Member Retention

Webster’s Dictionary defines the following:

Member – one of the individuals composing a group.

Membership – the state or status of being a member or the body of members.

Retention – the act of retaining.

We are all members composing a group called NALS.  Each member is a vital part of our membership.  It is important to keep our organization alive; to do so we must practice the act of retaining.  The following is an article written by Elizabeth G. Wells, PP, PLS, TSC.

With the current economic downturn, members and their employers think about how they spend every dollar and the value they receive in return.  It is vital to demonstrate real value for those dollars.  When it is time to renew, it is up to you to remind the members what they get for their membership dollars.

There is no secret to membership retention.  What works for one chapter or locale may not work at all elsewhere.  Local chapters need to know who their members are, what their members want and expect, and find a way to meet their needs.  Chapter activities should be flexible but responsiveness to questions and desires should be swift. 

Member retention begins before they are even a member of your chapter – it begins with your first meeting.  You must tell them what they get for their dues at that meeting.  Members should hear from you on a regular basis – in the manner they prefer to hear from you.  Be sure to confirm they are getting the benefits you discussed during the initial meeting.  Are they still getting e-mail?  When a firm or individual tweaks their SPAM software it is not uncommon for an address to not be recognized and the e-mail doesn’t get through.

A good time to remind members of upcoming meetings is when you call or e-mail them.  Encourage them to visit your website (if your chapter has one).  Recognize members on their anniversaries – perhaps at 5 year intervals.  If you have space on your website or in your newsletter you might want to include the names of the tenured members with the specific anniversary.  Provide a list of birthdays in your local publication.  Send a birthday card on their special day.  Let the members know they mean more to your chapter then just the amount of their annual dues.

Members move or change their e-mail address but don’t always think to change their contact information within their chapter.  When that happens, they no longer get the notices of meetings or newsletters or any other communications.  Your chapter has to have, or find a way, to make notification of changes easy.

Too often we hear “what can we do to get members involved and active?”  Easy answer -- ask them for help.  Provide a list of committees and what each committee does.  Ask for a little bit of their time.  Everyone is busy, overloaded, overwhelmed, but working together lessens the load for everyone.  Give members ownership of the task they volunteer for.  Recognize them publicly for their efforts.  Allow a member to take ownership and be willing to accept new and different ways of getting the job done.

Informing members about what their chapter is doing allows them to learn the true value of the work of the association and reinforces the value of membership for their dollars.  Member retention can be very difficult but you must not give up.  There may be a struggle to keep members feeling the need to “buy” membership.  It is important to react to the changing climate, add new programs to the already successful programs your chapter has.  Share the goals and objectives for your chapter on a regular basis, provide something every member wants (it doesn’t have to be the same for all members – we all have different wants), listen to what your members are saying, and develop a plan to deliver.  Don’t be afraid to abandon programs that no longer work.  Embrace new ideas and explore new options, announce the goal for any new programs and include a timeline to reach that goal.  Just keep trying, testing new programs, and you may see an increase in your member retention.