Andres Usma, the business development manager at TechShare Group – Avocado, shares how engaging members through digital solutions can increase membership retention.
Did you know acquiring a new member can cost your community center over 10 times more than retaining an existing one? It’s true — retaining members can be difficult in today’s digital age, but it’s a crucial strategy for all organizations large and small.
Retaining a dedicated community that renews their membership year after year requires great communication, personalized experiences and an outstanding value proposition for each member. Keep your members informed of the great services that attracted them to your business when they first joined. The value your organization offers must stay top of mind.
Retention Through Communication
Upon initial customer acquisition, you must create a strategy to gain insight into your new member. Create a plan from the moment a new member joins your organization.
A reliable and flexible system where relationships can be tracked, noted and maintained is essential to the success of your organization in today’s technology-driven environment. Any mass mailings such as newsletters, class notifications and health tips should all be tracked and analyzed for content and customer base. You want to make sure you’re bringing value each time you contact a member.
Social Media for Retention
Social media is a great way to engage, stay relevant and keep your offerings top of mind to foster a recurring revenue stream. It also allows your members to communicate with you and with each other. This gives you the opportunity to see what your members like and dislike, and engage within a virtual community.
According to the DataReportal January 2022 Global Review, 58.4% of the world’s population use social media, and in the U.S. alone there are 270 million users — an impressive number of potential members.
Share Your Core Values
On average, nearly 37% of members in an organization say a lack of engagement caused them to not renew their membership. This involuntary churn costs organizations lost revenue and wasted staff time.
Remind your members your organization serves a bigger purpose. Engaging in community service is a touching way for your members to be part of your story. Incentivizing them to volunteer for a discount on their monthly bill is a great way to create long-term relationships. Share your mission with your community through email or social media. This reminds them they are connected to something bigger than just a product or service.
Your membership software should be able to manage your entire operations, from program management to payments to incident reporting, no matter how many users you service. But above all, make sure your system allows you to engage further with your members.
