Creating a Membership Retention Plan:

There’s one thing you should know about memberships: Retention is key. Do you want to build a membership retention plan for your business or community? This post will give you all the information (plus a free template) you can use to build a retention plan.

How to Create a Membership Program That People Love

A well-thought-out membership program focuses on the user. Below are 3 must-have attributes of a good membership program:

1. Be unique. First, make sure you have a good membership plan with something unique to offer to members. Tip: You can look at your competitors’ membership programs and think of what you could change to make it more attractive for your members.

2. Intuitive and easy to use. Make your membership program easy to apply and use. Members like things that feel intuitive to use and don’t involve too many steps.

3. Give more value to the user. When you think of what membership benefits you can add to your program prioritize the value to uses:

Examples of membership benefits:

• Loyalty points
• Rewards (e.g. Birthday Reward, Anniversary Reward)
• E-commerce Rewards Redemptions
• Free Trials
• Digital coupons
• Member-only deals
• Exclusive events invite
• Crypto and NFT
• Other perks

Example: Gaming communities offer exciting benefits for new members, including limited-time free membership and other perks.

How To Create Your Membership Retention Plan

Everyone knows that the secret to growing an engaged community is keeping your members happy. If you want to retain your members you should ask yourself “what is the reason that people are choosing to leave”. Surveys can help you answer this question and understand what makes your existing members happy.

Check out the Membership Retention Plan template below and use it to create your own.

Example of a Membership Retention Plan (4 Months)

Month 1 - Welcome new members and make them feel special

• Keep a list of new members’ names & emails.
• Send a welcome email to each new member.
• Post a welcome message to new members on your social media group/pages and tag them so they share it with their friends.
• Give them a welcome shout-out in your monthly newsletter.

Suggested reading: Member Onboarding 101

Month 2 - Connect existing members with newcomers

• Introduce new members to existing members.
• Initiate conversations between new members and existing ones who have the same shared interest.

Month 3 - Engage your new members

• Follow up with new members individually.
• Reach out to new members to discuss how their membership is going.
• Invite new members into conversations, meetings and events.

Month 4 - Retain your members

• Conduct short surveys and polls to find out if your new members are happy.
• Offer incentives (gift cards, promo codes) to encourage survey participation.
• Listen to feedback and improve your membership program.

Membership Retention Best Practices:

• Get to know new members
• Show value in all communications
• Make sure your membership benefits are in line with what your members expect and need
• Have regular conversations with new and existing members
• Reward members for their loyalty by sending them promotional items or gifts
• Thank and recognize each member’s contribution
• Celebrate important membership milestones (eg. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year)
• Be quick to respond to queries and have a positive attitude
• Surveys can help you find out why your members are unhappy

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