Member retention surveys are one of the simplest and most effective ways to understand how your members feel about their experience with your association. They help identify what’s working, where gaps exist and what changes can strengthen engagement and retention. You can do all of this without a large budget or team.
Surveys give you valuable insights and give your members a direct voice in shaping the future of your organization. In this blog, we’ll cover three key types of surveys that deliver the best results for retention and how to use them to build stronger connections with your members.
1. Onboarding Surveys
The first few weeks of membership often determine whether someone stays engaged or drifts away. That’s why onboarding surveys are such an important step in your retention strategy. They give new members a chance to share their first impressions, highlight what’s working and point out what’s missing. This early feedback can help you refine how you welcome members, communicate benefits and present your organization’s value.
An onboarding survey also makes members feel seen. It signals that your association values their experience from day one and wants to make their journey easier. That sense of inclusion builds trust and can prevent early drop-offs. For many associations, it’s the simplest way to start a two-way relationship where feedback becomes part of the membership experience.
When to send: Within the first month of joining.
Why it matters: Early feedback helps you refine welcome emails, benefit explanations and event invites so new members feel supported and are less likely to lapse.
Ask questions like:
- What motivated you to join?
- How easy was the membership application?
- Did our welcome materials help you understand your benefits?
- What would have made your first month more valuable?
- Do your first experiences match what you expected?
- Was any part of our website or portal confusing?
Tips for higher response:
- Keep it short with 5 questions or fewer
- Make it mobile friendly
- Tell members how you will use their feedback
- Close the loop with a thank-you and next steps
2. Engagement or Satisfaction Surveys
Once members have settled in, it’s time to understand how they’re connecting with your association over time. Engagement or satisfaction surveys give you a broader look at how well your programs, benefits and communications are performing. They’re one of the best tools for identifying what’s working, what’s missing and where members might be losing interest.
These surveys assess how members feel about their member experience and what they value most. They reveal whether members feel supported, inspired and connected to your mission. When done regularly, they help you spot patterns early and address concerns before they affect renewals. A single survey response might seem small, but when combined with hundreds of others, it provides a clear snapshot of member sentiment and the overall health of your association.
You can send this survey after a major annual event, a big training series or toward the end of a membership year. The key is to make it consistent enough to track progress without overwhelming members with too many requests for feedback.
When to send: Mid-year or after key programs.
Why it matters: Reveals what is working, what is missing and how engagement connects to renewal.
Ask questions like:
- How satisfied are you with recent events or webinars?
- Are networking opportunities helping you make useful connections?
- Which benefits do you use most, and how often?
- What new services or resources would improve your experience?
- Is there anything you want the association to address this year?
- Would a member incentive program add value to your membership?
Pro tip: Add one open question at the end to capture ideas you did not anticipate.
3. Exit Surveys
Even the most engaged associations lose members from time to time. The goal isn’t to prevent every cancellation but to understand why departures happen and what could have changed the outcome. Exit surveys give you that insight. They help uncover patterns, such as unclear communication, limited engagement opportunities or benefits that no longer meet member needs.
Collecting this feedback at the point of departure can be eye-opening. Departing members are often more candid than active ones, offering honest reasons for leaving that can highlight weaknesses or reveal unmet expectations. While some responses may point to factors outside your control, others can lead to simple fixes that make a real difference in retention.
An exit survey also provides a way to leave the door open for future engagement. When you ask for feedback with professionalism and appreciation, former members are more likely to view your organization positively and consider returning later. These same insights can also strengthen your member acquisition efforts and even help you fine-tune renewal campaigns and strengthen your overall member experience.
When to send: Immediately after a non-renewal or cancellation.
Why it matters: Reveals gaps in value, service or pricing and gives you ideas to win members back.
Ask questions like:
- What was the main reason you chose not to renew?
- Which benefits felt least valuable to you?
- Did our staff support meet your expectations?
- What changes would have influenced you to stay?
- Would you consider rejoining in the future?
- If cost was a factor, what price or package would feel right?
Tips to improve responses:
- Acknowledge their time and share how you use the feedback
- Keep it brief and mobile friendly
- Offer an optional comments box for context
Turning Feedback into Retention Strategy
Take the feedback from the surveys and turn it into actionable steps. Look for individual comments and patterns that show where problems need to be fixed. Pay attention to positive comments too, because they highlight what’s already working. The goal is to identify both strengths and weaknesses through member feedback. For more ways to turn insights into renewal gains, review our member retention strategies
Make it a point to review responses regularly, ideally once a quarter. You can do reviews more often, but you’ll need enough time to gather meaningful data. To get the most value, organize responses in a searchable document so you can easily identify trends or repeated themes. This makes it simpler to see how many people are raising the same concerns or praising the same aspects of your association.
The insights you gather will guide the next steps. Communicate any changes with members through a newsletter or email update. Using a phrase like “you asked, we listened” closes the feedback loop and shows members their input matters. That transparency builds trust and satisfaction.
Once the updates are in place, track key metrics like renewal rates or event participation. Here are 29 KPIs every membership organization should track. An increase in these numbers indicates your efforts are paying off. Changes made in response to member feedback should result in stronger engagement and more stable membership over time.
The main goal of using surveys and acting on feedback is to maintain your current members while building loyalty. Listening to members makes them feel valued and reinforces that they are more than just a number to your organization.
Finally, happy members share their experiences. Positive word of mouth can attract new prospects and strengthen your reputation. Regularly gathering and responding to feedback creates a culture of engagement where members and leaders grow together.
Conclusion
Your members want to advance themselves and their profession. They look to associations for support in the form of networking, education and community. Understanding what they want from their membership helps you make positive changes in your member retention.
At MemberClicks, we offer a free guide that takes a deeper look at how surveys fit into a broader retention plan. Download Member Retention 101 to learn how to turn survey feedback into long-term loyalty.
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