Membership Retention

Since August 1, I’ve had the opportunity to work with the Florida Farm Bureau Association. This is an association with approximately 145,000 members, with the goal of growing to 155,000 members by October 2016.

For 11 years, I’ve had the honor of consulting with Florida’s Harley-Davidson® dealers. I’ve conducted ambitious cooperative marketing programs together with training for all departments of motorcycle dealerships (sales, parts, service, accessories and general management.) While it may appear from the outside that the Harley-Davidson® brand is as strong as ever, if you’ve been following the stock price of the … Continued

I just finished a conversation with a membership marketer. His monthly churn rate is 10 percent. This is the percentage of members who are canceling their memberships each month. When I reviewed the numbers with him, I helped him discover that 60 percent of his members are dropping out within four months. Yes, you read that correctly, 60 percent! And, … Continued

In the last four weeks I’ve only been at my desk in Tallahassee for four days. I’ve been putting on the miles lately. All so I can learn how to better teach you how to retain your members.

What’s more important for you? To recruit more new members or to work on retaining the members you have before you add more new members? Many tell me that they want to add new members now, and then as they grow, they’ll improve their member retention. You know what, in some situations this makes perfect sense. I’ve been working with … Continued

Today’s social media gives all of your members, current and former, a megaphone. Fair or not, they post. And increasingly, even your affluent members, especially the ones who have the education and the time, know where to look. Plus, you have the traditional rumor mill. One friend asking another, “Have you heard about that guy who published that book?” “Yeah. … Continued

Each night during my week in Ireland, I shared a room with Perry Marshall and Bill Hammond. We stayed in three different places, and at each one, the three of us shared a room. On the fourth night, as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, I heard water running. I didn’t think much of it; I figured … Continued

There’s no one in a better position to help people than membership marketers. You are giving people the tools and motivation to help them improve their lives. I want to congratulate you and reward you with a secret of how to make your membership program grow. Popular radio hosts take on an advocacy position for their audience; they discuss a … Continued