Membership is broken. How can we fix it?

We’ve conducted a huge volume of research on members, and we are shaping membership strategy across a huge range of organisations. We’re noticing patterns across projects, and across the world. 

The problem: Membership schemes are now disloyalty schemes.

Our recent study for the London Temporary Exhibition market found that 77% of current museum or gallery members have allowed at least one other museum or gallery membership lapse.

The number of people in the market for memberships is growing, but they are holding fewer memberships at any one time.

We’ve heard from very calculated members: deliberately swapping between memberships, using new member discounts within their household and looking for loopholes. 

Memberships seem increasingly segregated between the members who have been around forever, supporting out of a sense of altruism, versus new members hyper-analytical of the value they receive.

A bit like our politics, the centre is thinning.

The kind of things members tell us are:

…they all seem the same

…they haven’t really changed

…I don’t get value if I don’t visit

…And I don’t visit as often these days

…they didn’t fit my current life stage

…I don’t really know the benefits

…they increasingly don’t align with my values

…they are a bit outdated

…they aren’t flexible

These perceptions are shaped by experiences with streamers, gyms and a myriad of other forms of membership. 

Membership means something different now. It’s increasingly a byword for a paywall - most Premier League football clubs require paid ‘membership’ for ticket access, for example. 

There has been a fundamental sector disruption: people have changed their lifestyle and work habits, they visit less frequently, they are crunched by the economy and therefore membership offers less value. 

But there are fixes within our control. 

The fix: A sharper value proposition

The fix is rarely about adding more and more benefits which often members aren’t aware of. It’s about a sharper value proposition. 

In 2026, think about which of these may fix your leaky membership:

Increase flexibility

The market seeks shorter commitment, less rigidity in family structures, household flexibility, options to bring guests and pay in ways that fit their current financial outlook. Check out Tate’s new Tate Membership Trial as a great example of a ‘test and learn’ in this territory. 

Increase adaptability 

The market seeks ways to remain loyal when lifestage and finances change. They want to pause memberships, they want to bring their older children still living at home because they can’t afford to buy their first home yet.

Examples in this space include English Heritage membership allowing members to bring children up to the age of 18 for free (often capped at 16), how gyms enable members to ‘freeze’ memberships for three months and Glyndebourne's successful Under 40s membership.

Increase relevance

The market seeks solutions that solve problems closer to home - both literally with partnership benefits that are local, and figuratively with benefits that fit into their day routines. Think about how localised partnerships can be here. 

Increase integration

The market seeks a more efficient and engaging end-to-end experience as a member. This means digital membership cards, apps, queue skipping (in the right context) and increasingly personalised content.

We need to look outside the sector for what is influencing expectations here - for example Nike’s personalised experience, rewards and community building.

Increase uniqueness

The market wants to know your USP beyond your basic function. Finding your USP benefit may mean you can remove resource hungry benefits! We need benefits that sing for your brand and make membership valuable outside of visiting. My go-to example here is always the RHS Garden Advice service.

Of course not all of these will be right for you. But some will be. And all can be tested and modelled. 

The case for investment

Innovation requires investment. When organisations are hamstrung by skyrocketing costs, flatlining visits, decreasing membership income and Covid loans, this won’t be easy to come by. But ask yourself these questions: 

What proportion of your income comes from membership? 

What proportion of your cost goes into servicing membership?

Membership gets taken for granted. And the market is starting to notice. They have been a passive income source, when they need active investment. 

Membership seems stuck in a paradigm not fit for where we are now. We need a little more calculated risk rather than hoping the market will return to its natural order. 

Guy Turton is the director of the audience strategy consultancy MHM. Contact him at Guy.Turton@mhminsight.com