By Hannae Berhanu, MemberClicks solutions adviser

If you ask most association professionals what their biggest goal is for 2010, most will tell you it is growing their membership base — and that sounds like the obvious answer.

Most will do that by sending out a few more blast e-mails, maybe holding one more event that year or recruiting more student members. However, there is a trend that generally falls under the radar that has a pretty large affect on membership growth.  Demassification is one of the eight Super-Trends facing associations, and it has been written about in ASAE’s most recent environmental scanning project, “Mapping the Future of Your Association.”

What is demassification? (I asked myself the same question.) Simply put, demassification is the breaking up of a larger organization into smaller independent groups.

This is a growing trend, and it makes sense when you think about it. After all, we are in the Google/Twitter era. We are currently in a time when people use the Web to both get and publish information at the touch of a button.

Think about your last Google search. All you had to do was type in the first few letters on your topic, and you are presented with not only with your original topic, but the top 20 pertinent web sites. We have come to expect our information to get to us quickly and — here’s the difficult part — for it to apply to our specific needs and interests.

The first step in the right direction will be to get rid of that “one size fits all” mentality. The key to making sure that you are really able to zero in on those needs is right in your database. Here are a few easy steps to make sure you’re efficiently meeting the needs of your members:

1. Take a look at your data. Most of what you need to grow/retain/keep your association in one place can be found right there. It is important to be able to identify all of your membership interests, and use that information to plan out what breakout sessions you have at your conference, or recruit a volunteer to give a webinar on a topic.
2. Make every communication a valuable one. There is a lot of value to forgoing a blast email to the entire membership, and focusing in on specific groups, with a message that speaks to their specific needs. Keep in mind those e-mails are your voice to your membership.
3. Create an area where members can contribute their own content. One of the easiest ways to keep your members engaged is allowing them to communicate with each other.

You can’t prevent demassification, but know that it can be a positive thing for your association to experience. All members have different needs, and they want to be engaged on a more personal level. Smaller organizations targeted toward specific interests often can more easily meet those requirements.

Demassification can benefit your organization in the long run. You’ll know the members who stick around are truly focused on your own association’s broader focus and you won’t be pulled in every which way to fulfill every specific need. Don’t fear it — embrace it!