create a retention plan that really works

Create a Retention Plan that Really Works


Explore key elements of an effective retention plan

© 2017 Hight Performance Group

Cathi Hight •  President of Hight Performance Group •  SVP of Growth Strategy & Investor Relations

for the Greater Austin Chamber •  Developer of the Member Retention Kit and

A New Approach to Tiered Membership •  National instructor for the U.S. Chamber’s

Institute for Organization Management •  Previous Career Highlights:

  National FastTrac Entrepreneurship Program Manage – Kauffman Foundation

  VP of Operations for Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii

  Regional Sales & Marketing Manage – Dean Foods   Regional Sales & Marketing Manager – Dole Foods

•  Is a member of the:   Association Chamber of Commerce Executives

(ACCE)   American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)   Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)

2 Create a Retention Plan that Really Works © 2017 Hight Performance Group


Session Objectives   Identify what drives your retention outcomes   Discover how to conduct a retention audit   Explore the components of an effective retention

plan   Discover strategies to recruit, engage and renew

more members

3 © 2017 Hight Performance Group


Session Agenda   Why Retention is a Challenge   What a Retention Plan is Not   What’s Wrong with the Old Retention Model   Key Components of a Retention Plan

  Situational Analysis: Conduct a Retention Audit   Feedback: Collect Meaningful Feedback from

Members   Alignment: Develop Retention Goals, Strategies,

Tactics and Budget   Tracking: Measure and Manage the Retention Plan



PARTNER ACTIVITY

What would you say is the primary reason why retention is a challenge for your organization?

© 2017 Hight Performance Group 5


Why Retention is a Challenge

  More competition than ever before for members   Members don’t perceive value or ROI for investments   Staff is too busy to focus on retention (it’s everyone’s job

and no one’s job)   Focus is on recruitment than on retention   High turnover with first-year members   Increasingly diverse needs of members   Retention initiatives are implemented reactively and/or

too late in the cycle



This is Not a Retention Plan!

  A list of what we offer to members (e.g., programs, benefits, discounts, other “features”)

  Pleas from Board or other members to create guilt to renew

  Creative, clever or threatening letters   Collection notices for five months



What’s Wrong with the Old Retention Model?

  We make assumptions:   Our members value what we do/offer   Our members renew due to civil service or guilt   Our members perceive us to be doing the right things (e.g.,

advocacy, events, training, saving them time and/or money)   We believe they owe us next year’s dues

  We invest most resources too late in the cycle   We keep using our old retention approach



We Need a Strategic Approach to Member Retention

Here’s What to Change



The Ongoing Membership Cycle



A Retention Plan is Strategic

  Similar to a strategic plan   Conduct Situational Analysis

  Retention Audit (trends, patterns)   Member Feedback

  Set Retention Goals   Develop strategies to achieve

goals   Identify resources for success   Implement tactics   Monitor outcomes, make

course corrections



SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

What’s Driving Our Retention Outcomes?


Create a Retention Plan that Really Works 13

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005 2006 2007

Rete

ntio

n Ra

te

Year

Overall Retention by Year


Overall Retention Rates Don’t Tell the Whole Story


Conduct a Retention Audit   Identify retention rates, strength and challenge

areas by running segmented reports, such as:   Retention by industry sector (NAICS)   Retention by size of organization (FTE)   Retention by length of time as member   Retention by date established (length of time in

business)   Retention by Dues Amount   Retention by other demographic variables to

understand specific trends



Drops by NAICS Over last 3-5 Years



Drops by FTEs



Drops by Length of Time as Member


0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 year 2 years 3 years 4-5 years 6-10 years 11-25 years 26 - 50 years

More Than 50 years

Drop Rate by Membership Tenure

Drop Rate


Drops by Years in Business



Retention Trends 1st Year Members

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Rete

ntio

n Ra

te

1st Anniversary Year

Overall First-Year Retention Rates

2005 Retention

2006 Retention

2007 Retention


Create a Retention Plan that Really Works © 2017 Hight Performance Group

Retention Rates

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1 2 to 4 5 to 10 11 to 25 26-50 51-100 100+

Number of Employees

% R

etai

ned

@ 1

Yr

...

Retention Trends 1st Year Members (FTE)

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Benchmark Comparisons With Other Peer Organizations

46.4%

•  82% of non-‐renewals had < 10 FTE with average dues of $765

•  75% of all new members recruited in 2015 have < 10 FTE with dues < $1,000

© 2017 Hight Performance Group Create a Retention Plan that Really Works 21


PARTNER ACTIVITY Two Questions to Answer:

1.  Who Do You Have the Best Retention with and What Do They Have in Common?

2.  Who Do You Have the Worst Retention with and What Do They Have in Common?



SET YOUR RETENTION GOALS

What Do You Want to Achieve?



Retention Goals: What Are Our Desired Outcomes?

  Which member segment should you focus on?

  What specific results are you hoping to achieve?

  What will you do differently?

