Your member management system can help you understand why your members left and what you can do to win them back. Our 6-point plan shows you how.
Keeping members engaged has a lasting impact on your retention rates. But a subsection of your membership will inevitably drop out for a variety of reasons. Some of these you can control, others you can’t.
If your attrition numbers are rising, start by reviewing this 6-point plan. You'll identify the reasons for the decline and develop a successful strategy to counter it.
The first thing you need to determine is why the members left:
Your association software should be capable of quickly identifying:
If your member management system tracks engagement, closely examine the data it provides.
As you review the data, you need to put on your detective cap to determine:
If your current membership management platform can't do this, consider finding a new system like an Engagement Management System. Without it, your entire initiative will seem nearly impossible.
Build and optimize a tech stack that works for your organization.
Ideally, you regularly poll members on their interests, needs, and perspectives on your organization. Use these insights to inform your win-back campaign Read more: Enhancing the Member Experience Through Feedback.
Consider conducting a brief exit survey to learn exactly why they left. You can use an online tool, like SurveyMonkey, as members may be more candid in an online form versus a phone call.
The strategy you employ to draw former members back in has a lot to do with how long they’ve been gone
0-2 months: If you’ve got a solid retention program, the renewal process starts several months before the member’s anniversary date and continues for a few months until they renew. Members get busy and lose track of time — a one- or two-month lapse may be a mistake.
3-8 months: After 3 months of no activity, it’s not an oversight. You’ll need to understand why they left and develop an appropriate plan to reengage.
9-12+ months: If a member has lapsed this long, they’ve somehow managed to get along without the benefits you offer. At this point, you’ll need to:
We know what you’re thinking: flexible membership levels makes billing more complicated. But your association software should be able to process complex billing structures easily.
Dive into our guide, Smarter Billing: Leveraging Native Accounting for Membership Success. You'll learn how to ✔ streamline invoicing, ✔ simplify month-end and year-end processes, and ✔ manage complex pricing structures.
Member personas can be extremely helpful in driving engagement. But building “lapsed member personas” specifically can work well in reversing attrition. As you review your data, identify what the lapsed members have in common, such as:
Once you understand who left and why, create profiles of these lapsed members. This will help you develop a strategy to bring them back into the fold.
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A retention committee (or subcommittee of the Membership Committee) can help your organization:
Invite the rising stars within your membership who are interested in future leadership roles to be part of this group. You can even consider making this part of your leadership ladder. For example:
This in-depth training helps your leadership understand the importance of member retention. By the time they become Chair, they're fully committed to maintaining strong retention rates.
Every organization is different, and you understand your membership best. With that said, if your retention numbers are dropping, it may be time to break out of the mold and try some new ideas.
These days, you probably have limited time and resources to spend on your win-back initiative. So, it’s important to identify the most critical member types to focus on, including:
You've analyzed your data and understand the reasons for your attrition rates. Now it's time to create a strategy that addresses your specific issues. You’ll need to start with these steps:
Regardless of your available resources, you can easily start with a multi-step email campaign that will:
Don’t shy away from the pain — let them know you recognize their concerns and explain how you’re addressing them.
Use telemarketing to follow up on your email campaign and gather more feedback to refine your win-back approach.
If you don't have telemarketing resources, use volunteer members to reach out. They can call or send personal emails to outline your organization’s value proposition.
Some members value hearing from their colleagues who can provide a unique perspective on the value of membership that you can’t. Others may not respond to this tactic — so it’s important to understand their communication style and persona.
Lapsed members might want to try short-term membership to see if their issues are resolved. If they have financial hardships, offer monthly or quarterly payments instead of annual dues. Or consider a “membership lite” option that offers them limited resources (such as online only) at a reduced rate. But you’ll need to ensure that this “lite” version isn’t so good that it replaces your full-membership level.
Learn how to offer various membership levels without adding endless manual work onto your staff. Download "Smarter Billing - Leveraging Native Accounting".
✔ Streamline invoicing, ✔ simplify month-end and year-end processes, and ✔ manage complex pricing structures.
If non-members can find a way to access your key benefits, you take away the incentive to renew. Create a members-only section on your website and control access to your mobile app to protect your assets. If your annual conference is essential, set non-member registration higher than membership fees to encourage rejoining.
When someone realizes that you’ll offer them more if they lapse and come back, they may try to do this every year. So it may be better to not offer big discounts or extra benefits for returning after a few months. Your loyal members who pay their dues on time deserve just as much — and more — than those who drop out. So don’t create a system that rewards people for leaving.
Of course, include a short grace period for well-meaning members who depend on your benefits and just missed a deadline.
But if they can still access exclusive resources 3 months after lapsing, they may take advantage of this every year. This allows them to get 15 months for the price of 12. So you need to set rules for when membership benefits expire and stick to them.
Yes, discounts can work to bring members back in, but these result in lost revenue for your organization. Additionally, members attracted primarily by discounts may not fully engage with your association's offerings in the long run.
Value-adds have several advantages:
Try offering limited-time access to a member resource you usually charge for, like a webinar or educational series.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Of course, it’s always better to keep members from leaving than to win them back, but that’s not always possible. Try the following tips we’ve gleaned from our clients over the years:
Follow our 6 steps to craft a compelling value proposition that showcases your association's unique benefits that members can’t live without.
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