Masterful Membership Renewals: Tips to foolproof your process

Do 90% or more of
your members renew before expiry? Is your member retention rate over 95%?

If you’re not there yet, here are 7 membership renewal tips to increase your retention rate and speed up your renewal process.

Why Does it Matter?

Membership renewals can be fast and simple or they can take a lot of staff and volunteer resources. The longer it takes a member to renew, the more resources are required to follow up, and the chance they will not renew increases. If your membership renewal process is efficient and effective, it increases retention, it improves cash flow and it leaves your team more time to focus on delivering member value.

Tip #1: You Need a
System

Make sure you have a documented process
that your team follows religiously. Monitor the results and tweak to improve it.
Your system should kick off at least 60 days before expiry and end 30-60 days
after expiry. After that point, non-renewed members should be moved into a
nurturing process to maintain contact.

• Be serious about cancelling
  membership shortly after expiry
• Experiment with subject lines, timing
• Build renewal messaging into your
  social media content

Tip #2: Set Targets

Set targets for member retention
(e.g. 98%) and for renewal timing (e.g. 90% before expiry). Track your success
against the targets and try new tweaks to increase your success rate.

Tip #3: Use Current
Technology

Almost all association management
systems (AMSs) provide for online payment and prescheduled reminders. Make it
easy for members to renew. Online forms are time-consuming and off-putting.

Consider offering auto-renewal so the
membership is renewed automatically by credit card.

Tip #4: Give Them a
Reason to Renew

Your renewal communication has to be
more than a request for payment. Make sure each communication is different than
the previous one. The content should remind members of what your association
did for them in the past year and what’s coming up for the new year.

• Build a series of 6-9 messages that
  are varied and escalating
• Include your Member Value Proposition
  (MVP)
• The last one should contain “Sorry to
  see you go” content
• Consider offering an incentive for
  early renewal
• Consider charging a reinstatement fee
  if membership is tied to a license or certification

Tip #5: Follow Up
by Phone

For those members who have not
renewed as expiry approaches, reach out to them by phone. If there’s a reason
why they have not renewed, you need to know it. If it’s just an oversight, the
personal touch helps to build a relationship. Take the opportunity to get their
feedback.

If you have a very large membership
it may be difficult to phone all expired members but reach out to as many as
you can.

Use your volunteers in this process.
Once your staff team has reached out by phone, if renewal has still not
happened, ask members in the same area to reach out.

• Make it simple. Ensure the volunteers
  have speaking points for the phone call/voice mail and an email template to
  follow up.

Tip #6: Know Your
Member Value Proposition

This is ground zero for member
renewal. Why should they renew? Why should they care? Your MVP answers the
question “What’s in it For Me?” from the member’s perspective. You need a
clear, compelling statement that answers this question.

Resources for You

For more information on membership renewals, check out our VIMEO channel http://vimeo.com/zzeeminc including a webinar on this topic.

For more information on articulating your MVP, download the Member Value Proposition workbook.

Want Some Help with Your MVP? Ask us about the Member Value Toolbox.