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 After a string of quarters that have been marked by negative and uncertainty, the third quarter of the 3rd quarter is an important period for the medium-term outlook on the membership economy.

The economy of membership has been going through one of the most turbulent times in its times. Inflation is rising, there's more anxiety and a more prudent consumer are dominating trends throughout 2022. The downstream effects of these trends along with extreme volatility of the financial markets have now spread to virtually every industry.

The membership industry isn't an exception. While the revenue forecasts for 2022 made during the membership boom of 2021 began to quickly feel out of reach throughout this year, membership operators are now forced to look more closely than they have ever looked at every facet of their overall plan.

In a nutshell: If you're a membership operator, 2022 has relentlessly tested your conviction - over and over again.

Each and every story that has been told to date would have you believe that the rest of 2022 will be overwhelmingly negative for membership and that we must be prepared for a slowdown in every consumer sector as well as in every industry and company.

It's not that easy.

In search of the perfect moment

In difficult market conditions and in business, We always seek out indicators, signs and proof that a turning point is either near or upon us. Although we rarely be aware of a turning point until months or even weeks following the event but there's one thing which always occurs with turning points - an event.

Q3 was precisely that moment.

It was a time when the members' representatives saw very positive results despite a negative sentiment. It was a moment where silence was greater than the chaotic. It was a moment where the operators proved that the value of their product that they could not live without it.

This was an point that marked a discord.

The biggest risk for membership operators during economic slowdowns is that they become too negative. Customers who were steadfast and optimistic about their business throughout this challenging year continued to build, prepare and plan for this moment not knowing exactly when it would happen. Now that the third quarter is complete it's possible to gaze into the rearview mirror and say with confidence that it is, in fact, occurring.

The uncertainty creates opportunities

Our customer's memberships outperformed significantly in Q3. All across our portfolio, we've seen memberships break records for their revenue, retention as well as member count. By staying on the right track and being unaffected by larger stories let our members take advantage of the upswing in membership we saw in Q3.

Sound management of overall membership strategy proves to be an important factor in membership results in difficult environments. Our research shows the highest returns being realized when members opt to invest heavily in their businesses during times of economic downturn but remain more cautious in times of rapid growth. This approach has enabled our customers to have the funds available to invest in their business at the right time similar to those that we experienced in the beginning of 2022.

The game of membership is long and customers who operate with that mindset find that the external environment and negative sentiment create long-term opportunities for sustainable membership growth.

Being a member-based operator it is impossible to predict the time of upswings similar to the one we saw during Q3 however you can anticipate them.

One thing you can guarantee is the fact that these moments occur at the time you would least think about them.

Keep building.