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 After consecutive quarters of uncertainty and negativity, the third quarter of Q3 is a major milestone in the long-term perspective of the economics of membership.

The market for membership is going through one of the most challenging periods in recent time. Rising inflation, heightened risk of uncertainty, and a more prudent consumer are dominating the trends through 2022. The downstream effects of these changes, along with extreme volatility of the financial markets have now trickled into almost every field.

The membership industry isn't an exception. And while 2022 revenue projections made during the membership boom of 2021 began to quickly seem out of reach this year, membership operators are now forced to look more closely than they have ever looked at each aspect of their overall plan.

In a nutshell For those who are a membership administrator, the year 2022 relentlessly checked your faith repeatedly.

Each and every story up to this point will have you believing that the rest of 2022 will be very negative for members and we need to be prepared for a downturn within every sector of the consumer as well as in every industry and enterprise.

But not so quick.

Looking for the moment

It's true that in tough markets and business landscapes we always look for signs, signals and evidence that the turning point is either near or upon us. While we don't usually be aware of a turning point until months or even weeks after the event but there's one thing that always coincides with such turns - an event.

Q3 was the exact moment.

This was the moment when the members' representatives saw very positive outcomes amid extremely negative feelings. This was the moment when the silence was louder than the chaotic. It was a moment where the operators proved that their products were so useful that customers simply couldn't be without it.

The was the time that marked a the divergence.

The greatest risk to companies that operate memberships during recessions is that they become too negative. Customers who were steadfast and confident about their businesses throughout this challenging year continued to plan, build and prepare for the moment without knowing the exact date it might take place. Now that the third quarter is completed it's possible to gaze in the rear-view mirror and say with confidence that it is, in fact, occurring.

Uncertainty creates opportunity

The customer's memberships performed significantly better than ours in Q3. All across our portfolio of products, we've witnessed these memberships set new records for their earnings, retention, and members. Staying the course and remaining non-reactive to larger narratives let our members profit from the increase in member numbers we observed in Q3.

The sound management of the overall member strategy can be the main driver of member performance in tough environments. We see the best payoffs occurring when operators decide to make a big investment in their operations during downturns but remain more cautious during periods of accelerated growth. Our approach has helped our customers to have the financial resources available to fund their companies at times of opportunity like the ones we saw in the beginning of 2022.

It's a long-term game and customers who operate with this mindset realize that external uncertainty and negative feelings create long-term chances for sustainable growth in membership.

As a membership operator You can't know the exact timing of upwards and downswings such as that we experienced in Q3 but you are able to plan for them.

The only thing you can be sure of is that moments like this are going to happen when you would least expect them too.

Keep on building.