Membership organisations face challenging times. Multiple factors are combining to threaten the growth of even the most long established and well-regarded membership organisations.

Flourishing in this environment requires a fundamental rethinking of the relationship with members. It means getting to the heart of what members want and need from membership and shaping an offering around a rich understanding of what matters to them.

Enter member value proposition design.

Background to the methodology

Building on our expertise in the membership sector, RbD has developed a rigorous approach to help organisations define truly compelling Member Value Propositions.

Drawing on academic and industry insights into customer value proposition design (in particular the work of Alex Osterwalder and colleagues at Strategyzer) we have designed and tested a series of research-based interventions tailored to membership organisations.

These facilitate an in-depth understanding of what members are trying to achieve, what they value, and the challenges they face, as well as evaluating ‘fit’ between the member profile and the association’s offer.

Insights gained help to drive a new or refreshed Member Value Proposition (MVP) that is grounded in evidence.