General Findings

• The average retention rate for associations is 81%.  
• According to Marketing General Incorporated, in 2018, 48% of member-based associations surveyed reported an increase in the number of members. 26% reported no change in membership numbers, and 25% reported a decrease.
• Of associations that reported an increase in membership in 2018, the majority had an increase in membership of 1-5%, while 21% saw an increase between 6-10%, 20% saw an increase between 11-50%, and only 1% saw an increase of 50% or more.

American Motorcycle Association

• The American Motorcycle Association is "a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling."
• In order to attract new members, the AMA hired the research firm Centauric LLC to help them build a strategy. Barriers cited by potential riders were "economic, political and social barriers" while motivating factors to ride were "freedom, exhilaration, fun and euphoria." The research indicated that by focusing on "almost riders", such as those involved in a different form of riding like mountain bike riding, the organization could set itself up for success.
• The firm recommended communications that focus on personal story-telling from riders and highlighting the social-good that riders support.
• Additionally, the AMA had other research done by MGI in order to develop more personalized materials for different types of riders found in the AMA member base. These improved communications "resulted in substantially improved renewal rates and more effective acquisition campaigns for each prospective audience."

Research Summary