Membership Lifecycle

Three decades of partnering with associations and other membership organizations has given Marketing General Incorporated unique insights into the workings of successful membership growth management.

The people of MGI have drawn on their experience to develop a comprehensive membership marketing model we call the MGI Membership Lifecycle.

The Lifecycle helps organizations appreciate how an integrated membership marketing methodology can increase success in finding and keeping members.

The MGI Membership Lifecycle segments the membership experience into five consecutive steps:

Awareness … when prospects first discover you.

Awareness is developed through targeted messaging and multichannel brand recognition strategies. Go-to-market research and tactical analysis frame awareness campaigns that build recognition and generate new relationships through information exchange and lead generation.

Recruitment … when prospects choose to try you.

Recruitment utilizes many marketing disciplines that are consistently tested to discover the best performing strategies. This merges market segmentation, creative development, and value driven offers to maximize returns in the most cost-effective ways.

Engagement … when new members feel they belong with you.

Engagement is key to high retention rates and sustained membership growth. Successful engagement programs convert new members into active users of benefits and encourage involvement to build member loyalty. Engagement programs are a crucial lead-in to Renewal.

Renewal … when lapsing members decide whether to keep you.

Renewal is a confirmation of the value members feel they have received from their organization. It is a vote of confidence … or no confidence. Renewals are a critically necessary foundation for organizational growth that demand close attention to process and member communications.

Reinstatement … when former members agree to return to you.

Reinstatement programs offer opportunities for lapsed members to reconsider the decision to join when presented with fresh messaging and perhaps new offers. Reinstatements are a regular component of membership growth programs that every organization should have in place to bring the Membership Lifecycle full circle.

The MGI Membership Lifecycle is a framework to design and implement customized solutions that maximize recruitment, engagement, and retention to optimize membership growth.