Custom Memberships
What would happen if there was a dedicated person within your membership department whose entire focus was to create custom membership packages for your members and prospects?
Custom memberships? No way? Read on.
Let’s take a look at package membership categories and what these offer your prospective members. ASAE/The Center have been offering Circle Club memberships for several years now. They offer membership packages at various price points depending on how many staff members need to participate. The package includes annual dues for a number of people PLUS registation for Annual or Great Ideas, all of the virtual seminars, other education programs offered through CenterU. It is really easy to look at the programming calendar and realize that the minimum (bronze) level membership of $2,000 is a great deal if you participate in a fair number of CenterU programs.
The eLearning Guild just instituted similar types of membership categories in that based on what you want access to depends on what you pay. They have four membership categories ranging from free to $1,695 per year. Each gives you progressively more access to online resources and educational program.
Both of these programs are a great step in the right direction. But what if, at the time of the renewal, your membership director analyzes the member’s activity for the year and crafts the foundation for a customized membership. Then calls the member to consult with them on their needs for the coming year, finalizes a custom package based on member feedback and renews that member for the coming year? And what if that “customization” provides at 20% or greater increase in dues revenue?
I would argue that more often than not three things will happen in this process. (1) your membership director will begin to see membership benefit trends, (2) members appreciate and highly value the personal attention, and (3) members begin to take advantage of a wider range of programs and services by the association.
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