At a recent membership and marketing session I attended addressed membership recruitment strategies based on data.
It was conducted by
The main point I want to focus on from the session is identifying what to focus on and how you are communicating with members and prospective members.
Speak in your members terminology not yours.
Current issues that need to be addressed as you move to the future - aging members, value proposition, legacy members resistant to change
You must be mobile friendly!
Resources - they talked about how your website main page must be enticing to your members.
They also talked about the sales funnel, and oh by the way, the sales funnel is not dead as some may say, and depending on who you speak to or which article you read there is always a tweak in how you are using it. By the way, it's a great way to organize your sales:
- Lead generation - prospects who have visited your website, list purchase or attended an event.
- Lead evaluation - prospects that took an action, clicked through your email, etc.
- Lead qualification - prospects that respond to direct membership outreach.
- Qualified lead outreach - ongoing dialogue of prospects who have expressed an interest.
- Closing qualified leads - point of sale.
For a resource go to Wikipedia's site HERE.
Messaging is key when putting together a membership campaign. You must have a consistent message weather it's a direct mail piece, website, or your social media presence. Their organization tapped into the theme of "belong" as their messaging - "You Belong Here!"
Are you leading with a similar theme? Your Community: Be a part of a better future! When discussing membership with a prospect lead with your advocacy work, economic development, and community development initiatives versus leading with a list of benefits of membership. That should be on the backend of your communications.
If you've not read the study by ACCE titled Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 you should and it can be found HERE.