  Sample retention goals (SMART):

  Increase our 2017 overall retention rate by 5%, from 82–87%

  Increase the average retention rate of 1st-year members 15% by

12/30/18 from 50 – 65%



IDENTIFY STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS

Common Retention Strategies



Strategy #1: Improve 1st-Year Retention

  Recruit for retention and provide incentives

  Create a 12-month onboarding plan that includes any of these activities (depending on resources):   Welcome letter   Membership Packet   Member Orientation (in person, over phone,

webinar, or on web site)   1st Quarter Touch (visit, call by staff or volunteer)   2nd Quarter Touch (visit, call by staff or volunteer)   3rd Quarter Touch (visit, call by staff or

volunteer)   Outreach, as needed, before receiving renewal   Thank you for renewal



Get New Members Off to a Great Start



Strategy #2: Invest Resources for Retention



Dedicated Staff to Serve as Member Relations Manager   Manage volunteer retention resources   Coordinate outreach contact to members   Manage member recognition program   Run Membership Reports to Monitor Retention

  Retention audits (annually, semi-annually)   Review retention/drop rates by FTE, industry, year joined,

year business established)   New members—join date less than 90 days (monthly)   Members who are 6 months from renewal (monthly)   Engagement reports using the participation fields

(monthly)



Ambassadors as Resources   Outreach contact to members

(calls, visits, notes, e-mails)   Meet & Greet at events   Postings on virtual venues

(start interactions, respond to interactions)

  Onboarding “buddies”   Connecting members to other

members   Providing testimonials on the “value of membership”

  Collecting testimonials (calls, visits, capturing during events)

  Recruiting new members



Member Relations Council

  Support for membership staff   Conduct 6-month membership

audits   Analyze engagement reports

and identify actions to take   Outreach to dropped members   Recognize members

  Anniversary Blitzes   Recruit new members   Report at Board meetings



Board Members for Strategic Purpose   Contact top investors

  Semi-Annual Outreach   Talk about current business

issues and Association’s role   Speak at events to share the

Association’s strategic direction, accomplishments, and ask for support

  Facilitate leadership round tables

  Post on virtual venues   Recognize and reward

members at special events   Send out welcome or “thank

you for renewing” letters



Retention is Everyone’s Job   Include retention activities in

everyone’s job description   Decide how different team

members can help to execute your Touch Plan or support retention activities

  Create incentives to achieve retention goals

  Recognize and reward team members for their contributions and for going the ‘extra mile’



Strategy #3: Increase Engagement


  Consider multiple ways to increase engagement:   Effective Communication

  Engage in two-way communication with members during the year   Create more awareness of what is offered, how to access benefits,

and share our goals and accomplishments   Develop and use value propositions that matter to members

  Proactive Engagement Activities   Personally invite members to leverage benefits that align with them   Use social media platforms to educate, engage and create

interactions amongst members   Monitor engagement levels and identify members-at-risk

  Increase the Value of Membership   Share how value is about VOI (I=investment, influence,

involvement, information)   Let members tout the benefits (e.g., interviews, testimonials)   Realign programs and benefits to meet members’ evolving needs


Strategy #4: Monitor Retention Drivers   Identify what you will measure and monitor:

  How will you measure communication effectiveness?   How will you measure engagement?   How will you measure members’ perceived value on VOI?

  Determine how often you will measure results:   How long will it take to see initial results?   How often will you check for changes?

  Consider how you will manage outcomes:   What will you do if the outcomes aren’t favorable?   What options will you exercise, if needed?

  Use dashboards to provide current and important information   What do you want to know on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis?   What type of information is important for you to track on retention?   Which reports do you need for your dashboards?

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Sample Dashboards (TY Weblink)

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How Do We Improve the Cycle?


  Acquisition   Effective value-propositions focused on

benefits, not features   Special promotions, incentives   Recruit for retention

  Integration o  Get new members engaged quickly o  Provide additional resources to onboard new

members successfully   Engagement

  Provide multiple and diverse opportunities for members to be part of sub-communities based on interests

  Monitor engagement levels and target members with lower engagement levels

  Renewal & Reinstatement   Make it easy to renewal   Make it automatic   Offer renewal incentives   Stop providing benefits with lapsed

memberships   Focus on win-back campaigns   Continue to market to past members


Session Summary   A retention plan is strategic, proactive, long-term

and requires resources   The overall retention rate is not enough, the

retention audit tells the real story about drivers   Develop goals, strategies and resources that will

drive positive outcomes   The Membership Cycle is an ongoing process   What will you do to change your retention rate?

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Retention is the Key to Your Chamber’s Growth

“It never ceases to amaze me that companies spend millions to attract new customers (people they don’t know) and spend next to nothing to keep the ones they’ve got. Seems to me the budgets should be reversed.”

– Jeffrey Gitomer, Customer Service is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless



Let Us Know How We Can Help

•  Contact me at (512) 354-7219 or at [email protected]

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create a retention plan that really works

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