The document outlines best practices for building a member retention plan for chambers of commerce and business associations, emphasizing the importance of creating a structured approach to maintain membership. It details various strategies and action items over specific timeframes, including welcome emails, follow-up communications, and ongoing engagement activities. Additionally, it highlights the significance of using management software to streamline retention tasks and the need for personal touch in member interactions.

1. LEARN STRATEGIES AND
TECHNIQUES THAT GET MEMBERS
TO STAY!
Best Practices to
Building A Member
and Retention Plan
JANINE SPRINGER, IOM, CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER

2. About WebLink
• 750+ Chambers of
Commerce and Business
Associations
• Established in 1996
• SaaS Company (Software as
a Service)
• Based in Indianapolis,
Indiana
• 55 Employees
• 94% Customer Retention
RateBEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN #WebLink

3. About WebLink

4. My Story
ONCE UPON A TIME….
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

5. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
Question?
#WebLink

6. Survey Results
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
REASONS FOR JOINING

7. Plan & Strategy
WHY?
•Important to create a plan
to keep your members!
•Accreditation requirements
•It is cheaper to keep your
current members than to
look for new ones!
MEMBERSHIP RETENTION
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

8. Plan & Strategy
WHO?
Choose a staff person
who…
•has the time contact your
members
•has the demeanor to work
with your members
•can follow a process
MEMBERSHIP RETENTION
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

9. Plan & Strategy
HOW?
•Use the tools in
WebLink Connect® or
other Association
Management Software to
keep your retention tasks at
your fingertips!
MEMBERSHIP RETENTION
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

10. REMEMBER:
A plan is not a “guarantee” of
renewal, but sometimes
goodwill is more important!
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

11. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
Let’s get started
planning…
#WebLink

12. Within 24 hours of…
 “Welcome Email”- sent encouraging
member to visit website members-
only area via email with login
credentials
 Member added to new member
section of website for 60 days
 Member added to weekly
email/communication lists (WebLink
Connect utilizes Affiliations)
 Schedule subsequent tasks via
Project Template
 Member listed in new member section
of monthly newsletter
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

13. Within 2-3 days of…
 Check to see if member has accessed Members Only
Area yet
 If not accessed –member contacted to encourage use
and extend invitation to next event
 If accessed – contact member to answer any questions
about Members Only section or other benefits
 Survey sent through communications tool asking for join
reason and track involvement to make sure they are
receiving and utilizing the benefits important to them
 Graph these for reporting/marketing staff
 Make the communication specific to what they said they
wanted
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

14. Within 2-3 weeks of…
 Administrative staff – calls
member to schedule ribbon
cutting
 Staff inputs ribbon cutting
date and time onto social
media sites (Facebook,
Twitter, Ambassador site,
SMS text message system)
 Member mailed an
invitation to an upcoming
Ambassador Committee
lunch meeting
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

15. Within 30 days of…
 Member receives
handwritten note from
salesperson with invitation
to next Member
Orientation
 Ambassador or
salesperson delivers new
member
packet/membership
plaque
 Member receives welcome
letter from President/CEO
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

16. Within 30-60 days of…
 Member receives
personalized welcome
letter from Chairman of the
Board on company
letterhead
 Ribbon cutting photo
delivered by Ambassador
 Ribbon cutting photo
published in monthly
newsletter and on
organizations/associations
website and social media
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

17. Within 3 months of…
 Administrative staff
mails another post card
to check in with member
and encourage event
attendance
 Postcard includes listing
of calendar of events
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

18. Within 4 months of…
 Account executive
(sales person) calls to
discuss upcoming
events, referral reports
and encourages
attendance at Member
Orientation (if has not
already attended)
 Member Orientation –
used to showcase
benefits of membership,
website and staff
introductions
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

19. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
Question?
#WebLink

20. Within 6 months of…
 Staff sends a reminder
email or places a call to
encourage member to
log into Members-Only
section on website to
verify profile information
and review referral
report
 Important to keep
member information up
to date!
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

21. Within 8 months of…
 Staff places a retention
call to new and
renewing (one year)
members to thank them
for membership
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

22. Within 10 months of…
 Member receives renewal letter and membership dues
invoice (sent out during 10th month of membership)
 Letter outlines all the organization has done
 Includes information organization will continue to do for
them!
 Bullet points of information
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

23. After 1 year…
 After renewal for first year received, a thank you post
card is mailed
 Encourages continued support
 Offer a special for 2nd year of membership
 Downloadable marketing booklet
 Complementary expo ticket
 Early-bird pricing on major event/item
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

24. After 2 years…
 Continue to encourage support via
weekly emails
 Personal phone call or member
visit for ALL year 2 members made
by staff
 Encourage engaged members to
create testimonials for video and
print and locate on organization
website
 Promote additional engagement
via social media and blogs
 Encourage “sharing” of information
to others (members or not)
MEMBER JOINING
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

25. Tools of Success
A FEW ITEMS YOU’LL NEED FOR THE JOURNEY
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

26. HTML Templates
 Tool to quickly set up
recurring communication
with membership
 Easily created
 Can be as “fancy” as
you can create
 Contact records tracked
(WLC)
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

27. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
Downloads
TEMPLATE #1
Example of a New
Member Join Email
http://bit.ly/wlemails

28. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
Downloads
TEMPLATE #2
Example of an
Ambassador Invite
Email
http://bit.ly/wlemails

29. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
Downloads
TEMPLATE #3
Example of a Letter
from Board
Chairperson
http://bit.ly/wlemails

30. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
Downloads
TEMPLATE #4
Example of a Letter
from President/CEO
http://bit.ly/wlemails

31. AMS SETUP
 HTML templates for letters set up
 Project Templates can be created to automatically set
up tasks
 Contacts can be automatically added to member profile
from project/task area
 Contact Types set up for reporting
 Referrals automatically added to member profile
 Referral reports can be generated and emailed
 Add affiliations to sort members for communication
IMPORTANT!
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

32. Survey Results
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
REASONS FOR JOINING

33. Project Template

34. Referral Reports
Your AMS referral
report is a valuable
tool to show
membership ROI
and retain
members.
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

35. Affiliations
 Allows you to parse/filter your profiles by
using affiliations
 Can be added in mass
 Easy to add in “To” field in communication
tool
 Unlimited number can be setup
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

36. RECAP:
Create strategy to retain members
Utilize staff person who is “right for
the job”
Use database tools to help manage
those tasks – easily update as needed
Know what your retention % is – set
goals
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

37. WebLink Connect
 ONE web-based
centralized
database
 Prospects,
members, non-
members and all
reps in same
system
 Financials, events,
email, committees,
website, reporting
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink
ASSOCIATION SOFTWARE

38.  Simple to drag and drop
content
 Responsive website
design
 Automatically adjusts for
any screen
 Fully integrated
database and website
WebLink CMS
SELECT
WEBSITE MANAGEMENT TOOL
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
#WebLink

39. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING A MEMBER AND RETENTION
PLAN
Question?
#WebLink

40. Janine Springer, IOM
Customer Success Manager
Phone: 317-872-3909 x173
janine.springer@weblinkinternational.com
WebLink International
Toll-free: 1-877-231-4970
sales@weblinkinternational.com