ARRL surveys lapsed members on why they did not renew

Hams who let their ARRL membership lapse may find a questionnaire in their inbox. According to KB6NU, who published the full list of questions, the League has contracted with the research firm Readex to ask former members why they did not renew and what might bring them back.

The survey opens by checking what lapsed members know about current benefits. It asks whether they were aware that membership includes digital access to QST and three other ARRL magazines, along with their archives. It also asks whether they knew a mailed print subscription to QST is available to members for an extra $25 per year.

The core question asks respondents to pick up to three reasons for leaving from a long list. The choices include the $59 annual dues, the January 2024 dues increase, the loss of the print QST from the basic membership, dissatisfaction with QST content or other benefits, lost trust or confidence in ARRL, disagreement with the Board of Directors, negative things read on social media, HOA restrictions, age or health, lack of time, simply forgetting to renew, the $35 FCC license renewal fee, and getting ham radio content from free sources such as YouTube. One option states that supporting ARRL to protect amateur radio spectrum is not important to the respondent.

Three open-ended questions close the survey: any reason the list missed, what would need to change for the person to rejoin, and whether a different membership format would suit them better.

KB6NU called the survey a good sign that the League sees falling membership as a real problem, but said he is not hopeful the results will be published, and that most commenters on the forums he follows doubt much will change. He has previously suggested that ARRL aim to sign up at least 25 percent of licensed amateurs as members.

ARRL is also recruiting a Membership Marketing Analyst, a role that, as KB6NU notes, replaces the Membership Manager position the League advertised for some time. The posting describes the job as growing and retaining the membership through multi-channel campaigns and data analysis.