In today's fast-paced digital landscape, AI has emerged as a powerful tool, revolutionizing the way organizations interact with their members. Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a pivotal role in shaping member experiences across various stages, including acquisition, engagement, and renewal processes, as well as event and networking activities.
To help member organizations navigate through this digital ocean, Glue Up hosted an online panel discussion on August 3rd, 2023. The event brought together leading industry figures from North America, the EMEA region, and the APAC region to delve into the ways AI can predict, analyze, and optimize member experiences. This leads to higher satisfaction, increased engagement, and ultimately, improved member retention.
For those who missed the event and are looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of how AI can revolutionize member experiences and equip their organizations with the tools needed to thrive in an increasingly digital and interconnected world, here are some key takeaways for you.
Also, be sure to check out our upcoming events for insights from our top-level industry and association leaders.
The Use of AI in Member-Based Organizations
“Leveraging AI to enhance member engagement has transformed from a novel concept to an essential strategy for associations striving to forge more meaningful connections with their members. With the power of AI, associations can deliver personalized content with pinpoint accuracy, communicate in a more targeted and relevant manner, and craft event strategies that are not only engaging but also deeply resonant with members’ needs and preferences. In this new era, AI is not just a tool; it is the architect of a more dynamic, responsive, and enriching member engagement landscape.”
Rich Brady, CEO of the American Society of Military Comptrollers
AI can be used to help improve communication and retention when organizations like associations are communicating with members.“
Lois Penney, President at Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce
"For us, for our association, I'll focus on the business perspective, and again it is: how do we look at all of the areas that we have and just ask the question... how can this technology be integrated to either increase productivity or decrease cost, but ultimately, because we're in the association space, to increase member value."
Martin Liu, Assistant Director of STT Platform
"If you're doing a member recruitment campaign or a member renewal campaign, start training your Chat GPT to different personas... you're saving time being able to get out those personalized messages according to the age, the gender, the level of interest, whatever your data has been telling you that people are interested in."
Nikki Walker, MCI’s Global Vice President
"I think the job of technology companies is to figure out how they can help associations get guided towards the right prompts or specific prompts that take care of certain tasks so that you have the outcomes faster."
Josh Kiligman, Co-Founder and CEO of Yearly
AI as an Intelligent Assistant
"AI is not the magical solution to engagement. Technology is an enabler. It's a very useful and important enabler, but... it's very important to think of generative AI as an intelligent assistant."
Nikki Walker, MCI’s Global Vice President
"For member-based organizations, we have to remember that AI is a tool for decision support, not the decision-making tool itself."
Georges Fischer, Founder and Director of Fischer Corporate Consulting International
“AI needs to become more robust, akin to alternative data, to deepen our understanding of the members involved. Furthermore, it's essential to recognize how AI, through analytics, can significantly enhance engagement with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), thereby fostering more effective member interactions and insights.”
Francesca Lee, Founder of 2econd Generation Entrepreneur Association, Per Suit Hong Kong
"Utilizing generative AI, like ChatGPT, for content creation—especially in advertising events—is a game-changer and a significant time-saver. With this technology, crafting an event agenda or run sheet can be streamlined to a matter of minutes, allowing for focus on more strategic and creative aspects of the planning process."
Rajendra Shroff, Director of Applied AI Research
Our days are limited by time, and we are constantly juggling various responsibilities. In this fast-paced environment, finding the balance between sophisticated tools and the human touch is essential. It's not just about reading data from your dashboards and CRM; it’s about having a human co-pilot, someone to interpret and act on that data in a meaningful way. This harmonious blend of technology and human insight, I believe, is invaluable.“
Nikki Walker, MCI’s Global Vice President
"Behind every machine learning model is a human expert, capable of interpreting the results and understanding the customers. It’s often most effective when I, as a marketing expert or event planner, use AI tools like ChatGPT as a complement to my work. These tools can enhance my strategies and decision-making, but they won't replace the expertise and judgment I apply in my day-to-day operations."
