In general, it is roughly 10 times more profitable to hang on to your current customers than it is to try to acquire new ones. This is as true (if not moreso) in the world of memberships as anywhere else. Not taking advantage of the close relationship you already have with your membership means that you are losing revenue. Membership management software can make this conversation a lot easier to start, a lot easier to communicate, and drive more action from members.
Sometimes starting the conversation with your members is the most important step in the process of retaining your membership. Members can easily forget to renew their membership during the course of their time in your organization. Reminding members to renew is important but time consuming. Membership management systems make it easy to send reminder emails at the right time. You can set emails to send at the proper intervals, so that members get multiple reminders before their renewal deadline, so that your message stays in front of them.
Your software makes it easy to start the conversation, but if members have questions about topics not covered in your renewal message they will need your input. Because the process of automatically sending renewal messages frees your time up for members who need help or convincing, you are free to concentrate on their needs. Take the time to explain how you want to improve each member's individual membership.
You can also use this software to set up automatic renewals; a member can opt in or out of this program at will, and will be charged their membership amount to a provided credit card at the proper time. You can also make it easier for members who are not in the automatic renewal program to renew, by pre-populating their renewal forms with the proper information. Using this method, your renewing members must simply check the information to see that it is correct and authorize the
Adam Broetje is the manager of RegOnline's membership database software department. |
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