If your organisation has members, you not only need to keep them but also to recruit more to stay on top of the game. How can you best achieve this?
Here are five more tips to help you to retain your members:
1. Know your audience
If you are unsure exactly who your members are, you will not be able to give them what they want; therefore, you need to find out exactly who they are before you can deliver. Once you know your members, you must communicate with them effectively in a clear, concise and engaging way, perhaps through well-written newsletters or concise emails. Use what works best for your organisation and you will soon see results.
2. Networking pays
Communicating with your members through emails or newsletters is one thing; keeping in touch through social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is another – and a vital one in these social media-savvy days. Find the best channels for networking and use them effectively. Most are free to use, requiring only the time spent on posting and a few skills in using them to the best advantage.
3. Offer that bit extra
Giving your members something extra will help to keep them coming back for more. If you can’t afford discounts or freebies, make everything as easy as possible for members. The Membership Marketing Blog says that some organisations report excellent success after giving incentives for early renewals.
4. Analyse success and failure
There are numerous analysing tools available – many of them free – that will enable you to understand exactly who your members are and how they react to your marketing strategies. Use these tools to discover who is leaving you, and why, and then put plans in place to make sure this does not happen again.
5. Put the effort in
Make sure you put as much planning and organisation into keeping your membership as you do into recruiting. It will certainly pay in the long run to be organised at all stages.
A membership management system, such as that available from http://www.ofec.co.uk/membership-management-system-portfolio.aspx, can help you to keep on top of everything you need to do to keep members happy.
If you can achieve this, you won’t go far wrong and your members are likely to keep coming back for more.
Choosing membership software that supports renewals
The right membership management system makes keeping members much easier, so it is worth knowing what to look for. Self service is the first feature. People are used to doing things online, and a web portal where members can renew, pay subscriptions, buy merchandise and book events themselves suits them and cuts the workload and costs for administrative staff.
Communication comes next. Email is often the preferred way to share information, but SMS, blogs and social networks are increasingly common, and some members still want a printed newsletter. A good system should support all of these routes.
Finally, look at reporting and integration. You can only act on trends if you can see them, so the system should produce up to date reports on finances and activity quickly, not weeks later. It should also connect with your existing accounts software and any customer relationship management system, so information is shared and you can spot members who may be drifting before their renewal is due.