Win Back Dropped Members

It’s been 90 days since a member’s anniversary date. You’ve sent three emails, two letters, made multiple phone calls and maybe even tried to stop by the business to check on the status of their membership renewal. While the chamber waits for the payment, the member continues to get benefits and may continue to do so for as long as the membership or sales professional tries to close the deal.

So how can a chamber get a dropped member back in its directory?

Cathi Hight, president of Hight Performance Group, shared ideas and strategies in a recent ACCE webinar, Win-Back Campaigns – Courting Dropped Members. Focusing sales efforts on dropped members instead of prospective members can have its benefits. “Dropped members have some perspective based on their previous experiences,” Hight said. “Targeting dropped members makes the most sense because they already know you and they already trust you.”

Hight laid out a four-step process to winning back dropped members.

Analyze and understand drops.

Hight recommended starting this process with the creation of a report of all dropped members. “I think you might be surprised to see that there are thousands,” she said. Members share a variety of reasons for dropping, from budgetary restrictions to time constraints to not enough return on investment. Hight said organizing your drop list based on the lifetime value of membership can show which former members invested the most through both dues and non-dues payments.

Target the audience.

Hight recommended concentrating efforts on dropped members from the last six to 24 months. You can also target audiences based on businesses that might be quicker to bring back, lapsed members that land in the top 20 percent of the lifetime value report or a key segment your chamber is focused on based on demographics or local industry growth. “You might them be able to prioritize that based on personal relationships with key contacts,” she said.

Plan the campaign.

“You want to have messaging that might be good for some audiences that are a little different than your overall messaging,” Hight said. Ultimately, one size does not fit all when it comes to win back messaging. Use a variety of delivery channels – email, social media, calls, visits – and integrate technology, like automated emails and a special rejoin website landing page. The focus is to serve the member, demonstrate chamber value and help the business see the opportunity. “It’s really about them and not about you,” Hight said.

Execute the plan.

“Monitoring is really important,” Hight said. “If they’re not opening those emails, then an email might not necessarily be the way to go.” Make sure you validate contact info and evaluate the outcomes.

See examples of successful win-back campaigns, along with tips to strengthen the membership lifecycle to minimize drops, in the webinar recording, available here.

Other Resources:

• Blog: The Membership Pipeline: Leads, Sales & Growth
• Blog: Membership Trends: Move Your Chamber Into the Future
• Online Learning: Membership Development
• Roundtables & Resources: Membership Development Division