Rajendra Shroff, Director of Applied AI Research
Enhancing Member Engagement with AI
"An organization must strike a balance, adeptly navigating both its campaigns and its member base. For each event or initiative, it is essential to deeply understand our members' interests. This knowledge enables us to recommend the most suitable events to each member, not merely to boost attendance, but to engage meaningfully and attract new members who align with our mission."
Martin Liu, Assistant Director of STT Platform
"If we could leverage AI to generate insightful analytics and answers, it would likely streamline our process of understanding the 'why' and 'how' behind certain phenomena. Moreover, AI has the potential to aid us in crafting captivating visuals and event topics, thereby drawing greater engagement and interest."
Josh Kiligman, Co-Founder and CEO of Yearly
“AI's potential in predicting and mitigating member churn is intriguing. The critical inquiry, however, goes beyond mere prediction. The true power of AI lies in its ability to pinpoint which members are most likely to discontinue their engagement or fail to renew their membership within a specific timeframe. This allows for proactive, targeted efforts to retain those members, turning data into actionable insights.”
Nikki Walker, MCI’s Global Vice President
"In today’s technological landscape, chatbots and virtual assistants are more than a trend, especially in places as bustling with innovation as the Hong Kong Science Park. These virtual characters have evolved; they’re no longer mere cartoons but virtual beings that resonate with human-like qualities. They are an engaging and efficient channel for customer interaction, offering round-the-clock service without fatigue. This makes them a powerful asset in connecting with customers on a deeper level."
Francesca Lee, Founder of 2econd Generation Entrepreneur Association, Per Suit Hong Kong
"Once a model is trained, it can analyze current member data and identify those with a higher likelihood of not renewing their membership. For instance, it might predict that a member has an X% chance of leaving due to his low event attendance. At this point, the responsibility falls on the member management team to proactively reach out and engage these individuals."
Rajendra Shroff, Director of Applied AI Research
Embracing AI Skills for Success
"People's jobs won't be replaced by AI, but they will be replaced by people with AI skills. That's what I'm seeing in my business."
Josh Kiligman, Co-Founder and CEO of Yearly
"With CoPilot, we're going to need some retraining on how to learn how to use the tools more efficiently and can we get things done faster. It's going to impact that daily work that everybody's doing."
Christina Lewellen, Executive Director of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools
"We could help organizations tell their stories and create their content for communication sometimes for fundraising purposes much faster using AI."
Rich Brady, CEO of the American Society of Military Comptrollers
"At the end of the day, AI is just the latest tool in the toolbox that every organization already uses. It's great at finding patterns, predicting outcomes, and automating business decisions at scale, but it's also not a magic wand. It's not going to solve all your problems, so you have to be cognizant of the human aspect of any organization. I don’t believe that we will be replaced by AI, but we might be replaced by somebody that can use AI tools better than we can."
Rajendra Shroff, Director of Applied AI Research
Quality Assurance and Data Security Concerns with AI
"We always like to keep, as we say, a human in the loop. So, you can take a look at the output of this generative AI, but somebody always needs to be doing the quality control and check on it to make sure that the information is valid."
Rich Brady, CEO of the American Society of Military Comptrollers
"In addition to saving time, it is essential that we significantly enhance the accuracy of the outputs generated by AI tools."
Christina Lewellen, Executive Director of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools
Limitations of AI
"While AI and machine learning can enhance various aspects of the customer journey, they cannot fully replace the human touch that is so essential, especially for member-based organizations. At the core, these organizations are about fostering genuine connections between people and nurturing meaningful relationships; this is a dimension where the human element remains irreplaceable."
Martin Liu, Assistant Director of STT Platform
“The risk of a disengaged committee in an organization is far greater than that of a disengaged member group. When integrating AI into your organization, it is crucial to ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities and the desired outcomes of these AI-driven actions. Maintaining an engaged and proactive committee is fundamental for long-term success.”
Francesca Lee, Founder of 2econd Generation Entrepreneur Association, Per Suit Hong Kong
By harnessing technologies like the Glue Up AI Copilot, associations can revolutionize the creation of event content, email campaigns, and newsletters. This AI integration not only saves significant time for member organizations but also promotes higher engagement and increases retention rates.
Get a demo to witness the capabilities of this advanced AI assistant and elevate your membership experience.
