We know from the Wiley Society Member Surveys that being a member of multiple societies is very common. 49% of respondents to our 2020 survey are members of three or more societies.

However, the number of people who are likely to recommend society membership to their peers is falling. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for society membership (a standard survey measure of how likely people are to recommend), decreased from 17 in 2019 to 12 this year. So, where is the disconnect, and what can societies do to turn more members into advocates for the organization?

Why the decline?

Discipline doesn’t appear to matter in the decline of society membership advocates – all subjects are trending down in NPS. Early Career Researchers (ECRs) seem to be the least satisfied of all members, though. Those who have under 5 years’ experience have an average NPS of 0! Similar levels of dissatisfaction can be found in the Asia Pacific region, where the average NPS is actually negative (-3). Past member surveys have shown that working directly with universities, being active on social media, and offering mentorship programs are some of the best ways to keep ECRs most engaged. Members in the Asia Pacific region also tend to be less engaged with their society, and produce a lot more research than they consume. So, one way to engage these members could be by covering the Article Publication Charge (APC) to publish open access.

Who is satisfied?

The most satisfied are members of those societies that offer free access to all of their journals as part of membership (NPS = 35) and societies that support open data (NPS = 36).  The more established a member is in their career also increases the likelihood that they will recommend their society. Members who belong to multiple societies (four or more) have a high NPS (37) and are also likely to be very satisfied with the benefits their society is providing.

What can societies do to turn more members into advocates?

Our survey suggests that about 17% of members aren’t familiar enough with the services that their society provides to recommend membership to someone else, rather than just being unsatisfied themselves. This makes even more sense coupled with the finding that 34% of non-members don’t join simply because they haven’t been invited. So, more outreach and promotion to raise awareness of society services is extremely likely to improve member word of mouth recommendations – especially if those services are aimed at members with under five years’ experience.

But what’s the most powerful way to turn more members into society advocates? We found that membership surveys—or, in other words, asking members what they think—have the biggest positive impact on Net Promoter Score. The NPS for those who participated in a member survey is 25, 13 points higher than average. If you already survey members regularly, adding more webinars to member programming and bringing new faces onto committees could also help make more of the society’s own members advocates for the organization. Members who attend webinars and who volunteer on committees have the highest NPS of all (47 and 55, respectively). With just a few simple activities, societies have the power to transform unengaged members into some of your greatest advocates.