We often get caught up in trying to bring new faces into the organization that we forget how important it is to retain current members. In order to have long term success, focusing on member retention should be at the top of your list. Below are a few tips on how to maintain that relationship and keep members coming back year after year.
1. Make onboarding a positive and welcoming experience. Make a good first impression on your members. Provide them with all the resources they need whether that is a “welcome package” or a contact for them to connect with. Take a look at the benefits members receive from your association and make sure these are all touched upon as the new member onboards. It also never hurts to add a little fun to this process. Include a small gift that relates to your industry or has your association logo on it or host a happy hour for new members – in person or virtual!
2. Survey members. Staying in the know on what your members want or need out of the association at a given time, is the best way to make them happy. Survey members at milestones of their membership such as 1 month, 6 months, a year, etc. You can also reach them when you are trying to make a decision as a board. Don’t assume, work to understand.
3. Be flexible with membership. If circumstances like COVID-19 arise, it is important to understand how that may affect members and their ability to pay for membership. Allow flexible options like pausing membership for a temporary amount of time or discounted membership types.
4. Communicate with members the way they want to be communicated with. If you have several types of emails that go out each month, allow members the option to subscribe to the emails they want to hear about rather than overwhelming them with communication that is not applicable.
5. Provide incentives for long term membership. Give members something to look forward to as they grow within the organization and reach milestones of 5, 10 , 20 years! Recognize long term members at your annual meeting, provide a gift for long term members when they reach a certain point, the options are endless. Making these members feel appreciated will encourage others to reach this point.
6. Survey members on their way out. Understand why members leave the organization by sending an exit survey. Ask open ended questions that will help you to understand how to better improve your organization.
Always continue to recruit new members but don’t forget to take some time understanding and pleasing current members. Provide members with a reason to stay and always reiterate the benefits of being part of the association.