Ideas to help you engage, empower and retain members. Being Thoughtful Takes a Minute… June 12th, 2012 | Posted in Member Engagement + Retention. I’ve written about personalizing the member experience for years now but Chris Brogan reminded me in his weekly newsletter just how far personalization can go. In his newsletter he wrote about how the folks at Social Media Camp in Victoria, British Columbia made his experience memorable. MORE

A meeting planner said to me, “the whole conference experience is decided in the first 10 seconds”. But, attendees are assessing the experience. Typically great experiences cost money, right? Not all experiences have to, especially these. MORE

Association Marketing Strategy Member ExperienceWhat color is your association’s logo? Was it something that was inherited from your founding or did you recently rebrand? MORE

The post 3 New Year’s resolutions to improve your association members’ experience. Membership & Marketing Member Retention Professional DevelopmentIf you’re anything like me, coming up with New Year’s resolutions can be overwhelming and anxiety-ridden, not to mention their failure is often accompanied by evidence. I only have to look over my shoulder at the elliptical in my office to spot a failed resolution of 2016. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. MORE

More associations than ever are adopting online community platforms for their members. Today, we welcome a guest post from Andy Steggles at Higher Logic. To learn more about the power of online communities, visit www.higherlogic.com. MORE

Members mirror these same feelings. Members are most satisfied when they are allowed to engage at the level they want to engage at. Some feel pressure maybe even guilt to become more engaged and members say they do not like that. There is no one definition of member engagement. MORE

The biggest problem with most annual conferences is that most members cannot go. What percent of your members make it to the conference each year? Which means that 70 to 90 percent of our members do not experience one of the top benefits the association has to offer. MORE

One of the most frustrating dynamics for association staff is noticing that some members join but then never take another single action. You may be surprised to learn this super frustrating for new members as well. Members join with the intention of engaging. MORE

While conducting member research new members and long-time members share why they engage with their association (and why they don’t). Related: How new members are prompted to engage. The new member engagement rule of three. MORE

There is a short window of opportunity to engage new members. Most new members join with high hopes. During the first few days of their membership, new members are inherently very engaged. We only have 3 days or 3 weeks to engage some new members. MORE

Industry News + Trends Member Engagement + Retention association members association membership growth member engagement member experience membership growth membership marketing MORE

Email Communication Membership Management Software Member ExperienceI’m attending a wedding next month. MORE

We’ve gotten used to that quirkiness, probably so have our board members and long-time members but for new members, our quirkiness is odd. Anytime our administrative systems deviate from the norm our members are mildly surprised, probably slightly frustrated. MORE

A delightful member experience doesn’t have to flashy, highly technological, or expensive which is good because your smaller association or your chapters may not be able to afford expensive options. A very pleasant member experience can just be human. MORE

Your association membership is boosted by your members seeking credibility, professional development, competitive advantages and ways to give back. But, one of the primary reasons members join your association is for networking opportunities. MORE

You just need to respect your chapters’ needs and empower chapter leaders – whether they’re volunteers or paid staff – to take initiative on projects that benefit both your association and chapters’ more localized members. Associations Member Experience MORE

And neither do your members. AMS Software Member Experience PersonalizationRemember the good old days when you were researching a vacation in Paris and an ad for Chinese food popped up in your internet browser? Do you miss that? Because I don’t. MORE

You’re already trying to provide a positive customer or member experience, and maintain strong communications with them. Let’s start with that first part, about the experience. Put Experience First. Personalize the Member Experience. MORE

Struggling to get members engaged? When associations struggle to get members engaged, they often search for practical solutions like these, special tricks for getting members’ attention. Of course, once members do get involved, they’re more likely to stay with you. MORE

However, our members, especially new members are highly attuned to our tone. Spend some time pondering how you want members, and new members to feel when they interact with the association. Related: We talk about the importance of tone in the New Member Engagement Study. MORE

Analytics Membership Marketing Association Trends Member ExperienceIt seems like only yesterday we were worried about what would happen when the computers hit the year 2000. Now it’s nearly 2017 and a lot has changed. Just think about technology. MORE

