Your new member’s first impression of your association will likely stick forever and impact their entire membership experience. While much of your association’s effort will go into acquiring new members, it is vital that you also take the time to develop an appropriate member onboarding process.
RELATED: Seven Top Tips for Association Member Onboarding
Improve membership retention
The early stages of a membership experience are where many members will ultimately determine how much value they get from it and if they are likely to renew their membership when the time comes. The better their early experiences, the more likely they will remain a member and improve your membership retention rates.
Increase advocacy from your members
According to the 2021 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, word of mouth remains the top channel for association member acquisition. Therefore, you should ensure that your members have good early experiences to inspire advocacy and referrals for your association, ultimately leading to higher member acquisition.
Seamlessly integrate new members into the community
Community building is one of the most important aspects of high-value associations post-COVID-19 – however, to continue to thrive, they need new blood. Your onboarding process is where you can ensure new members know how to access and utilise the community to contribute to and receive value from it.
READ MORE: What do association members want?
Encourage member engagement
Frequent member engagement plays a prominent role in membership renewals – those who do not feel engaged with the association and broader community will be less likely to renew. By encouraging engagement right from the start of their membership experience, you can improve the retention rates of your members and make them more valuable members of your community and the wider industry. Once again, the member onboarding process can significantly impact your association’s long-term membership retention.
Members are integral to the growth and success of an association, so you should develop an appropriate member onboarding process to give them the best start. At Congrex, we are passionate about delivering exceptional member experiences to retain and grow your association memberships. Get in touch with our team to explore the possibilities for your association.
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Congrex Switzerland is an internationally operating agency delivering customised solutions. This encompasses the overall organisation of conferences and meetings, including the management of hotel rooms and strategic consultancy. Annually Congrex Switzerland organises approximately 45 events with over 73’000 delegates. Amongst our clients are international associations, governmental organisations, and corporations.
