The following story was described by Joe Willmore, a Northern Virginia–based performance consultant.
Client: A large membership association.
Problem: A significant decrease in retention and subsequent failure of major marketing and advertising initiatives implemented to drive membership; $2.5 million net loss accrued over two years.
Cause: The association made it difficult for people to renew their memberships. The membership webpage published the Director of Membership's office number as the renewal line. Most calls were patched to the director's voicemail, transferred to the customer service department, and entered into the database via a multistep process. In addition, the monthly membership renewal mass email reminder listed each browser address individually and contained a large, zipped registration attachment file. Finally, the mailed renewal notice was one of approximately 30 pieces of association mail that members received each month.
Method/tools: Willmore first examined the membership renewal efforts and studied retention data. He then interviewed a random sample of 200 prior members to learn why they did not renew their memberships. Most expressed a desire to renew, but they were unaware of how to do so.
Diagnosis: Willmore realized that the organization's membership renewal efforts were flawed in their design. Inevitably, many data errors occurred, and many renewal calls were lost as messages passed along from the director's voicemail to the customer service personnel. The renewal email's clunky format landed it in most members' junk boxes. The surplus of mailing materials allowed the membership renewal notice to be easily overlooked or discarded.
Solution: The membership webpage provided a direct renewal line to customer service. The renewal email protocol was modified to direct members to register on the website, rather than via the large registration attachment file. Finally, the various pieces of mail were consolidated into one packet that was sent to members monthly. This alone saved the organization $7,000 in mailing costs the first month.
Three months after these solutions were implemented, the retention rate increased to its average of three years prior.
Lessons Learned: There are almost always multiple causes to a problem. It is critical to take the time to gather data and uncover the real issues. It took two-and-a-half years to lose $2.5 million because of hasty decisions and poor supporting data; it took one week to fix the real problems.