Here are my notes from a presentation sponsored by Institute.
Emphasis on the overall experience of your programs. You need to be creative and innovate moving forward. Digital is the new normal.
She posed the question. What’s the holistic member experience?
Transactional vs Relational?
- Transactional - looking for that dollar for dollar value.
- Relational - investment as a way of doing business, having their back and industry while keeping it personal.
She went on to talk about sponsor experiences - matching up a company with a specific event or program of work (think thought leadership). What about a happy hour on a topic of the sponsor?
You could send a bottle of wine, have it reviewed by a Sommelier and then have the sponsor present on a specific topic that your members would be interested in. Your event is digital but the wine tasting makes it an experience too!
How are experiences created? Your experiences for your members need to show emotion, make interactions personal, and interesting.
She talked about micro-moments, different experiences along the way that creates loyalty to your chamber. They can be different things for different businesses.
It’s all about how you make your members feel! You remember the famous quote from Maya Angelo, “people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”
I’ve said it here before, it’s about the member not about you. How are you helping them solve problems in good times and in bad? If you have specific examples, repurpose and communicate that through your social media channels.
She talked about your A, B, and C members and how to create experiences for all three (they will be different).
Your A members should be your key focus upfront. They may be your high dollar members or your altruistic members, those that contribute because they believe in what you do on behalf of business and the community at large.
She talked about reviewing your digital experience for members and do you need to update it? Think about creating a digital plan, especially for your nonmembers.
Good advice!
How are you engaging with your members or your potential members?
Don’t get short-sighted by not looking long-term. You’ve heard the phrase, “this too shall pass.” As we know, in a K economic recovery, not all businesses are hurting, but some are hurting more than others. Create a foundation for the future and how you will engage with your members moving forward.
“Support the Business Community” - that could be your “relationship” message. Remember, we talked about transactional vs relationships earlier in this blog post. This could be powerful and it’s the message that resonates with that altruistic member.
Shari went on to talk about experience marketing, connecting with existing members through your brand and messaging.
Your messaging should be authentic, organic, conversational while making connections with your members.
Continue on building a strong community!
For more resources from Shari go HERE.
