Imagine putting in the time and effort to convert a site visitor to a subscribed member on your website only to find out they cancel their subscription the next month. This wastes precious time and resources and negatively impacts the revenue generated.
Ideally, you want to ensure new members that join your program and existing members stay tied to your brand and don’t leave soon after joining.
In this article, we’ll walk you through 21 quick tips that can help improve member retention on your site and generate more revenue for your business.
#1. Improve the onboarding process
If you get off on the right foot with new members, there’s a high chance they’ll stick around longer and keep resubscribing to your membership program.
#2. Use a custom sign-up form for your membership site registration
While a custom sign-up form is great for gathering additional information from new members when they register with you, it can also help you improve member retention. This is because you can offer a more unique or custom-tailored onboarding experience depending on the information members provide during registration. In return, this can encourage members to stay loyal to your brand and resubscribe the next month.
#3. Offer exclusive content to new members
If you offer exclusivity and an engaging experience when new members register for your membership, you’ll have an easier time keeping new members attracted to your brand.
For instance, you can offer exclusive content such as custom-tailored “welcome” messages when new members first log in to their accounts.
#4. Create an exclusive “welcome video” for new members
Like offering exclusive content, you can create a high-quality welcome video to show new members when they join. It’s a great way to keep them engaged with your content and offers a sense of exclusivity when they subscribe to your membership program.
As a result, it helps you offer a unique experience on your membership site while increasing member retention.
A COMPLETE STEP-BY-STEP CHEATSHEET
TO CREATING, LAUNCHING & GROWING A SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP WEBSITE
#5. Offer gifts to new user registrations
Another great way to encourage new members to stick around for longer and make them brand-loyal is by rewarding them with gifts when they join your membership website.
This is an effective way to increase member retention on your site, as more people will feel special and encouraged to stay loyal to your brand.
#6. Display a site road map on your membership website
If you want more members to stick around for longer, it’s essential you put out an excellent first impression when they first visit your membership website.
Displaying a site roadmap on your membership site will help new members easily navigate and find the content they need. This puts a good first impression and makes your brand look professional. It also lets them know what to do to start the membership program.
#7. Offer different membership levels and reward longer subscriptions
If you’re only offering a single membership program, it might not be enough to cater to all types of users, especially the ones who cannot afford the subscription price. Instead, you can offer multiple membership levels that cater to more people and reward longer registrations.
For instance, you can offer a 10% discount if members subscribe to the yearly plan instead of the monthly one. This encourages more users to subscribe to the more extended plan, which translates to more users sticking longer with your brand.
#8. Let members “freeze” or pause their membership subscription
You also want to let members pause their membership subscriptions so they can subscribe back or continue their subscriptions later.
#9. Offer membership upgrade plans
Once a member is fully onboarded to your membership site and finds value in your content, you can offer them membership upgrades to reward them and make them stick around longer.
For instance, you can let existing members upgrade their subscription plans at a discounted rate. This way, you increase the average order value and improve member retention.
#10. Offer a “down-sell” version of your membership subscription
Similar to offering a membership upgrade, you can also offer a “down-sell” version of your membership subscription.
This can be useful to catch the attention of users interested in your content but cannot continue to pay the subscription price.
#11. Create and showcase a content calendar to spark engagement among members
Displaying a content calendar lets your members stay informed about the upcoming content soon to be released.
This encourages them to stick around longer, continue their subscription, and wait for the new content to be released.
#12. Offer more value by providing premium tools and templates with your membership subscription
Besides premium content, consider offering premium tools and templates with your membership website. This way, there’s much more the member will “lose” if they decide to un-subscribe, making them value your membership plan more.
#13. Customize the design of your membership website to make it easily navigable
Other than showcasing a site map for new members on your site, you should also consider customizing your membership site’s design to offer an intuitive navigation experience for everyone, even non-tech-savvy users.
#14. Let customers publish their own stories
To make your members feel like they’re a part of your brand’s family, you can let them publish their success stories. This way, they feel more special and connected with your brand.
This is also a great way to start with user-generated content on your membership site.
#15. Showcase other members’ testimonials and case studies on your membership website
While letting members publish their stories is a great way to make them feel more connected with your brand, you can also showcase testimonials and case studies to convince more people to join your membership program.
With an influx of new member registrations, there’s a higher chance some will stick around longer with your brand.
#16. Hire a dedicated customer support expert
It’s not only important to perfect your member onboarding process, but it’s also crucial to offer the best possible after-sales service.
This is why it’s best to hire a dedicated customer support expert to help registered members solve their queries and help them set up. As a result, you enhance the user experience on your membership website and increase member retention.
