Engagement is Measured by the Customer

I've written a bunch about measuring engagement in the past. (Click here to read one of my favorites.)

But one thing that's critically important to understand is that ultimately, engagement is not measured by the association, but by the member or customer. Click here for an example of what I mean.

For some members, just being able to read your communications (e.g., magazine, e-newsletter, online community) is engagement enough (we oldtimers used to call these members "mailboxers").

For other members, engagement means attending some or all of your association's events.

And finally, for some it means volunteering; speaking, writing, serving on committees.

But the point is, each of these members feels as engaged as they need to be. And it may be difficult for the association to determine if the individual is "engaged enough."

So as you're measuring engagement, if you find you've got a distribution of members spread all over the engagement map, don't fret; it may be exactly what each member wants!