Gaining loyal and supportive members is one of the best goals an organization can achieve. Members are what help an organization thrive. Organizations should do all that they can to attract and acquire members. More than acquiring members, however, retaining members is essential for organizations as it reflects positively off their brand and allows for meaningful relationships.
To keep members involved with and interested in your organization, it is important to build sincere relationships with each member. Building sincere relationships from the start by making personal connections can help members stick with your organization and encourage others to join as well.
The Benefits of Being Personal
One of the worst things an organization can do is treat their members as a faceless group rather than unique individuals. Organizations should strive to learn the names and basic personal information of members to show each member that they are valued and to better support individual members’ needs. Doing so can help organizations better customize content and personalize mail pieces, which can in turn improve response rates and increase donations.
When an individual sees that an organization takes the time to get to know them personally and learn their preferences, they will be more likely to support and/or donate to the organization. Simply addressing the member by their name rather than saying a generic “Hello” can help build a meaningful relationship.
Having personal connections with members also leads to a variety of benefits. Organizations can enjoy the perks of building a positive reputation while members can feel valued and appreciated. By being personal with your members, whether it is by mail, email, or social media, you can build membership loyalty all while affirming to your members that they are supporting an organization that genuinely cares about them. With that said, here are some of the benefits of having personal connections with members:
Brand affinity
By building meaningful relationships, organizations can ultimately attain brand affinity. Brand affinity goes a step above brand loyalty in that members see an organization as a lifestyle choice and a brand they can trust. By establishing personal connections with members, organizations have the ability to turn regular members into lifetime members who swear by their brand.
Membership growth
Establishing personal connections with individuals from the start can help an organization achieve more members. Learning an individual’s name and what their interests are can help you better craft marketing campaigns and successfully acquire more members. An individual is more likely to support an organization that takes the time to send them personalized content, rather than an organization that sends them generic, mass-produced content.
Donation increase/ROI
With stronger member relationships comes more support and, as expected, more donations. Taking the time to get to know your members and converse with them in a personal manner can make members feel closer to your organization and thus, they’ll feel more inclined to donate to your causes. Remember that the more personal you are with members, the more likely they are to support you in any way they can.
Let Valtim Help You Make Real Connections With Members
When you’re friends with someone, you always have certain base-level knowledge about each other, such as your name, your basic interests, your preferred communication channels, and even your basic demographics. Thus, if you are an organization wanting to make real connections with members, these are the minimum characteristics that you should be using in each and every one of your member communications. Anything less can alienate your supporters and make the experience feel less genuine. Let Valtim play matchmaker and help you make real connections that will have a real impact on your members experience with your organization.
