A board’s focus often leans towards membership recruitment rather than the steps that follow. Although it is important to recruit new members to grow your organization, it is equally important to make those new members feel welcomed. Creating a welcoming environment will increase member retention and could in turn help to recruit new members. New member retention increases 10% when a new member onboarding plan is implemented. (Memberclicks)
This plan, as simple or complex as you make it, is the key to growing and retaining your membership. There are a few things to keep in mind as you start to formulate a strategy.
Set goals. Why are you doing a member onboarding plan? This is an important question to ask yourself as you begin the process. Setting clear and measurable goals will allow you to look back and see if the work was worth it, if the plan is working, or if things should be tweaked.
Get started ASAP! In a world of instant gratification, you can never be too quick to reach out to your new members. Even if the first message they receive is automated, you are moving in the right direction. Verify that you received their application or membership and welcome them to the organization.
Add some variety. We all know what it is like to receive email after email from companies and organizations. Find creative ways to reach your new members. Consider starting with a welcome email, then sending a direct mail letter, or a phone call from one peer to another. Mixing up who the messaging is coming from is also a great way to introduce the member to a variety of contacts within the organization.
Make it personal. There is nothing less enticing than an email that clearly went to everyone. Including the member’s name is one way to increase their chance of reading the message. If it feels like an automated message, it will get thrown in the trash very quickly.
Take personal to another level. Aside from personalizing messages with specific names, understand the different groups within your audience. Create buckets for members such as first years, young professionals, large companies, etc. Personalizing the messages to these buckets will help to ensure members are actually getting what they need out of the organization rather than everything it has to offer.
Start looking into what you onboarding plan currently consists of and work from there. The sooner you can get something in place, the more members you will retain in the long run.