There's no question that individual and societal experiences have shaped Gen Z. Significant events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and recent advocacy movements like Black Lives Matter, gun reform, and climate change have formulated the values of this new generation. 

Their social consciousness, thrifty, and tech-savvy priorities are attributes that associations need to take into account when building plans to drum up new membership, increase engagement, and even recruit their own new employees.

It's a given that the "one-size-fits-all" approach isn't applicable here. Organizations need tailored approaches and tools that deliver the right content in the right way to this high impact group. 

In a recent presentation at the Marketing Membership and Communications Convention (MMCC) hosted by the ASAE Center for Association Leadership, two of HighRoad's very own senior digital advisors, Nicole Crilley and Emily Nash, spoke on the topic of optimizing marketing campaigns for results. 

They presented to a captive audience of association marketers, program managers, and other professionals, looking to modernize the way they connect with their members and search for new ones. Here's a summary of their presentation. 

Marketing planning can be exciting. It's often the time where new ideas get thrown on the table, innovative and analytical thinking converge, and rough concepts get fully baked. 

What's not fun—seeing campaigns and approaches flop, particularly when so much thought, creativity, and goal intention went into them.

One of the obvious and most critical objectives of any association is to retain membership. Retention is a key performance indicator that impacts brand reputation, member satisfaction, and conclusively—financial statements.

The issue, however, is that generational and cultural landscapes are constantly evolving—yielding new consumer-buying behaviors, content-consumption preferences, and desired communication channels. 

As market demand is rewired, businesses are all seeing a natural need for remodeling, restructuring, and/or rebranding so that they're lock in step with audience expectations and needs.

Associations, and certainly memberships, are no different. Naturally, member-based organizations have to be extraordinarily proactive when it comes to identifying and dissuading member exits.

Email is arguably the most popular and effective marketing tool for organizations to run campaigns and produce funnel conversions.

For associations, non-profits, and member-based groups—whose cornerstone value comes in the form of communication, content, and community—this 1:1 member communication is a must-have for marketers. 

The ability for members and customers to control the content that they receive, specifically through email, is invaluable to their satisfaction and your bottom line.

Cue the Email Preference Center (EPC)—a centralized location where users manage their communication preferences and topical interests.