How To Keep Your Organization’s Membership Lifecycle Sustainable
Your membership lifecycle is what keeps your organization sustainable for the future, but do you have the most sustainable processes to keep you afloat when the road gets rough? We put together the most common best practices that have been implemented by sustainable organizations that keep their lifecycle going strong!
Success can be measured by meeting specific goals, but how do you measure how sustainable your membership process is? Being sustainable means that your organization is upheld and viable in a continual manner. When your resources are slim and your organization is pressed, that’s when the sustainability of your processes are put to the test.
We’re here to share with you the best practices to keep your membership lifecycle sustainable. These practices have been implemented by client organizations that have proven to be sustainable in the past and to this day. Let’s have a look from the beginning of a membership lifecycle to the “end” – where it would cycle back full circle.
1. Sustainable New Member Process
During the awareness, research, and joining stages, the prospect will determine if the membership is valuable in the foreseeable future.
We found that organizations with automated processes were more sustainable than organizations with manual processes, allowing their team to spend more time perfecting their new member experience and being more personable with their new members.
In this stage, it’s important to ensure that the process to join your membership is easy and the experience is pleasant for the prospective member. To automate the workflow and be sustainable, the best practice is to:
- Provide the new member the ability to join through your website. This way, they have control over the information they provide
- Have an automated workflow where the signup form will automatically create the new member record, membership billing, activate login, set up directory listings, etc – all without you lifting a single finger
- Send an automated personalized email to the member to welcome them and offer opportunities for them to be engaged
To learn more about how you can make your new member process sustainable, we talk all about this in a webinar! Replay the webinar and view links to specific features covered including sample email templates by clicking here.
2. An Engaged & Participating Member Is More Likely To Renew
A member who engages and takes advantage of their member benefits is more likely to renew their membership again – contributing to the longevity of their membership life cycle and your organization’s sustainability. The reward and engaging stages drive the member to be excited to renew.
The best practices are to:
- Offer event registrations right on the signup form and engage the new member right away
- Reward the member or offer promotional codes to send automatically when an item or membership is purchased (eg. a member who registers for an event can receive 20% off their next event registration)
- Communicate the benefits of your membership to your member such as member-only resources or discussion forums, members-only event pricing, etc.
3. Membership Renewal Continues The Lifecycle
The membership renewal is what continues the lifecycle for your member, so make renewal as easy as possible by letting your members pay online at their own convenience. Your membership life cycle automatically becomes much more sustainable than sending a printed bill and waiting for a check to come – plus, your revenues come much quicker.
Sustainable organizations have shown us that the best practices are to:
- Setup online billing and enable online payments, including the ability for the member to store their card for automated renewals
- Personalize the renewal email sent with a link to pay for their membership. Communication is key to retaining your existing member
- Offer promotional codes for renewing members to continue to stay engaged
To maximize your member retention, we talk all about this in a webinar presented directly from our client services team! Replay the webinar and view links to specific features covered including sample email templates by clicking here.
Questions? Want to Share Your Story?
If you have any questions or if you would like to share your story with us for a chance to be featured in a blog, please contact Membee support staff at support@membee.com.