Renewals are where the revenue leaks
Members do not usually decide to leave. They forget to renew, their card expires, or the reminder went to an old address. Each of those is preventable.
A membership organisation that fixes its renewal process usually recovers more revenue than any recruitment campaign would produce, for a fraction of the effort.
What the renewal process needs
- Reminders at sensible intervals before expiry, not after
- Card expiry warnings before the payment is attempted
- Retry logic on failed payments, with notification
- One-click renewal that does not require a login they have forgotten
- A grace period before access is removed
Member self-service reduces admin
- Update contact details and preferences
- Change payment method
- Download receipts and certificates
- See their own membership history
- Manage communication preferences properly
Every one of those is an administrative contact that stops happening, and members prefer it to emailing an office.
Categories and rules get complicated
Concessionary rates, corporate memberships covering several individuals, life members, honorary members, students who graduate into full membership. Most organisations have several of these.
Modelling them properly at the start avoids a system where half the members are handled as exceptions.
Communications and consent
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| Preferences recorded per channel | Members choose how to hear from you |
| Consent dated and evidenced | Compliance |
| Segmented sending | Relevance |
| Unsubscribe honoured immediately | Legal and practical |
| A record of what was sent | Answering queries |