I joined a professional association once. Over the course of several years and thousands of dollars, this is what I had received for joining: a useful PowerPoint on writing press releases.
That’s all. Obviously, that relationship didn’t last too long. The press releases I’ve constructed since are better, I suppose. Worth my investment into the organization? Eh, nope.
Ask someone why they join a professional association and they’ll offer up networking, educational opportunities, certifications, or representation. All important and vital functions of any association.
Then, ask someone why they won’t renew a membership, or why they’re not interested in joining at all, and they’ll tell you it’s because they didn’t see the personal value in it. There’s just not enough in it for them to justify the expenditure.
Ever walked away from a brand you love with a sour taste in your mouth after joining their loyalty program? It’s telling that while consumers belong to an average of thirteen loyalty programs, they are only active in about six of those. Clearly, a large percentage of programs are dropping the ball when it comes to connecting with their members.
So then, what is it members expect from their loyalty programs? Well, for starters how about valuable rewards (not a logo’d beer koozy) that are easily redeemable (not points that expire or take forever to accrue before they can even be used).
Let’s take a look at what the world’s best loyalty programs have in common. If you examine the most successful programs – and probably the ones you are active with – they’ll have these four common traits:
Getting free stuff is great, but…
There’s always a little skepticism that comes with a “free” price tag. What’s wrong with it? Does the quality level match the price? How good can it really be if it’s free?
You get the idea – generally, the lower the price the less you expect from the product or service. So, maybe some things really are worth paying for?
The idea of a free price tag has even higher stakes when it comes to businesses. Free stuff can be risky for a business, especially if it’s going in front of customers. At risk is more than just a few dollars - the cost of reputation and customer perception can be enormous.
Our advice? Buyer beware. If it has your brand on it, then it’s worth an investment.
In a perfect world new members join your organization with an understanding of your purpose and your value to them.
They renew forever and ever and refer their friends who become loyal members themselves. Everyone's happy and dancing and singing and sharing candy and life is just awesome.
The real world obviously works a bit differently.
In the real world there are dozens of reasons why someone might join your organization. Once they've joined, each member has dozens of reasons why they might or might not retain their membership.
In the real world they often whine, complain, bicker and most definitely do not share their candy.
This is reality, where membership organizations fight a constant battle to keep members engaged and focused amidst a million other priorities and distractions.
Member engagement is how you're going to earn the loyalty you need to thrive and grow.
What you're looking to do is build avenues for engagement that any member can connect with.
Not all of them will attend live events.
Not all of them will network with fellow members.
Not all of them will ever visit your website even once.
None of those mean they're not engaged and active. None of those mean they won't renew their membership or tell their peers to join.
You can still build excitement and action with every member.
It just takes energy, a lot of effort, and some creativity.
We're here to help.
