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 After a string of quarters that have been marked by negative and uncertainty, the third quarter of the third quarter of Q3 is a major milestone regarding the outlook for the future of the membership economy.

The market for membership is having one of the most turbulent times in its times. The rising inflation rate, increased uncertainty and an increasingly prudent consumer are dominating trends throughout 2022. The repercussions of these changes, along with extreme volatility of the financial markets are now affecting virtually every industry.

Membership is no exception. As the 2022 projections of revenue that were made in the boom of membership of 2021 quickly began to feel out of reach throughout this year, membership operators are now forced to look more closely than they have ever looked at every element of their overall strategy.

In a nutshell: If you're a membership administrator, the year 2022 repeatedly checked your faith repeatedly.

Every narrative that has been told to date has you thinking that the rest of 2022 will be overwhelmingly negative for members and we need to be ready for a slowdown within every sector of the consumer as well as in every industry and enterprise.

But not so quick.

In search of the perfect moment

You see, in difficult markets and business landscapes we always look for signs, signals and evidence that the turning point is imminent or near. While we don't usually be aware of a turning point until weeks and months following it happens, there's one thing that is always associated with pivotal moments - the moment.

Q3 was precisely that moment.

It was a time when membership operators saw extremely positive outcomes amid extremely negative sentiment. This was the moment when the silence was louder than the chaotic. It was a moment where the operators proved that their product was so valuable that customers simply couldn't remain without it.

This was an point of discord.

The greatest risk to companies that operate memberships during recessions is the risk of becoming negative. Customers who were steadfast and bullish on their business throughout this challenging year continued to plan, build and prepare for the moment not knowing exactly when it might occur. With Q3 now officially in the books, we're able to look at the back of our eyes and say with confidence that it's, indeed, taking place.

The uncertainty creates opportunities

The memberships of our customers outperformed the market in the quarter ended March. In our entire portfolio of products, we've witnessed these memberships break records for their earnings, retention, and member counts. By staying on the right track and being non-reactive to larger narratives allowed our customers to benefit from the growth in membership we saw in the third quarter of this year.

Sound management of overall the membership strategy is an important factor in membership outcomes in challenging landscapes. The best returns are occurring when operators decide to make a big investment in their business during a downturn and revert to more prudent spending when growth is accelerating. This strategy has allowed our customers to have the funds available to invest in their business at the right time such as those we witnessed through the first quarter of 2022.

Membership is a long game and customers who operate with the same mindset will find that external uncertainty and negative sentiment create long-term possibilities for sustainable growth of membership.

For a company that operates memberships it is impossible to predict the time of upswings similar to those we witnessed in Q3 , but you can plan for them.

The only guarantee you have is that such moments are going to happen when you least would.

Continue to build.