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Following consecutive quarters of anxiety and negative sentiment, the 3rd quarter is an important period regarding the outlook for the future of the economy of membership.
The membership economy has been experiencing one of its most challenging periods in recent times. Inflation is rising, there's more risk of uncertainty, and a more preoccupied consumer have been driving developments throughout 2022. The negative effects of these trends along with intense volatility in the markets for financial products have now trickled into virtually every industry.
The same goes for membership. As the 2022 projections of revenue that were made in the boom of membership of 2021 quickly began to seem out of reach the year, members have been forced to look deeper than ever before into each facet of their overall plan.
In a nutshell: If you're a membership operator, 2022 has repeatedly checked your faith - over and over again.
The majority of the stories until now will have you believing that the rest of 2022 will be overwhelmingly negative for membership and that we should be prepared for a downturn in every consumer sector, every market and every enterprise.
It's not that easy.
Looking for the moment
You see, in difficult market conditions and in business, we always look for indicators, signs and proof that a turning point is close or is coming up. Although we rarely realize a turn has occurred until months and weeks after it occurs but there's one thing which always occurs with pivotal moments - the moment.
The Q3 moment was exactly that.
It was a time when members' managers saw extremely positive outcomes amid extremely negative feelings. It was a time when silence was greater than the chaos. This was the moment when the operators proved that their product was so valuable that they could not live without it.
This was an point that marked a discord.
The most significant risk facing companies that operate memberships during recessions is the risk of becoming negative. customers who have remained committed and bullish on their business during this tough year continue to build, prepare and prepare for the moment not knowing exactly when it might happen. With Q3 now officially in the books it's possible to gaze in the rear-view mirror and be confident that it is, in fact, occurring.
Uncertainty creates opportunity
The customer's memberships performed significantly better than ours in the quarter ended March. Across our portfolio, we've seen these memberships set new records for their revenue, retention and members. Being consistent and not influenced by the larger storylines let our members profit from the increase in member numbers we observed in Q3.
Sound management of overall membership strategy proves to be a driving factor of membership performance in tough environments. The best returns are being realized when members decide to make a big investment in their businesses during times of economic downturn while leaning more conservative during periods of accelerated growth. This strategy has allowed our clients to have funds available to invest in their businesses at opportune moments like the ones we saw in the beginning of 2022.
It's a long-term game and those who have the same mindset will find that external uncertainty and negative feelings create long-term possibilities for sustainable growth of membership.
For a company that operates memberships You can't know the exact timing of upwards and downswings such as that we experienced in Q3 but you are able to prepare for them.
The only guarantee you have is that such moments occur when you would least think about them.
Keep building.