When I became CEO of Northland Chamber of Commerce in 2005, membership was dying. We had 265 members, declining numbers, and a reputation for being out of touch with what businesses actually needed.
Most chambers I knew were throwing money at broad marketing campaigns, hoping something would stick. But after years of managing membership organizations, I knew there had to be a better way.
So I did something different. Instead of starting with awareness campaigns, I started with our most successful members.
The Breakthrough: Learning from Success
I spent my first three months conducting what I now call "loyalty archaeology" deep conversations with our 20 most engaged members. Not surface-level surveys, but real conversations about their business journeys.
The patterns that emerged surprised me. These members didn't join for networking events or business cards. They joined because they were struggling with specific challenges: regulatory compliance, staff training, and accessing government funding programs.
More importantly, they stayed because we had helped them solve these problems in ways they couldn't manage alone.
Building from the Bottom Up
Armed with these insights, I completely rebuilt our membership funnel but I started from the end and worked backwards.
Phase 4: What Made Members Stay
I discovered our most loyal members shared three experiences:
- They had received direct help with a critical business problem
- They had accessed training or funding they couldn't get elsewhere
- They had built relationships with other business owners facing similar challenges
This became my blueprint for everything else.
Phase 3: The Right Kind of Sign-Up
Instead of making membership easy to join, I made it meaningful. New members had to complete a business assessment and attend an orientation session where they articulated their specific goals.
This "qualifying friction" was crucial. It helped businesses self-select and set proper expectations from day one.
Phase 2: Proving Value Fast
I designed our trial experience around what our best members identified as their "aha moment" getting practical help with a real business problem.
New members could access our Enterprise Training Scheme support and attend specialized workshops before committing to full membership. This wasn't just a sample it was a transformation experience.
Phase 1: Speaking Their Language
Only then did I create awareness campaigns. But instead of generic business jargon, I used the exact words our successful members had used to describe their pre-Chamber struggles.
I spoke directly to business owners who were "drowning in compliance requirements" or "missing out on funding opportunities" because that's how our best members had described their situations.
The Results Spoke for Themselves
This bottom-up approach transformed everything:
- Membership grew from 265 to 439 members (66% increase)
- Annual sponsorship revenue jumped from $14k to $101k
- We achieved 35% year-on-year growth over three years
- Member retention improved dramatically
But the real success was that our new members became advocates faster. They referred other businesses because they had experienced genuine transformation, not just networking opportunities.
What I Learned at Wanganui Chamber
I had tested this approach earlier at Wanganui Chamber of Commerce, where I managed economic development from 2001-2005. There, I learned that successful membership organizations don't just provide services they create transformations.
I launched two consulting brands, Boost Business and Biz Buddies, that directly addressed member needs. By the time I left, we had generated $234,988 in revenue by solving real problems for real businesses.
The lesson was clear: when you start with your most successful members and work backwards, you build something much stronger than traditional awareness campaigns.
The Shopify Connection
Years later, working as a Support Tech Advisor at Shopify, I saw this same principle in action. The merchants who became our biggest advocates weren't those who signed up easily they were the ones who experienced breakthrough moments when we solved critical problems.
I reduced negative feedback by 75% not through better marketing, but by understanding what successful merchants needed most and delivering it consistently.
Making It Work for Your Organization
Here's how to apply this in your membership organization:
Start with success stories: Interview your 10-20 most engaged members. What were they struggling with before joining? What convinced them to stay?
Create qualifying friction: Don't make joining too easy. Make it meaningful. Require assessments or orientations that help prospects self-select.
Design transformation trials: Your trial should replicate the breakthrough moments your best members experienced.
Speak their pre-membership language: Use the exact words struggling prospects use to describe their challenges.
Why This Creates Sustainable Growth
When I applied this approach across multiple organizations, something remarkable happened. Each new quality member became a referral source for other similar businesses.
At Northland Chamber, I secured approximately $600k in co-funding over 36 months by partnering with Business Northland. But this only worked because our members were genuinely succeeding and could attract government attention.
The bottom-up approach creates what I call "success multiplication." Quality members stay longer, engage more, and refer others who match their profile.
The Choice Is Yours
You can keep casting wide nets and hoping for the best. Or you can do what I did: start with your success stories and build backwards.
In my experience managing membership organizations across New Zealand, the organizations that thrive are those that understand one simple truth: your best members are your blueprint for finding more best members.
The transformation starts with a single question: What made your most successful members choose you, and how can you help more people have that same experience?
Build from there.