Tips for Conducting an Effective Lapsed Mailing Campaign

When was the last time you conducted a lapsed mailing campaign?

I am a big fan of lapsed mailing campaigns.  They are your hottest leads.

Remember, they were members, it's important to find out why they dropped and get them back on board.

I've worked at two different organizations where one conducted four campaigns a year and the other every month, lapsed members got a solicitation.

Here are some tips for conducting an effective lapsed mailing campaign:

• Start with a clean list. Make sure your list of lapsed members is accurate and up-to-date. You can use a variety of methods to clean your list, such as removing duplicate records, updating addresses, and removing deceased members.
• Personalize your mailing. Lapsed members are more likely to respond to a mailing that is personalized to them. Use their name, address, and any other relevant information in your mailing.
• Offer a compelling incentive. Lapsed members are more likely to renew their membership if they have a compelling reason to do so. Offer them a discount, a free gift, or early access to events.
• Make it easy to renew. Make it easy for lapsed members to renew their membership. Include a clear call to action and a simple way to renew, such as a website address or a phone number.
• Follow up. Don't just send one mailing and hope for the best. Follow up with lapsed members who don't renew their membership right away. You can send them a reminder mailing or give them a call.

Here are some additional tips for conducting an effective lapsed mailing campaign:

• Use targeted messaging. Tailor your messaging to the specific reasons why lapsed members stopped renewing their membership. For example, if they stopped renewing because they were no longer interested in your organization's content, you could offer them a free trial of your premium content.
• Be patient. It may take time to re-engage lapsed members. Don't give up if you don't see results immediately. Keep following up with them and eventually you will start to see some success.
• Be creative. There are many ways to reach lapsed members. Get creative and think outside the box to find ways to re-engage them.

I hope these tips help you conduct your next effective lapsed mailing campaign!

Renewals and Lapsed Campaigns

I recently attended a webinar on the title of this blog.  The following are my notes from what I found as helpful tips.

Early engagement is a key component in your retention efforts.  Start right after they join.  Here are a couple of ideas mentioned.

• Start a conversation with your initial onboarding communication.
• Enroll them in the members only part of your website.
• Conduct quarterly conference calls with the president with these new members.
• Have a special event for new members/first timers at your annual meeting.

They went on to discuss different ways to engage your members in the renewal process by sending a series of three emails.

• 60 days prior to due date – do you plan on renewing?
• 30 days prior to due date – what have you found most valuable?
• 20 after due date – did you know you're pass due?

Obviously, each of these emails will allow them to renew.

When it came to lapsed members, they suggested:

• A quick three question survey on why they lapsed.
• Conduct a “we miss you” campaign six months after they’ve lapsed.
• Use telemarketing for those lapsed members over a year and bring them back by credit card.
• If appropriate, use your board members to make lapsed members calls.  They know the value of membership.  They’re your best ambassadors.
• All your membership renewal communications should come from the President and CEO.

As a final comment, it’s always good to review your renewal and lapsed member campaigns to make sure you’re taking full advantage of best practices.

Good luck!

Lapsed Membership Mailings

It’s that time of the year to jump start your membership with a lapsed member campaign.

I’ve written about this in the past, but it is at least an annual campaign you need to have in your membership marketing plan.

I personally believe you should conduct at least two, and I’ve worked in organizations that did them on a monthly basis.  If done right, they’ll generate members and money.

Two things you need to put in order before you launch your campaign.

1. Clean-up your member database; and
2. Decide what your offer is going to be.

As stated in the past, I've done the mailings in two ways:

1. Invoice only; or
2. Invoice with a cover letter highlighting the latest activities of the organization and any recent activities they’ll recognize that they benefited from.

If you do a letter, make sure you have a contact person they can reach out to directly and also the ability to pay online.  The key is to make it easy for them to rejoin!

And what's most important is that you don’t delay.  Jump start your year with that lapsed mailing campaign, with updated membership, data today!

For a great resource on tips and templates for lapsed membership campaigns go to MemberClicks HERE.

Lapsed Member Recruitment

I recently attended a breakout session on lapsed member recruitment led by Vivian Swertinski.  We could all learn from the following ideas the next time we decide to kick-start a lapsed member campaign.

Oh by the way, don't make it up as you go! Here's her four step strategy of lapsed member campaign.

1.              Analyze the data

What happens after they lapse?

• What do they have access to
• What do they still need
• What would be different or new

Reasons for not renewing - forgot to renew, not sure of ROI or no longer working in industry.

Message to deliver - be part of the solution, access to the latest information to help you run your business.

And by the way, your lapsed members are still engaging with you, you just don't know it!  At the organizational level people are still working with those lapsed members.

2.              Target Audience

• Length of time lapsed
• Length of relationship
• Demographic data
• Membership type

Talk about what they've missed during the time that they lapsed

3.              Create the Campaign

• You want to make an emotional connection
• They take center stage
• Renewal is not the end goal

Assume they forgot to renew.  The pitch - we're committed to help your small business, the top priority for us is to be your advocate and we want to make sure you have the latest information to be successful.

Attached is your invoice to make it easy for you to get back in the know, game, etc.

4.              Execute the Plan

• Friendly From (what name would they recognize - CEO)
• Subject Line (we want you back)
• Short and Long Message

Automate your campaign and segment your messages. Message to 3 - 6 months lapsed members, assume they forgot to renew. Message to 7 - 24 months lapsed members, showcase new programs, focus on whatever is new that they may not know about that your doing for the small business sector or the community at large.

A couple of tips:

• Subject Line:  Rediscover the (Name of Your Chamber);
• It's been x amount of time since you lapsed and we want to highlight what's new; and
• We encourage you to visit (you fill in the URL) and see where you can plug in.

At the end of the day, you want to serve them and let them plug themselves in where it appeals to them.

Don't use the "We Miss You" verbiage letter, make a connection with what they need.  It's all about them, not us.

Try to make an emotional connection with your lapsed member - it's all about the altruistic member.

Use a theme like "get back in the game" and don't forget to make it easy for your lapsed member to renew!

If they renew, give them a special thank you (handwritten note) when they renew not just the normal acknowledgement email the typical renewal member gets.

In Summary:

Analyze your data, target your audience, create a campaign and execute your plan.

Remember, lapsed members are generally your warmest leads so spending some quality time in communicating with them with the right message can yield positive outcomes.

Good luck on your next lapsed member campaign!