According to the 2022 Association Viewpoint Report by McKinley Research, generating non-dues revenue is a top priority for organizations and associations. Many struggling with membership renewal rates know that non-dues revenue is a huge help. While it contributes to reserves, it also supports associations in maintaining healthy finances as they weather the storm.
A robust learning management platform is a powerful way to attract non-dues revenue through professional development. By creating and monetizing educational products, organizations can attract new members while diversifying their offering to boost current member satisfaction.
Here’s how an enterprise LMS can be leveraged to enhance your learning offering and boost non-dues revenues through education:
Built-in Monetization and eCommerce Functionality
Being able to charge for professional training and education is just getting to the table. If your organization can’t offer a range of monetization options, you’re adding friction to the process of getting the sale. Here’s where an enterprise LMS solution can raise the bar, allowing you to tailor your pricing and packaging structure (rather than be locked into a limited number of pre-configured options).
Here are a few ideas:
- Provide learning subscriptions separately from membership fees
- Offer new members training credits that can be used for learning content
- Launch coupons, discounts or member-exclusive special offers
- Think about setting a member price and a non-member price for your learning offering
- Build company-specific packages to get increased engagement from existing relationships that are in danger of churn
Live and Online Events for Networking and Engagement
The element of community that comes with being part of an association is one of its most appealing factors. Your organization’s live, peer-to-peer networking opportunities are well worth the price tag. Integrating your LMS with your Association Management System (AMS) makes it even easier to design and host live learning sessions, hybrid conferences, or even community-based events.
With LMS event management features, internal costs are minimal, while you gather revenue from registration fees, tickets, and merch. You can also encourage learners to keep the party going after the event with complementary online content that supports retention and furthers learning.
Boosting Learner Engagement through Gamification
If members feel that they are obtaining something valuable from your education, they will be happy to pay a premium. TSIA’s Maria Manning Chapman often talks about how users are more likely to engage with content they pay for, while free offerings aren’t a priority. This makes paid learning content an excellent source of non-dues revenue for associations.
Once users interact with your content, making courses feel interactive and impactful will keep learners coming back for more. With an enterprise LMS, you have complete design freedom to create any learning experience you choose. You could include badging and credentials, leaderboards, and any other gamification tactic that will encourage learners to stay involved. Set up a “streak” system to entice users to log in regularly, and tempt them with a “top learner” badge. Offer a credential that provides bragging rights on social media, or create learning pathways that spotlight that they’re achieving mastery.
Using Existing Data for Personalization
Integration with your AMS also encourages a more sophisticated personalization process. When you know what content your learners have engaged with in the past, and you have access to broader data on their role or industry, you can offer exciting smart recommendations. Role-based, curated learning paths suit specific individual needs rather than catering to the masses. Pairing this with a customizable learner dashboard allows users to see their progress, and learn from their own real-time insights.
With an enterprise LMS integration, this personalization can happen at scale, providing a non-dues revenue stream to augment member subscriptions (with little administrative effort or overhead).
It’s Time for Organizations and Associations to Diversify and Thrive
It’s time to face facts. Associations that can diversify their revenue streams away from only theirmember subscriptions are more likely to remain stable and secure uncertainty. Luckily, by leveraging their existing trust, authority and industry clout, these organizations can also attract users looking for professional development, industry-specific events, and wider opportunities for education.
With an enterprise LMS, associations and organizations can streamline this journey, adding a powerful non-dues revenue stream to their offering. Flexibly monetize learning content, attract and engage learners, improve hybrid event opportunities, and use the right data to become your audience’s preferred training and education provider.
It starts here. Schedule a demo now.
