How MemberWise Created Always-On Engagement with Higher Logic Thrive (Without Adding Staff)
- Organisation: MemberWise
- Industry: Professional Network
- Membership: 8,000+ membership professionals across the UK and greater EU
- Products: Higher Logic Thrive Community + Marketing, Mentor Manager, Learning (LMS), Events + Directory; all fully integrated with ecosystem (inc Bluesky) with SSO
- Problems Solved with Higher Logic:
- Replaced unreliable LinkedIn groups with a dedicated community platform
- Automated ~99% of mentorship program administration
- Improved engagement across community, email, and learning
- Reduced staff effort
About MemberWise
MemberWise is a professional network supporting over 8,000 membership and association professionals across the UK and EU. Founded in 2008 by Richard Gott, the organisation was built to fill a critical gap: independent, peer-driven best practice sharing for membership professionals.
Today, MemberWise delivers value through a combination of:
- An online community (MemberWise Connect)
- Learning and certification via LMS
- Webcasts, conferences and events
- Research and industry insights
At its core, MemberWise exists to help membership organisations improve how they operate, engage, and grow.
As an early adopter of online community in the UK and EU, MemberWise didn’t just launch a platform—they helped define what modern, community-driven engagement looks like in the UK/EU.
The Challenge: Inconsistent Engagement and Limited Control
Before implementing Higher Logic Thrive, MemberWise struggled with a familiar challenge across the association sector: inconsistent member engagement.
Richard Gott, Founder and MemberWise Network Chair, describes it as comparing engagement to “shark’s teeth”—periods of high activity followed by sharp drop-offs, over and over.
“We didn’t want engagement to be constantly ‘chomping’ up and down. We wanted something more consistent—more sustainable.”
This challenge is not unique. According to the 2026 Digital Excellence Report, online member engagement is now the #1 challenge across the membership sector, with organizations also struggling to measure engagement effectively and maintain consistency.
Additional risks included:
- Loss of engagement momentum
- Heavy reliance on manual processes
- Lack of visibility into member activity
- Limited control using social media platforms
Before Higher Logic, MemberWise relied on third-party tools like LinkedIn groups—but these come with limitations:
- Inconsistent experience
- External platform dependency
- Lack of control over data and settings
“We didn’t have the control we needed,” said Richard. “At times, we even lost access to key features required to run an effective online community (e.g. direct group messaging).”
At the same time, member expectations were evolving. Research shows a clear shift away from free platforms toward purpose-built community solutions—adoption of community platforms continues to grow year-over-year and 74% of professionals now prefer private, paid communities over just 11% who prefer free tools.
Switching to Higher Logic Thrive provided:
- Full ownership of the member experience
- Greater control and reliability
- Optimised functionality
- Deeper engagement capabilities
The Solution: A Scalable, Integrated Community Experience
After evaluating the market—and drawing inspiration from the U.S. association space—Richard identified Higher Logic as the clear leader. The decision came down to three things:
- Best-in-class functionality for associations
- Ability to scale engagement authentically
- Fully integrated ecosystem
MemberWise implemented:
- Higher Logic Thrive Community
- Higher Logic Thrive Marketing
- Higher Logic Thrive Video
- Mentor Match
- Events + Directory
- Fully integrated ecosystem with SSO
This allowed them to move from fragmented tools to a single, connected member experience—designed specifically for associations.
“Higher Logic was the preferred tool for authentic community engagement at scale…And it didn’t take nearly as much effort as I expected to get conversations started in the Community.”
Driving Consistent Engagement at Scale
With Higher Logic Thrive, MemberWise transformed how they engage their members.
Instead of unpredictable spikes, they now deliver always-on engagement through:
- Ongoing discussions in MemberWise Connect, their branded online community
- Automated community digest emails and smart newsletters
- Structured mentorship programs
- On-demand learning and events
MemberWise also uses its community to extend engagement beyond events. When webcasts or sessions end, conversations continue inside MemberWise Connect—allowing members to ask follow-up questions, connect with speakers, and keep learning.
To further scale engagement, MemberWise leverages a network of 40+ ambassadors—subject matter experts who actively participate in the community.
These ambassadors help:
- Surface unanswered questions
- Contribute expert insights
- Keep conversations active and valuable
This model allows MemberWise to scale engagement without increasing internal headcount.
Saving Time and Increasing Operational Efficiency
One of the biggest impacts for MemberWise has been time savings and operational efficiency.
Higher Logic Thrive enables:
- Real-time analytics and reporting
- Visibility into individual engagement at scale
- Automated communications and workflows
- Streamlined content distribution
“Smart newsletters are a huge timesaver. We can get messaging out consistently without the manual effort,” said Richard. “And we can make them so personalized. I love it when someone replies to an automated message thinking it’s come directly from me.”
MemberWise combines automation with a human touch—so much so that members often believe automated messages are written personally. This allows the team to scale communication while maintaining a highly personal experience.
This is critical in a landscape where:
- 77% of membership organisations report increased workload and cost pressures
- 64% face growing pressure to generate more revenue without additional resources
By automating routine work, MemberWise can focus on higher-value, strategic initiatives.
Delivering More Value to Members
Higher Logic Thrive has helped MemberWise strengthen its core mission: helping members succeed.
Key value drivers include:
- Peer-to-peer knowledge sharing
- Structured mentorship programs (with ~99% automation)
- Easy access to content, learning, and events
- Consistent communication and engagement touchpoints
MemberWise Connect is designed as a trusted, closed environment—only professionals actively working in membership organizations can join.
This creates a space where members feel comfortable asking questions, sharing challenges, and learning from peers without external noise.
“It’s a safe place where there’s no such thing as a stupid question,” said Richard. The impact of that is tangible. “One member said: ‘We don’t know what we would do without MemberWise. I can’t imagine a World without it!’”
With Higher Logic Thrive, MemberWise transformed how they engage and support their members:
- Created consistent, always-on engagement across their network
- Reduced manual workload through automation and streamlined processes
- Gained real-time visibility into individual and overall member engagement
- Identified highly engaged members to develop future ambassadors
- Scaled mentorship programs with ~99% automation
- Strengthened member trust through a more connected, community-driven experience
Looking Ahead: A Foundation for the Future
MemberWise sees Higher Logic as a long-term partner. “We’re in it for the long haul,” said Richard. “We’re excited to continue growing with Higher Logic and driving conversations across the association sector.”
Looking ahead, MemberWise is focused on expanding its use of:
- Automation
- AI-powered tools
- Scalable engagement strategies
“We want to spend more time on meaningful work—not busy work.”
This aligns with industry momentum, where AI adoption has already increased by 21% year-over-year and is expected to play a growing role in member engagement and operations.
Richard’s Advice for Association Professionals?
“Don’t be afraid to tap into networks of people who are already doing what you want to do.”
Like many organizations, MemberWise had initial concerns before launching their community:
“Will we overwhelm members with too many emails?”
→ Higher Logic Thrive’s structured communication tools ensured messaging remained relevant and well-paced
“Will it take a lot of effort to get engagement started?”
→ Conversations began quickly with minimal manual effort
“Will implementation be complex?”
→ The platform was straightforward to launch and scale with support from Higher Logic
“What if our community doesn’t take off?”
→ Successful communities require structure and ongoing support—but with the right strategy and platform, engagement becomes sustainable and scalable over time
“It was much easier to stand everything up than we anticipated,” said Richard.
Ready to Create Consistent Member Engagement?
See how Higher Logic Thrive helps associations:
- Automate engagement at scale
- Increase member value and retention
- Save time with integrated tools
