Membership has a life cycle. Just because a member cancels, it doesn’t mean they won’t return. So, why not leave an open door for them to come back? I’ve seen memberships where, if you cancel, they basically say, “You’re dead to me!” I know of one such membership business, that if you cancel your membership, you’re literally blacklisted and are … Read More
Don’t Believe This Membership Myth
There’s a dirty little myth out there – “If we just add more value, we’ll get more members.” Sometimes the lie is said out loud. Sometimes it’s an internal belief. However, it all starts with, “Why aren’t we getting more members?” Somehow, the question of “Why aren’t we getting more members?” was more easily answered by just saying, “If we … Read More
Are You Killing Your Membership?
There’s a silent killer lurking in your membership business. No, it’s not one of your members. It’s not one of your staff members either (although there may be times where they want to, HA!). It’s not your database, CRM, or marketing, either. The silent killer… it’s Member Overwhelm! It creeps in, starting from the very beginning. Your prospect signs up … Read More
How You Can “Rescue People” from Canceling Your Membership
After growing a membership business to over 3,127 members, you will hear all sorts of reasons for canceling. Some I knew were true and some sure did sound like a made-up story just so the member could cancel. However, after hearing hundreds of reasons for people canceling their membership, I’ve found that there are usually three general reasons people cancel. … Read More
Who’s In Your Crowd?
Call it an avatar, an ideal member, or prospect profile, you need a good understanding of who your prospective member is so you can best target your marketing. These are the non-members that you’re best able to help with your membership. If you’re going to move these people out of the crowd, you need to know who these non-members are. … Read More
Transforming Customers Into Members
What most separates a membership business from a “customer-based” business? In my opinion, COMMUNITY. I have yet to see a membership where there isn’t a community. [Note: I make a distinction between subscriptions and memberships. No one says, “I’m a member of Netflix.” Or, “I’m a member of the Wall Street Journal.” That’s because those are clearly subscriptions. Subscriptions would … Read More
Membership Marketing Money Pits
So you want to get more members in your membership or association. But they didn’t tell you HOW to market your membership. And yet, if you’re going to grow and get more members you have to get in front of the right prospects. Too many times, membership and association leaders use tools and tactics that just don’t work. And when you do that, … Read More
4 Ways To Create Committed Members
Your community is made up of members who have been engaging their membership in a continual manner. This is where most of your membership resides. They use their membership. They receive the value your membership program provides. They would identify themselves as a member. However, if given a better opportunity they may go somewhere else. If a competitor makes them … Read More
How to Get New Members for FREE
Membership businesses struggling with a low income most likely have some kind of problem connected to their methods of generating leads. While businesses can make use of many methods to generate new leads, small or struggling membership businesses would be well advised to stick to two or three in order to become proficient and thus more profitable with them. One … Read More
Creating a “WOW!”
What makes a new member go from saying “I just signed up for this membership…” to saying “I’m a member of…” What makes them move from a transaction (buying the membership) to interaction (identifying with the membership)? One of the tools that you can use to increase your retention is to create a “Wow Gift” for your new members. But … Read More