American Counseling Association

Students are the largest membership type at the American Counseling Association, and they are the hardest members any association tries to keep. A master's degree takes two to three years. Somewhere in that stretch a student collects the coursework, the insurance and the discount, and starts to think the association has done its job. Graduation ends the student rate regardless, so the question becomes: How do you keep a member whose reason for joining is about to expire?

• Association Type: National Professional Association
• About the Organization: The American Counseling Association is the largest professional association for counselors in the United States, spanning school, clinical mental health, rehabilitation, and career counseling.

The Challenge

Mia Williams, ACA's Director of Membership Development & Engagement, recognizes student graduation as a critical transition point in the member journey. To maintain engagement beyond graduation, ACA needs accurate, up-to-date information about where student members are in their academic journey and how to reach them as they transition into their professional careers.

ACA's Student Profile Updates campaign helps address this challenge by reaching out approximately 90 days before the graduation date on file to confirm or update that date and collect a personal email address. By updating this information in ACA's membership database, ACA can better prepare for this transition and continue connecting with members as their needs evolve beyond the classroom.

The Solution

So ACA asked. The Student Profile Updates email sequence put one question in front of students: "Is your anticipated graduation date correct?" Three answers were offered:

• Yes, it's correct.
• No, I need to update it.
• No, I am no longer enrolled.

That is the whole ask. One question, three buttons, no form to hunt for and no login wall to climb. Each answer led to one short follow-up. Students who confirmed their date were asked for a personal email address, and 71% gave one. Students who needed to update it were asked for the new date, and 89% gave it. Students no longer enrolled were asked about their current status, and 75% answered. The campaign reached 49,391 contacts. Across the sequence 88,413 emails went out, 98% were delivered, 63% were opened and 1% bounced.

The Results

• ✅ 33% engagement rate – against a broadcast email baseline of 1% to 3%, and from a student audience, the cohort associations usually give up on.
• ✅ 16,436 answers to one question – from 49,391 contacts, in one campaign.
• ✅ 57% answered "No, I need to update it" – students who went in and corrected their own record rather than waiting for staff to chase them.
• ✅ 41% answered "Yes, it's correct" – confirmation that ACA's file was already right, which is information ACA did not have the day before.
• ✅ 2% answered "No, I am no longer enrolled" – the thing nobody volunteers, said plainly, in time to do something about it.
• ✅ 89% gave their new graduation date – among students who said their date needed updating. 71% of students who confirmed their date also gave a personal email address ACA can use after graduation.

"The strategic campaign focus has made a difference in student member engagement. We have retained more students this year than in the past few years. The results indicate that we're moving in the right direction!" Mia Williams, Director of Membership Development & Engagement, American Counseling Association

Why It Worked

• Ask one simple question. Make it the one fact that dates everything else. A graduation date is small to give, and it tells you where a member sits in a journey that runs for years.
• Size the ask to the audience. Students are the hardest group in any association to get to act on anything. One question, one click, is about all the effort the segment will spend, and 33% spent it.
• Make it easy. Members correct the record themselves, without having to remember a username or password. Removes manual work for staff.

What's Ahead

ACA is extending the same approach across the rest of the member lifecycle. ACA will continue building on this approach by checking in with student members again 90 days later, bringing them closer to graduation. Using updated graduation dates and personal email addresses, ACA can continue the conversation at the right time and help students stay connected with the association as they prepare for the next stage of their professional careers.

Ready to hear what your members are telling you? Schedule a call with our team.