What is Voice of Members?
Voice of Members brings together the methods used to collect, understand and share feedback from the members of an organization.
Depending on the context, these people may be called members, policyholders, license holders, network members, alumni, volunteers or representatives of affiliated organizations. Their relationship isn’t limited to a purchase. It can combine using services, a sense of belonging, taking part in governance, volunteering and commitment to a shared mission.
A member listening program therefore seeks to understand several dimensions:
- the perceived value of the services offered;
- how easy it is to access information;
- the quality of events and collective moments;
- the feeling of being represented or heard;
- what holds people back from taking part;
- the reasons for renewing, stepping back or disengaging.
Why member satisfaction isn’t enough
An overall score can hide very different expectations.
“I’m fairly satisfied with my membership.”
This person may appreciate the resources available but not know how to get involved. Another may value the network while finding the communications too frequent. A third may support the mission without using the services offered.
The useful question therefore depends on the answer:
“Which part of your membership brings you the most value today?”
or:
“What stops you from getting more involved?”
A conversation lets you tell apart use, belonging, representation and engagement instead of blending them into a single average.
Key moments of the member experience
Joining
Understand what motivated the person to join, whether the promise was clear and whether the first steps helped the new member find their bearings quickly.
Discovering the services
Identify the resources people know about, the ones they actually use and the obstacles that keep them from reaching the value on offer.
Events and gatherings
Explore what makes participation easier, the quality of the exchanges, the relevance of the formats and why some members stay away.
Communication
Understand whether information arrives at the right time, through the right channel and with enough clarity.
Taking part in collective life
Bring out the conditions that encourage or hold back contribution: available time, understanding of the governing bodies, a sense of legitimacy or visibility of the ways to get involved.
Renewal
Explore perceived value, unmet expectations and hesitations before the only remaining signal is a non-renewal.
Examples of Voice of Members campaigns
Association or NGO
Understand how members perceive the mission, the actions carried out, the information they receive and the ways they can contribute.
Professional federation
Explore the needs of member organizations, the relevance of resources, how the professions are represented and what they expect from the network.
Mutual or member-owned organization
Capture the experience of the services and of mutual life, distinguishing the user relationship from the sense of belonging.
Sports or cultural club
Understand the welcome, access to activities, organization, atmosphere and what holds people back from renewing or volunteering.
Alumni network
Identify the formats, topics and occasions to meet that genuinely create value, depending on career stage and profile.
What questions should you ask your members?
- “What made you decide to join our organization?”
- “In which situations is your membership most useful to you?”
- “Which service do you know about but rarely use, and why?”
- “What makes taking part in our events easy or difficult?”
- “When did you feel particularly listened to, or on the contrary not heard?”
- “What will weigh most in your decision to renew your membership?”
- “What form of involvement would suit you better today?”
Questions must take into account the diversity of relationships with the organization. A highly engaged member, a new member and someone who has stepped back don’t have the same experience and shouldn’t be questioned as if they formed a uniform group.
Designing an interview suited to members
Separate the dimensions of the experience
Avoid a question like “Are you satisfied with our services and our events?”. It combines two experiences that may be judged very differently. Create one objective for services and another for events, then adapt the path to the answers you get.
Start with an identifiable experience
Members answer more easily when they can connect to a specific memory: their last event, a recent request, renewing their membership or using a resource. A time frame reduces answers based on a vague impression.
Use a scale that names what it measures
If the campaign includes a rating, use a scale tied to the topic: satisfaction, ease, frequency or likelihood to recommend. Don’t use a simple agreement scale for every case. For an opinion rating, an odd-numbered scale of five to seven points keeps a neutral option. Each point should be clearly labeled and evenly spaced.
Keep profile questions for the end
Region, length of membership or membership type can help interpret the answers. This information comes after the main questions. Members first get the chance to talk about their experience before providing more personal data.
A simple sequence for a member campaign
- explain the topic, the duration and how the answers will be used;
- situate the experience concerned;
- explore the services, moments or needs selected in the brief;
- ask for an overall assessment;
- open a final space for free expression;
- collect only the profile information that is strictly necessary;
- thank the person and explain how the insights will be shared.
This structure doesn’t force everyone down the same path. Someone who uses the services a lot can be asked about their concrete value. Someone less active can instead explain what keeps them from taking part.
Make listening a governance tool, not just another survey
Tie the campaign to a decision
Redesigning the service offer, changing events, renewal, a strategic plan or improving the welcome: the topic must be explicit.
Hear less visible members too
The people present in governing bodies or at events don’t necessarily represent the whole membership. The way you distribute the campaign must also reach members who rarely take part.
Segment without fragmenting
Length of membership, membership type, region or level of engagement can help read the results. These segments must stay large enough to protect individuals and avoid conclusions drawn from groups that are too small.
Share back what will be done
A useful summary distinguishes the improvements that have been adopted, the topics to explore further and the requests that fall outside the organization’s scope.
Come back and listen again
A one-off campaign informs a decision. Comparable waves then let you follow how a change is experienced, without turning listening into constant solicitation.
How Sonar captures the voice of your members
You describe the organization, the context of the campaign and the themes to explore. Sonar suggests a structure you can review and adjust before publishing.
Each member then joins the conversation through a public link, with no account to create. Sonar asks one question at a time, digs deeper into answers that contain a useful signal and stays within the limits set by the team.
A follow-up picks up the important point the member made before asking for clarification. It stays open and doesn’t suggest the expected answer. After one or two attempts with nothing new, Sonar moves on to the next theme to keep the interview flowing.
Feedback is grouped by theme, with the ability to go back to the verbatims and their context. The goal isn’t to speak for members in place of the governing bodies, but to give those bodies more precise material to decide and report back.
FAQ: Voice of Members
What is the difference between Voice of Customer and Voice of Members?
Voice of Customer mainly looks at a customer-to-organization relationship. Voice of Members must also take into account belonging, representation, participation and sometimes governance. The same person can be both a user of a service and a member of a collective.
When should you survey members?
After joining, an event or using a service; before renewal; during strategic planning; or after a major change in the organization. The timing should stay tied to a decision or an identifiable experience.
How do you gather feedback from less engaged members?
Use channels that don’t assume prior participation in events or governing bodies, explain clearly how much time is needed and ask about barriers as much as expectations.
Is an annual survey enough?
It can provide an overall benchmark, but some topics are better explored closer to the experience: after an event, when someone joins or before renewal. Several short, targeted campaigns can complement the annual check-in.
How do you make use of very different expectations?
Group the answers by need, stage of the journey and usage profile, then go back to the verbatims before drawing conclusions. The goal isn’t to satisfy every isolated request, but to understand the recurring tensions and trade-offs.