Does it feel like your members’ expectations are always changing? If so, your organization isn’t alone. Today, member expectations are at an all-time high. But your association can boost member engagement and retention by personalizing your member experience.
How? Begin personalizing your member experience by adopting modern association management software (AMS) to help you track member data and offer insights about growth and retention. Read our blog to learn how to boost personalization within your association and offer a superior member experience.
How can your association personalize the member experience?
Personalizing your association’s membership experience can inspire loyalty and engagement. According to the most recent Community Brands Association Trends Study, 53% of the association professionals surveyed said enhancing member experiences was the most important goal for their organization. In the same study, 53% of the surveyed members said that the personalization of content and information was an excellent use of technology.
You can personalize the member journey by doing the following:
- Collect member data. The best way to personalize the member experience is by leveraging your association’s technology and gathering important data about your members. You can use this data to send targeted messages that show your people you care about them as individuals.
- Utilize automation. When you collect member data, you can use it to automate personalized messages with ease. For example, associations can use content templates to their advantage and streamline the distribution of personalized communication.
- Allow members to set preferences. Another way you can personalize your members’ experiences is by letting them control how and when you share information with them. If members have access to a preference center, they can choose settings that suit their lifestyle and needs, thus enhancing their experience with your organization.
How can an AMS personalize the member experience?
By using a platform-based AMS, associations can effectively personalize the member experience in the following ways:
1. Live chat
Almost 80% of consumers prefer live chats to phone calls. Consider adding a live chat option to your association’s website to increase customer support and improve the member experience. Live chat allows members to reach your organization, even when employees are out of the office.
2. Smart, automated email marketing
Set up personalized, automated emails for everything from membership renewals to alerts about upcoming events. Ready to take it up a notch? Try building a personalized member journey map so members can receive pertinent messages and information based on their behavior in each email.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and figuring out how to bring it to your association. Choosing innovative and modern association technology is key. Powered by Salesforce Einstein AI technology, Nimble AMS makes it easy for organizations to predict and respond to what members need, want, and expect in their associations.
When you leverage AI, you can use your data to personalize the member experience. AI can help you offer member recommendations based on past data. Try highlighting customized learning materials, upcoming association events, or personalized career insights for each member. Using AI to personalize member experiences will help transform your association, driving member loyalty and retention.
Leveraging Nimble AMS and Salesforce Einstein AI technology, the Marine Corps Association & Foundation (MCA&F) vastly improved its member experience. Using AI predictions, MCA&F identified a pool of members who were at high risk of lapsing. The MCA&F staff worked with the Nimble AMS team to create a solution that renewed 25% of its members who were at high risk.
4. Engaging and personalized e-commerce
Provide your members with a dynamic, personalized shopping experience that they can access via any device. Give them a central location where they can manage their account, renew their membership, view, and purchase merchandise and learning products, register for events, and make donations – all within a familiar e-commerce experience.
Personalize e-commerce with recommendations that suggest products to your members based on their past activity. Create automated, abandoned cart emails that prompt members to return to abandoned items, driving non-dues revenue.
What data metrics should an association monitor when personalizing the member experience?
As you make efforts to personalize the member experience, there are a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that give great insight into member engagement and interest in your organization.
The following are three key KPIs an association should monitor as you look to personalize the member experience:
- Membership growth. Look at how your association is growing. How many new members are you acquiring each month and year? Examine this data to see popular membership types and the conversion rate from prospect to committed member.
- Membership retention. Retention is another valuable KPI to monitor. You want members to renew their membership with your association. Examining your monthly and annual retention rates by membership type will help identify the areas that are working well for your organization.
- Membership segments. Your association can narrow down how to improve membership experiences by looking at each segment. You can learn more about your people by checking out demographic information and their specific type of membership.
Choose Nimble AMS to personalize the member experience
You can deliver amazing association membership personalization with the help of Nimble AMS. Our solutions can help you step into the future with impressive predictive analytics and ongoing upgrades to improve every aspect of your organization.