Each member may not bring a banner, like a canvas grocery bag, along with them expressing their worldview. However, each member certainly does bring their strongly held personal worldview to each interaction with their association. Some members are not huggers. MORE

Training Membership Management Software AMS Software Member ExperienceHow many times have you heard someone say that they want to make a difference? MORE

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could customize everything little thing you did for your members? We’re talking content, meetings, events - the whole member experience. But that’s not to say you can’t customize your member experience at all. MORE

We think new members join for the professional development and networking, but a new member joins for one of these reasons: They believe in the cause. Someone they respect is a member. They know someone who is getting a lot out of being a member. MORE

Businesses that deliver a cluttered customer experience have likely fallen victim to short-sighted temptations. Associations can avoid the same fate by fending off the forces that put other goals ahead of member needs. And that the association itself belongs to the members , anyway. MORE

Change your member’s profile photos to show a special banner, such as MVP, so it’s clear that your volunteers are some of the most valuable members of your association. Add a permanent, rotating leadership role or board member position for your volunteers. MORE

We have all felt the frustration of knowing that our members only remember a fraction of the benefits they are entitled to. The benefits list is hard to remember but the experiences our members have are easy to remember. Move membership from a transaction to an experience. MORE

For the last year, I have been saying that members who engage with the association within the first 3 days to 3 weeks of joining become more engaged through the life of their membership. I have been shouting this from the rooftops because members have told me this in interview after interview. MORE

The world is moving toward experiences … are associations focusing enough on member experiences? But what we are building with artificial reality is an internet of experiences.” Virtual reality, I hear, is far better when you experience it with someone else. MORE

Associations can use the Storify tool to quickly and efficiently gather social posts into online stories that highlight the member experience. The stream of posts became a way to highlight RTDNA members doing the grueling and challenging work of covering a category three hurricane. MORE

I met a really unusual member today. After having a bad first conference experience most members don’t attend again. After having a bad chapter event experience most members don’t go again. Not this member. MORE

Conference Management Mobile Strategy Event App Member Experience“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”. What a spectacularly incorrect statement. MORE

What if the member experience at your association was just the opposite? What if the experience was more like Joe’s? Related: 3 The decision to join myths and the reason members join our associations. Hidden problems that seriously erode member engagement. MORE

How many meaningful connections does each member make during the conference? Are you wondering how that can be when members share the same profession or same title or same industry? From our member’s point of view there is actually a lot of variation. MORE

Related: The problems attendees experience at conferences. More problems attendees experience at conferences. The conference experience starts before the conference. Here are some fun things conference organizers do to increase attendee energy at the conference. Play fun music. MORE

Many associations see that their most at-risk members, the ones least likely to renew, are new members. But some new members do engage with the association, and they go on to become engaged 3-7 year members. Is the association providing enough value to long-time members? MORE

Shirley looked at the metrics of her 6-month new member email campaign. Overall new member renewal rates had increased a couple of percentage points since the program was implemented, which was directionally good, but not good enough. Focus Only on The Value New Members Need. MORE

Why do our members join? Myth #1: Members Join for Our Benefits. Members join to go to the annual conference. Sometimes members join to gain access to a benefit , but rarely. Much more often members do not know a thing about the association when they join. MORE

If you have ever had the experience of attending a meeting, conference or session where you saw the other participants respond enthusiastically, only to try that very same thing back on your home turf and get a lukewarm response you’ll know what I mean. Experiences are not a moment in time. MORE

One of the big questions Todd asked me was about the challenges facing organizations today; especially as it pertains to experience for their customers or members. What Challenges Are Facing Associations As It Pertains to Customer Experience? Understanding Data I think one big challenge organizations face in building the right member experience is in figuring out how to use the data associations already have. What does that experience feel like to the customer? MORE

How are chapter members interacting? Give chapters a dedicated space of their own where they can focus on their members and their priorities. This concentrates engagement in one area and helps your members get used to the community. MORE

About 10 minutes later the president came over to introduce himself and said he would send me a new member packet (which he never did). It soon became apparent that everyone in the room was a long-time member except for one other new member and me. MORE