Membership Experience Platform, MemEx, leverage leading technologies like Dynamics 365 and Umbraco to break down data silos. We provide the connectors and APIs to create seamless omnichannel experiences demonstrating member value."