member retention: 5 tips for membership organisations

5 Ways To Make Your Membership StickyA Webanywhere Free Guide

A Webanywhere Free Guide

5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky

Telephone: 01535 604026 [email protected] / www.webanywhere.co.uk

One of the biggest challenges that faces any membership organisation or professional body is not just gaining members, but keeping them. How do you make membership ‘sticky’? How do some organisations succeed in gaining new members and keeping them - whilst others struggle?

As we continue through tough economic times, the situation isn’t getting any easier. Taking drastic measures to keep hold of members may actually cause organisations to lose sight of what their purpose is, or misunderstand what it is that members want from them.

So you can deliver a service worth the membership, we’ve put together five ways that, with a bit of help from technology, you could keep your members ‘sticky’ - engaging with you, understanding the value in what you do and staying with you.

Introduction

To give your members what they want, you have to understand their needs. There are many ways you can find out what they want from you.

If you have ever carried out surveys or questionnaires with members, the results may contain information - or maybe even just clues - as to why they joined your organisation in the first place.

Acquiring big data could be the most insightful solution, however: This can tell you current trends within the sector your organisation serves, and the habits of people within it.

Big data is much more in-depth than traditional data capturing and has helped many companies, like Walmart, improve engagement (and increase sales) with customers. It can take months of work and a large amount of investment, but it has so far proven to be a worthwhile investment for many businesses in understanding the needs and trends of customers and potential customers.

You can purchase big data, or employ companies to look at big data for you - but another way of analysing data to get an insight into trends is by looking at the traffic to your own website. For example, looking at where on your site traffic has increased and where it has dropped off can hint at what’s popular with your members and what isn’t.

Using a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Moodle or Totara for online courses can allow you to produce clever reports based on user information. This can then be linked to your CRM (for example, Salesforce) for campaign management.

1. Analyse big data




We’re living in an age where people want information instantly. Keeping your organisation front of mind for members via devices like their smartphone will mean they won’t forget why they joined. Provided, of course, that what you’re giving them is relevant and of a high enough quality.

Keep updates regular. Email your members at least once a week with industry news, information about any events you’re holding and also direct them to your latest courses and opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD).

If you have a website, make sure email updates direct to this and also make sure the website has new content added regularly - even if it’s just a blog post rewritten from a recent email update (incidentally, the more often you update your website with relevant, quality content, the better your search engine ranking and therefore visibility to potential members).

Look into developing a smartphone app. This could be a vehicle for all manner of content - from news feeds to registering for events, to signing up, and completing, e-learning courses.

2. Give them instant information

Big data statistics

Smartphone usage statistics

50% of organisations say that big data helps in better meeting consumer demand and facilitating growth

72.7% consider driving operational efficiencies to be the biggest benefit of a big data strategy

23% (estimated) of the digital universe is information that might be valuable if analyzed(statistics source: Wipro (1/2); International Data Corp (3))

(statistics source: New Relic)

2011 2012 2013

1.6 billionSmartphone usage is increasing year-on-year. There are currently around 1.6 billion smartphones in use globally - with smartphone users checking their phone roughly every 6.5 minutes each day.

Your organisation can be a massive boost for members wanting recognition that they’re serious about their career. However, they’ll need more than just a membership badge - you need to provide them with advice, information and training so that being a member will ultimately produce results for them.

Creating opportunities for members’ continuing professional development with a learning platform means they could become experts in any given field or competency easily. Utilise the benefits of a learning platform (online, so can be accessed anywhere, anytime) and reward those who complete the courses with certificates or even online badges (such as Mozilla Open Badges). That way, they’ll have physical evidence of why being a member of your organisation is beneficial.

Knowing what kind of learning to provide can come from member surveys, keeping an eye on industry developments and seeing how successful your previous courses were. You will need to make sure what you offer is up to date, and that whenever there are industry changes, you are able to provide the training to suit. Your members will tell you what they want in terms of courses - you just need to know how they will tell you.

The courses you provide for your members need to be regular and varied; align the training with the members’ wants and needs and they’ll keep coming back for more. Make sure you’re constantly looking out for the next opportunity to enhance the knowledge of your members.

Additionally, ‘quick wins’ could be advice from seasoned professionals in the industry. Passing down knowledge will help your organisation to become a fountain of knowledge and ‘thought leaders’ when it comes to insider information for the industry.

3. Always offer new ways to boost career development




Online learning statistics

Online education is proven to increase knowledge retention by 25-60%.

72% of companies surveyed said e-learning keeps them on top of industry changes

In America, e-learning is a $56.2bn business

MEMBERSHIP CARD

60% 40%

MEMBERSHIP CARD

72% 28%

(statistics source: elearningindustry.com)

$56.2bn

Kolb’s Learning Cycle Theory

There are four stages in the learning cycle, according to theorist David Kolb. Those stages are based on how a person learns, what they do following the learning experience, and how it influences the next stage of their development. Many professional bodies are using the learning cycle, or ‘experiential learning’ as a template for the learning they provide their members - and it’s easy for you to, as well.

The learning cycle dictates that members will follow experiencing by reflecting on the learning, and then implementing it in the real world. Once the learning has been applied to real-world principles, they will then be ready for the next phase of learning.

Following this cycle with the learning you provide will not only allow you to dovetail how the member receives and uses the information with the frequency you provide it, but it will actually make deciding upon what courses to run and when easier. Use the learning cycle model when creating the learning by providing opportunities for discussion regarding the topic of the course. Allow learners to observe how the learning works in real life situations, and then guide them into real-life experiences themselves.

Following this natural flow of learning will enrich the learning experience, and naturally bring them back to you for follow-up learning.

4. Follow the learning cycle approach

ConcreteExperience

(doing / having an experience)

ReflectiveObservation

(reviewing / reflectingon the experience)

ActiveExperimentation

(planning / trying outwhat you have learned)

AbstractConceptualisation

(concluding / learningfrom the experience)




Gamification statistics

61% of surveyed CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives say they take daily game breaks at work.

More than half of these gameful executives say they play during work in order “to feel more productive.”

1 out of 4 gamers is over the age of 50.

(statistics source: www.ryan-jenkins.com)

Gamification is one of the latest buzzwords in business and online learning. It’s where game-based elements are added to learning - but it can also be used in any kind of interaction you have with your members.

What makes gamification such a winner is that it plays to those most basic of urges: To succeed and receive recognition for it. For it to be a winner for your organisation, and for it to actually increase your interaction with members and make them stay with you, you have to ensure the game connects with your members in the right way.

Taking the gamification one step further could improve interaction even further: Making virtual badges available and even developing a scoreboard could entice people to compete and succeed. The top scorers could be mentioned in your email newsletters, or on your website. Members will love getting the recognition, even if it is just a bit of fun.

Obviously, you won’t have people signing up for membership solely for simple games, but they will increase interaction between you and existing members, and increase the positive feelings towards your organisation too. All this will help retain members - and therefore you’ll be onto a winner!

Implementing any - or all - of these five suggestions should result in a more ‘sticky’ membership. For more information regarding technology and how it can help you, speak to Webanywhere using the contact details on the next page.

5. Give them games to play




stretch beyond

About Webanywhere

Webanywhere specialises in learning technologies that enable the concepts described in this paper, and stretch the learning potential and engagement of your members. Our previous clients include Aslib, Britsafe and MPS.To discuss the effective implementation of a learning management system, and we can help grow your profit like the organisations below, speak to us today.

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member retention: 5 tips for membership organisations

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