It is common for a great deal of attention to be given to member acquisition and retention strategies, whilst sometimes the onboarding process can be somewhat overlooked. We’ve broken onboarding down into 5 helpful connection points across the initial 6 months of membership that we think are worthy of consideration.
1. Give them a call
Wherever possible a phone-call in the initial period of a new members subscription can prove invaluable as it transitions the potentially sterile transactional nature of their membership into something more personal and long-lasting. It can also present a great opportunity to check (in your CRM and with them) if they’ve logged-in successfully and accessed the wealth of resources and benefits now at their disposal and whether you can help them with anything at this stage.
2. Send them something physical
A tangible onboarding/membership pack still has its place in helping to create the sense of belonging members need. In these days of digital overload, it can also help to cut through the noise and show that you care. Think about what you are sending, what is says about you as an organisation and how it can reinforce and demonstrate your values.
3. Create an opportunity to connect personally
Creating an in-person or virtual event as an opportunity for new members to network and meet your team can be really helpful. These connection points could be scheduled once a quarter for those that have joined in the preceding period. Amongst other things new members can use this opportunity to find out more about membership, the benefits they can be using, hear from a more senior ‘aspirational’ member, get an update on activity the organisation has been involved in and learn more about what’s coming up in the next few months.
4. Get feedback
It will be helpful to gain feedback on your new members early experiences of your organisation. This could be as simple as distributing a survey following up from the connection event whereby you can canvas opinion on good/bad experiences and how they feel about plans and whether there’s anything they’d like to suggest/request for the future. By doing this and monitoring feedback, where not anonymous you could potentially follow up with a phone call again to either try and iron out a negative experience or find out more about an opportunity they have presented. All helpful relationship building stuff!
5. Congratulations!
Sending an email automated by your CRM on the semi-anniversary of their membership is an obvious opportunity to connect. It could include content on ‘looking back on our first 6 months together’ which could include what the organisation has achieved in that time, but more importantly where possible, what they have gained from membership thus far (populating the email with data from the CRM on events/courses attended, CPD points gained etc). This could lead into a semi-anniversary gift in the form of a discount voucher to participate in an event/course with that based on CRM data you know is relevant to them.
Whilst these 5 tips for onboarding strategies look specifically at the initial 6 months, forming habits around identifying strategic relevant opportunities to connect is important throughout the ‘life-time’ of each membership. Essentially the more embedded your organisation can become in your members consciousness and daily life, the better your engagement and retention rates are likely to be. In general humans crave connection, and whilst the start of a relationship is critical, every positive relationship takes investment from both parties for the long-term!
NetXtra are a team of strategic, creative and digital experts who partner with organisations in the not for profit sector. Call 01787 319393 or email [email protected] for more information.
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