Modernising Membership Organisations

Most long standing membership organisations face the same tension: a loyal base that's used to traditional means of service and a new generation of members who expect to self-serve online.

Here's how the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the largest residential building organisation in Australia, worked with Switch to modernise its membership model, commerce platform and digital experience without leaving either group behind.

So what's the lesson here?

• A 20+ year old membership organisation can modernise its entire digital experience without alienating members who still prefer traditional methods of communication
• The solution was a foundation platform, a content strategy, a rebuilt commerce engine and a reimplemented management tool, all working together
• Personalisation and a consolidated customer database let HIA tailor content by membership status, not just publish the same page to everyone
• Results: 157% increase in total revenue, 367% increase in leads for training and Tradepass, and a 22% increase in new users
• A cohesive digital experience reduced call centre reliance by giving members effective self-service tools  without cutting off the phone-based relationship long-standing members expect

Transforming HIA’s Sense of Belonging into a Digital Experience

HIA represents the whole residential building industry with over 23,000 members in Australia. Its IA had evolved organically over years, and the association's 15+ internal business units each had their own digital requirements layered onto the site. The result was a fragmented experience that made it hard for members to find what they needed.

At the same time, HIA's member base was splitting in two directions. A digitally native next generation wanted online tools and self-service. Long-standing loyal members still relied on calling their local HIA representative. The opportunity was to build a digital experience that could serve both without alienating either.

The core objectives:

• Increase sense of belonging and loyalty;  deepen the relationship with HIA as a trusted advisor, not just another service provider
• Build an efficient digital operating model; let members self-serve online instead of relying on phone queries
• Raise and capitalise on awareness; help members understand HIA's full value proposition and product offering

Translating rich customer insights into a great user experience 

Switch immersed itself in HIA's business through workshops and qualitative customer research before writing a line of code, then built the solution around four transformation goals: raising awareness, increasing sense of belonging, growing revenue and building an efficient digital operating model.

Platform foundation: A unified single platform across B2B, B2E and B2C audiences, with scalable content management, a consolidated customer database and personalisation built in from the start.

Digital Resource Library: An interactive, categorised content library engaging members on popular topics and encouraging conversion to full membership by surfacing resources that used to be available only by phone.

Commerce rebuild: A fully rebuilt, integrated commerce platform supporting cross- and up-sell across HIA's digital assets, including templates, safety products and physical contracts connected back to HIA's backend systems for consistent order fulfilment.

CPD tracking: A revamped content strategy letting builders and other professionals track CPD points, generate reports and view content in one place.

Tradepass:  A full reimplementation of HIA's existing contractor management platform, with new business rules for a better user experience and seamless integration with HIA's CRM.

Onboarding and personalisation: New members are prompted to explore the site and choose their interests, creating a more tailored experience from the first visit powered by business rules set across membership status, pricing and content.

The result

• 10% increase in membership sign-ups
• 40% increase in customer goal completions
• 800% increase in upselling and cross-selling
• 370% increase in new business and upselling leads
• 10% fall in customer service calls

Beyond the numbers, the new self-help tools and streamlined workflows reduced call centre traffic and gave members ways to interact with HIA outside business hours.

Why this matters if you're modernising a membership or industry body

If you're leading digital transformation for a membership organisation, association or industry body, the hard part usually isn't the technology; it's serving members at very different stages of digital maturity without making anyone feel like an afterthought. HIA's approach;  research first, foundation platform second, then layering commerce, CPD, and personalisation on top is a pattern that holds for any organisation trying to modernise without a member backlash.

Some common questions we get asked

How do you modernise a membership organisation's digital experience without losing older members? Don't force a single digital-only path. Build self-service tools for the members who want them, while keeping the relationship-based channels (like phone support) intact for those who don't, the goal is more options, not fewer.

What does a "digital transformation" actually involve for an association? Usually more than a new website. For HIA it meant a foundation platform, a rebuilt commerce engine, CPD tracking, contractor management and personalisation all connected to one consolidated member database.

If you're leading digital transformation for a membership organisation, association or industry body, Switch partners with leading DXPs to deliver experiences that drive real results.

Talk to us about modernising your membership or association's digital experience: hello@switchit.com