5 Tips for Increasing Your Membership Organization's Renewal Rate
5 Tips for Increasing Your Membership Organization's Renewal Rate
Save money and increase renewals with these pointers 
If your membership organization's renewal rate is low, you're probably spending most of your time acquiring new members just to replace the members you're losing. In order to achieve growth, you must renew members early and often and combine your membership acquisition program with aggressive membership renewal efforts. Here are 5 tips for increasing your membership organization's renewal rate.
1. Start renewal efforts early
You'll see a significant increase in response if you start your renewal series early. According to the 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, organizations that start their renewal efforts five months or more before expiration are more likely to see an increase in renewal rates. Typically, membership organizations don't start the renewal process till one or two months prior to expiration.
2. Offer an early renewal discount
Offer an early renewal discount to give members an incentive to act promptly. You can send out early renewal notices via email, giving members a chance to renew before you incur the costs of printing and postage that are associated with sending out paper renewal forms.
3. Vary messages and images on renewal forms
Vary the messages and images you use on renewal forms, depending on who is receiving the form and at what step they are in the renewal series. Highlight unique benefits and special offers on each form and use different graphics and imagery to get people's attention. Otherwise, your mailings will start to seem redundant. Make sure your renewal messages are consistent with your acquisition messages and that the copy on your renewal forms is selling what members originally bought, particularly if they've only been members for a year. Additionally, keep the offer simple, so you don't confuse recipients.
4. Implement a higher frequency renewal program
According to the aforementioned 2012 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, associations that have between 7 and 15 contacts in their renewal series are more likely to see their renewal rates increase. The rule of thumb is to keep sending out mailings until a response would no longer be profitable. Continue your renewal efforts for at least three months after a member's expiration date. Renewal notices perform well even six months after the expiration date.
5. Test methods and offers
Effective renewal methods include phone, mail, and email. If your membership organization sends out an email newsletter each month, add a renewal reminder to the newsletter. If you have a print magazine, stick reminder cards in it. On your website, add a pop-up reminder to ensure that all visitors remember to renew their membership. Test different kinds of offers, such as discounts for a two-year commitment, to see how they perform.
Take your Membership Marketing to the Next Level with efelle
efelle offers a complete range of services designed to help membership organizations increase their renewal rates and achieve success. Whether your membership organization website needs a complete overhaul or you'd like to enhance your membership marketing strategy with online marketing strategies like SEO, social media marketing, and PPC, we've got you covered. Give our membership marketing specialists a ring at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to set up a free consultation.
See Also:
8 Tips for Creating a Successful Membership Marketing Strategy
5 Key Components of Website Design for Chambers of Commerce