By Charity Westfall, Manager, Telemarketing Services
Membership renewal rates dropping? Members not responding to email or mail? First-year members not sticking around? Let’s have a conversation!
Many people feel that live outbound telemarketing doesn’t work any longer due to all the “spam” calls out there, but that is just not true. We still see strong contact rates, and when a personalized call is made at the appropriate time, members appreciate the reminder and renew.
Here are a few strategies and insights that might help:
Timing is Key: As with any outreach, it is important to know when to reach out to your members by phone. This is different for every organization, but it is always best to reach out sooner rather than later. Putting that personal touch in the month of expiration or during the grace period produces the biggest return because often members have simply overlooked it.
Understand the Reasons for Nonrenewal: It's crucial to identify why members are not renewing. This can be due to a lack of engagement, perceived value, or simply that they are no longer in the field. Whatever it may be, knowing the reason is half the battle, and organizations don’t get that information from mail, email or even social media platforms. A simple phone call and conversation does provide this valuable data.
Engagement and Value Proposition: Getting your members to engage is proven to increase the chance that they will renew because they see the value of membership. Live outbound calls to new members to welcome them and ask them questions such as “Have you been able to join your local chapter? Update your profile? Check out live webinars?” are just a few ways to spark the new member to engage and allow your organization insight into what new members are and are not doing.
By implementing these strategies, you can start to address the issues of dropping renewal rates and low engagement. Remember, the key is to maintain open lines of communication with your members and continuously adapt to their needs and preferences.
Have questions? Reach out to the experts at MGI! Contact Jana Darling, President at JDarling@MarketingGeneral.com or 703-706-0349.