#17. Drip-feed your content
Drip-feeding your content is excellent for making sure your members are fully engaged with your content. Letting users access content in multiple sections or pieces motivates them to return for more.
As a result, it reduces the need to cancel their subscription and keeps them engaged with your content.
#18. Survey users who decide to cancel their subscription
Are you still confused about why members cancel their membership subscriptions on your site? Survey them.
Surveying members who cancel their subscriptions will help you understand what needs improvement and how to prevent such events from occurring again. You can include a “reason for canceling” submission form on the cancellation page so users can explain in their own words why they decided to leave your membership program.
#19. Include a FAQ section on your membership website
Showcasing a FAQ section on your membership site helps encourage new member registrations and helps retain existing members.
This is mainly because existing members can find solutions to their problems using the FAQ section, which helps them understand your brand better. As a result, it can prevent members from getting demotivated and canceling their membership subscription plan.
#20. Send automated emails upon cancellation or for expiring cards
If members automatically receive an email upon cancellation or for expiring cards, it can help them quickly take action instead of not knowing what’s going on. As a result, it can help improve member retention and help your brand look more professional.
#21. Send re-engagement emails
If members have canceled their subscriptions, that doesn’t mean they are a lost cause, and you should forget about them. Instead, you should consider sending them re-engagement emails to understand better what went wrong and how you can help them return.
For instance, you can send a discount code to members who cancel to encourage them to give your membership program one more try.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is member retention?
A: Member retention refers to the ability of a business or organization to retain its members or customers over a certain period of time. It involves implementing strategies and tactics to keep members engaged, satisfied, and motivated to continue their membership.
Q: Why is member retention necessary?
A: Member retention is necessary because retaining existing members costs significantly less than acquiring new ones. Additionally, loyal and satisfied members are more likely to generate positive word-of-mouth referrals and contribute to the overall growth and success of the organization.
Q: What are some effective retention strategies?
A: There are several effective retention strategies, including providing exceptional customer service, offering personalized experiences, regularly communicating with members through newsletters or emails, creating a loyalty program, and organizing post-class social events to foster a sense of community among members.
Q: How can I improve member retention?
A: To improve member retention, you can focus on enhancing the overall customer experience, continuously assessing and improving your offerings, regularly seeking feedback from members to address their needs and concerns, and implementing targeted marketing campaigns to attract and retain members.
Q: What is a retention rate?
A: A retention rate is a metric that measures the percentage of members or customers who continue to renew their membership or use a product or service over a specific period of time. It is often used to assess the effectiveness of retention efforts.
Q: How can I increase gym member retention?
A: To increase gym member retention, you can focus on creating a welcoming and supportive environment, providing various workout options, offering personalized training programs, regularly updating equipment, and organizing fitness challenges or group activities to keep members motivated and engaged.
Q: What are some customer retention strategies?
A: Some customer retention strategies include providing excellent customer service, offering exclusive discounts or rewards to loyal customers, implementing a customer loyalty program, regularly following up with customers to ensure satisfaction, and continuously improving your product or service based on customer feedback.
Q: How can I keep members engaged?
A: To keep members engaged, you can offer a range of classes or programs to cater to different interests and fitness levels, provide regular updates and tips through a newsletter or blog, organize member challenges or competitions, and foster a sense of community by encouraging social interaction among members.
Q: How do I retain existing customers?
A: To retain existing customers, you can build strong relationships with them, regularly communicate to remain top-of-mind, offer personalized recommendations or specials based on their preferences, provide excellent customer service, and continuously innovate and improve your offerings to meet their evolving needs.
Q: What are some member benefits that can help with retention?
A: Some member benefits that can help with retention include personalized training programs, access to exclusive classes or events, priority booking or scheduling, discounts on merchandise or services, free guest passes, and a dedicated member support team to address any questions or concerns.
Q: Are there any proven strategies to keep customers coming back?
A: Yes, there are several proven strategies to keep customers coming back, including consistently delivering high-quality products or services, providing exceptional customer service, offering personalized recommendations or rewards, maintaining regular communication, seeking feedback to improve continuously, and creating a memorable and enjoyable customer experience.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to attract members and keep them engaged with high-quality content, you want to ensure they don’t back out or cancel their subscriptions.
You can improve the onboarding process on your website, create an easy-to-navigate website, offer free and premium content to attract and impress more members and make your members feel special by letting them publish their own stories to improve member retention on your membership website. In addition, it’s also important to survey members who cancel their subscriptions so that it doesn’t happen again and see if you can re-engage them with your membership program.
Do you know of any other valuable tips for improving member retention? Let us know in the comments box below.
