Welcome to the next post in the ‘From Chaos to Control’ series! Today, we’re looking at a challenge faced by many membership-based organisations: Managing Memberships Effectively. Whether you’re dealing with subscriptions, associations, clubs, or ongoing service contracts, trying to keep everything running smoothly can be a huge hassle.

But there’s a better way! Let’s break down how you can transform your membership management from chaotic to controlled, using your CRM.

If you missed the earlier articles in the series, jump over and have a look:

From Chaos to Control: A Continuum

Here’s how the journey might look as you improve your membership management processes:

  1. Just Starting Out (Manual Processes):You’re tracking memberships through spreadsheets or even paper. Communication is inconsistent, and keeping records up-to-date is a challenge. This mainly works well if a lot of your activities are in-person.
    When you need to move up: If member numbers (and their expectations) increase, or you are offering more online services.
  2. Finding Your Feet (Basic Systems):You’re starting to use a CRM to keep track of members, send out manual renewal reminders, and communicate with groups via basic email lists.
    When you need to move up: This can work for a long time for organisations where activities are in person or quite decentralised, or when many core activities are supported by operational systems. My community football club is here, and that is the right place for us! But again, if your member expectations, particularly for online services, are for more than just a few emails, you might need to be at the next level.
  3. Building Momentum (Some Automation):You’ve implemented automated renewal reminders and some self-service options for members to update their details or renew online. You’re also starting to track engagement levels, usually by having an integrated membership platform that provides your online services.
    When you need to move up: If member numbers (and their expectations increase) or you are offering more online services. You might be noticing that member administration is starting to overwhelm value creation and retention rates might be lacklustre.
  4. Well-Oiled Machine (Mostly Automated):Your CRM handles renewals, membership communication, and engagement tracking with minimal effort from you. You can generate reports that show satisfaction levels, renewal rates, and engagement trends.
    When you need to move up: If membership is your bread and butter, and you have the scope and volume to justify full automation. If a 1% improvement retention rates will pay for a lot of software, then you would consider going even further.
  5. Full Automation (Tailored Efficiency):AI tools predict which members are at risk of leaving and recommend personalised outreach. Renewals and engagement are fully streamlined and continuously improving.

Key Membership Management Processes to Automate

For effective membership management, here are some specific processes you can automate:

  1. Member Onboarding
  2. Renewal Reminders & Management
  3. Communication & Engagement
  4. Membership Reporting & Analysis
  5. Personalised Outreach & Retention

If managing memberships feels like a constant struggle, it’s time to bring some order to the chaos. Want to chat about how to set up effective membership management processes for your business? Book a free 15-minute call with me, and I’ll help you figure out the right tools and approaches to make it all run smoothly. Click here to book your call.

  1. Member Onboarding

    • Just Starting Out: Members are onboarded manually through emails or phone calls. No setup needed.
    • Finding Your Feet: Basic welcome emails are sent using templates. Manual data entry is still required.
      Setup Needed: CRM setup for standardised member profiles and simple automated emails to get members started.
    • Building Momentum: Automated welcome sequences guide new members through the onboarding process.
      Setup Needed: Create automated workflows for onboarding emails, resource sharing, and initial follow-ups.
    • Well-Oiled Machine: Personalised onboarding based on member type or interests. Automated progress tracking and follow-ups.
      Setup Needed: Add on segmentation tools, dynamic content, and automated task generation.
    • Full Automation: AI-driven insights personalise the onboarding process for each member.
      Setup Needed: To deliver a high level of automated personalisation, add on predictive analytics tools, AI-driven content recommendations, and satisfaction tracking.

  1. Renewal Reminders & Management

    • Just Starting Out: Renewal reminders are sent manually via email or phone. No setup needed.
    • Finding Your Feet: You use your CRM to generate basic reminders.
      Setup Needed: Set up reminders for renewal dates and create email templates, but these might still be sent manually.
    • Building Momentum: Automated renewal reminders are sent based on expiry dates, with personalised links for easy renewal.
      Setup Needed: Your CRM needs to trigger and send automated workflows for reminders and self-service renewal pages.
    • Well-Oiled Machine: Renewals are fully managed through your CRM, with reporting on who’s renewed and who hasn’t.
      Setup Needed: Add dashboards and automated reports tracking renewal rates and engagement. You will still be manually identifying key trends and behaviours.
    • Full Automation: AI tools predict renewal likelihood and recommend personalised outreach for members at risk of leaving.
      Setup Needed: To fully automate the maximum number of renewals, predictive analytics tools, advanced segmentation, and personalised retention workflows are needed.

  1. Communication & Engagement

    • Just Starting Out: You send out newsletters or updates manually, without much targeting. No setup needed.
    • Finding Your Feet: You use basic email lists to send messages to different groups of members.
      Setup Needed: CRM contact lists or tags for different member groups.
    • Building Momentum: Automated engagement tracking provides insights on which communications are most effective.
      Setup Needed: Create workflows to track interactions and build engagement reports.
    • Well-Oiled Machine: Personalised messages are automatically sent based on engagement level and interests.
      Setup Needed: Dynamic content tools and segmentation for better targeting.
    • Full Automation: AI-driven systems continuously refine messaging for maximum engagement.
      Setup Needed: AI-driven content recommendations and performance tracking tools.

  1. Membership Reporting & Analysis

    • Just Starting Out: Reports are generated manually from spreadsheets. No setup needed.
    • Finding Your Feet: You create basic reports using your CRM’s built-in tools.
      Setup Needed: Build basic reports for membership tracking and engagement analysis.
    • Building Momentum: Automated reports are generated regularly to track satisfaction, retention, and growth.
      Setup Needed: Create dashboards and integrate engagement metrics for regular monitoring.
    • Well-Oiled Machine: Reports provide deep insights into engagement trends and renewal rates.
      Setup Needed: Advanced reporting tools and automated performance analysis.
    • Full Automation: AI provides predictions for renewal likelihood and suggests strategies to boost engagement.
      Setup Needed: Implement AI tools for predictive analytics and personalised engagement workflows.