Using Your Association's Private Online Community to Increase Member Retention

Using Online Community to

Increase Member Retention

Monday, March 10, 2014

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Hashtag: #ideas14 LM4

Maggie McGary, American Occupational Therapy Association

Josh Paul, Socious

Welcome

Retention Lessons From Disney

Who Are We?

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Who Are We?

Today’s Discussion

• Why Does Retention Matter

• Why Members Stay Members

• Solving Member Engagement Challenges

• How to Build to Community to Increase Member

Retention

• Takeaways and Real Steps

How Do We Prioritize Retention?

MEMBER RECRUITMENT INCREASE MEMBERS MEMBERSHIP GROWTH MEMBER RETENTION

How Do We Prioritize Retention?

INCREASE SALES INCREASE RETENTION

MEMBER RECRUITMENT INCREASE MEMBERS MEMBERSHIP GROWTH MEMBER RETENTION

Why is Member Retention Important?

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

$-

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13% Grow /0% Churn

Membership Revenue

Year Year

Members: 10,000 Average dues: $300/year

Why is Member Retention Important?

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

$-

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13% Grow /0% Churn

13% Grow /10% Churn

Membership Revenue

Year Year

Members: 10,000 Average dues: $300/year

Why is Member Retention Important?

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

$-

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13% Grow /0% Churn

13% Grow /10% Churn

13% Grow/5% Churn

Membership Revenue

Year Year

Members: 10,000 Average dues: $300/year

Why Members Stay Members

Why Members Stay Members

To Stay Connected With

Like-Minded People

Recognition and

Appreciation of

Contribution

Tangible

Return on

Investment

Member

Retention

Challenges

How Building Community Increases

Member Retention

What is an Online Community?

• THE Online Community

• OUR Online Community

• AN Online Community

What is an Online Community?

• THE Online Community

• OUR Online Community

• AN Online Community

What is an Online Community?

• THE Online Community

• OUR Online Community

• AN Online Community

Strategic Online Community Tools

Discussions/Email Listserv

Document & Media Libraries

Email Engine

Content Management &

Blogs

Event Management

Online Store / Virtual Products

Communities and Subgroups

Crowdsourcing Tools

Surveys/Polls

Aggregation & Curation

Virtual Membership

Games, Contests, Badges

Creating a Thriving Online Community

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls

Pitfall #1 Not Having Dedicated

Community Management

Pitfall #2 Giving Up Exclusivity

Pitfall #3 Confusing Public Social

Networks and Private

Online Communities

Pitfall #4 Checking the Box

Pitfall #5 Heavy-Handed Moderation

Simple Framework for

Creating a Successful Private

Online Community

Takeaway #1

Value

Takeaway #2

Ongoing Engagement

Takeaway #3

Know Your Data

Takeaway #4

Test, Measure, & Adjust

Takeaway #5

Be Patient & Lead

Next Steps

1. Track your member retention rate.

2. Know your member lifetime value.

3. Be vigilant about value.

4. Research why members stay.

5. Identify challenges to retention.

6. Map challenges to your online community strategy.

7. Create a thriving private online member community.

8. Test, measure, and adjust your plan.

Questions

Maggie McGary

Web & Social Media Administrator

American Occupational Therapy Association

[email protected]

Joshua Paul

Senior Director, Strategy & Marketing

Socious

[email protected]