Why do your members join?
I'm surprised at how often I hear "discounts." It's pretty much tied with "content and resources."
One client told me that a member who chose not to renew said they could get all the information they wanted in Google or YouTube. This led to an interesting conversation about the value an association brings to the market.
The same client sent me a recording of a conversation with a handful of long time members and here are some of the key phrases I heard them say:
"this is where the important people are..."
"I wanted to join the club..."
"my peers are my family..."
"network of people..."
and then the lifetime member spoke up and said, "We joined for the learning, but stayed for the people."
It's brilliant.
Loyalty goes hand in hand with relationships. Humans are inherently social beings and we get very attached to people (and dogs). Yet, when we talk about member benefits, we still talk about the discounts and content... :(
I propose that we woo people in with great educational content (maybe some discounts) and access to some of the best names and faces in the industry you represent, but over the course of the first year let's focus heavily on creating stronger relationships. Let's help them get connected with other members, with the staff, with mentors and mentees. Let's get them volunteering and interacting with their peers.
The starting point is the new member onboarding campaign. The first year is the best time to learn about your members and provide them with relevant opportunities to get more involved...
...because the reason they renew is the people.
Dave Will
While working for SAP, a multi-billion dollar software company, nearly 20 years ago, Dave Will was advised to "Walk faster and smile less, because perception is reality." Dave took this feedback to heart and started a business based on the antithesis of this advice. Fourteen years later, Dave successfully sold Peach New Media, a Learning Management System for associations, which is now part of Community Brands.
Since then, Dave and his leadership team from Peach built an engagement platform called PropFuel, the first Conversational Engagement platform designed specifically for member based organizations to improve member engagement using the Ask, Capture, Act methodology.
Dave lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts with his 3 boys, 3 boy dogs and his formidable wife, Nicole. He's an endurance runner and pretends to work from his boat in Buzzards Bay, MA as much as possible all summer long.