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Even when your association has a small staff, there are things you can do year-round to improve member retention. Here are four simple and effective member retention strategies.
When it comes to the priorities of many associations, improving membership retention is near the top of the list. In fact, it’s a close second to increasing membership. That’s what findings from association trends research by Community Brands indicate.
Getting members to stick around longer is vital to your association’s success. It creates a loyal membership base. It also supports your overall membership marketing efforts.
What is a member retention strategy?
A member retention strategy is an approach to improving member engagement, demonstrating member value, and ultimately inspiring members to renew. But improving membership retention is about more than just focusing on the 90 days leading up to member renewal dates. That’s because your members’ entire experience with your organization influences their decisions to renew – or not!
Four great member retention strategies
Even when your association has a small staff, there are things you can do year-round to improve member retention. Here are four simple yet effective member retention strategies that go beyond the 90 days before renewal:
1. Make a great first impression.
The first months of membership set the stage for your relationship with new members. So, the first impression you make needs to be a good one. Here’s how to make your members feel welcome, appreciated, and engaged right from the start:
The first 30 days
Thank them. Thanking new members for joining your organization goes a long way toward making them feel appreciated right off the bat. At the very least, provide a “thank you” confirmation page and auto-email once they sign up online to acknowledge their new membership. To take thanking them even further:
- Send a personal email or hand-written note (or even take a moment to call) to thank each new member for joining your organization.
- Send a new member welcome gift. This could include a logo item from your organization, or maybe a book or a professionally printed copy of a key resource that your organization provides members.
- List new members in your email newsletter under a “Welcome, new members!” heading to make them feel even more appreciated.
- Post a weekly announcement in your online community welcoming new members.
Make them feel at home. Help new members feel comfortable right away by letting them know how your organization works, what to expect, and where to go for information. Provide them with a digital welcome packet that includes:
- A reminder of the benefits they receive as a member of your association
- Important dates, like your annual conference or meeting, and details about those events
- A list of the types of communications they can expect to receive from you and how often they’ll receive the communications
- A list of online resources, such as a calendar of events, your career center, and your online member community, plus any instructions about how to log in and how to set up user profiles
- An introduction via your online community to a volunteer member ambassador, or “buddy,” to help them get to know the organization and feel more welcome
- Information about who to contact at your organization or where to go online if they have questions or would like to give feedback about their member experience
30 to 60 days
Now’s the time to get new members plugged in and engaged with the organization. Some ideas:
Invite them to join in. Get new members involved by asking them to connect with your organization and other members. For example, invite them to a group for new members in your online community. Be sure to ask someone on your staff and a highly involved member to join the group to prompt discussions and answer questions.
Get personal. Personalize the member experience by presenting your members with content that is specific to their needs and interests. For example, offer recommendations, such as job postings based on members’ certifications or continuing education course completions. Or suggest discussion groups they might consider joining on your online community.
Use your events. Use your events to make new members feel welcome, appreciated, and part of the organization. Some ideas:
- Provide a place for new members to connect before and after the event. For example, set up a new member discussion group in your online community.
- Ask highly involved members to reach out to new members directly to welcome them and offer to answer any questions they might have.
- Offer a networking event where new members can quickly connect with each other and existing members.
60 to 90 days
You’ll still be engaging with new members during this time, but it’s also a great point to ask for their feedback. Ask about their experience so far. Find out what they’ve found most useful and what could make their experience even better. Be sure to use their feedback to adjust new member activities for the future, and let them know what changes you’ve made based on their input.
2. Keep members engaged.
Once new members are happily onboarded, it’s vital to keep them engaged. To increase member engagement, there are two key areas to address: member engagement channels and member benefits.
Make sure you’re optimizing engagement channels, including email communications, text messages, and your online member community to keep members informed and connected.
Also, give members more of the benefits they want most. For example, in the 2023 Association Trends Study, members were asked to rate the importance of key benefits provided by their organization. It turns out that top benefits from previous studies are even more important in the 2023 study – with training, certifications and credentials, fueling industry growth, advocacy, and help with career advancement all up significantly from 2022.
Use data points like these to offer more member value. For instance, engage members by giving them a variety of learning opportunities throughout the year to accommodate their schedules, learning preferences, training, and certification needs. Another example: Offer an online career center that provides not only an online job board, but also a range of career development resources.
3. Recognize member achievements and contributions.
Make your members feel appreciated by recognizing them for their accomplishments. For example, when your members do something notable, such as receive an award in your industry, are featured in an industry publication, or make an outstanding contribution of time or money to your association:
- Promote the accomplishment in your member newsletter.
- Give them a shout-out on social media.
- Highlight the achievement in a “shout-out corner” in your online member community so that other members can join in to recognize the accomplishments.
The simple act of recognizing member achievements can go a long way toward making members feel more connected with and loyal to your association, and ultimately improving retention rates.
4. Understand why some members leave.
It’s not fun to think about, but no matter how great your member retention strategies are, some members will leave each year. Understanding why they lapse is critically important to making sure others don’t follow them out the door. It might even give you insights into how to bring back those lapsed members.
Send lapsed members a survey to ask them why they left and what might make them return in the future. Be sure to regularly review feedback and incorporate lessons learned into your member retention activities.
Also, consider sending a series of emails to re-engage lapsed members. For example, you might send an expiration day email, a 30-days past expiration date email (to check in and give them another chance to renew), and a membership ending email (to let them know the official date they will no longer be a member and leave the door open for them to return).
One other great approach is to avoid the lapse in the first place by offering an option to automatically renew membership, with the membership fee charged to the member’s credit card. This approach helps to avoid membership lapses due to members simply forgetting to renew.
TIP: YourMembership AMS supports auto-renewals and allows you to set up corresponding automated emails that notify members when their membership has been renewed.
