If you don’t have a solid retention plan in place, recruitment ends up filling an ever-emptying bucket. But how do you create one, and what should be part of it? We’ve compiled a list of best practices and tips for creating a manageable and effective chamber retention plan with some help from our Chamber Pro friends, of course.
What’s the Point of a Chamber Retention Plan
The most obvious answer is to hold onto members.
But how do you do that?
With a plan.
You create a strategic plan for the chamber and you should have a retention plan too. If you are reactive in your approach to retention, it’s easy to get distracted and pulled in many directions. A plan helps you lay it all out ahead of time and track progression toward your retention goals.
Once drafted, you’ll use your retention plan to maintain a high membership renewal rate through:
- proactive engagement
- personalized communication
- strategic use of technology
- volunteer support
A retention plan is essentially a communication and marketing plan. It does not end at day 30 of their membership. It’s a strategy document on how you will remain top-of-mind while providing value for members.
What Should I Include in a Chamber Retention Plan?
While you want your chamber retention plan to reflect your individual chamber’s (and members’) needs, there are some common aspects that all good retention plans. In it, you will want to focus on the different aspects of communication–in-person, written, phone, and digital (text and email). Specific sections might include:
Personalized Onboarding
When a member joins, it’s the honeymoon stage; as such, it’s one of the easiest times to make a great impression. When people first join the chamber, they are excited about the possibilities. You need a strong onboarding program to make them feel welcome and valued.
- Welcome new members with a personalized welcome package, including a handwritten note, chamber information, and a list of upcoming events. Some fun swag is also a nice touch. Some chambers make a goodie bag for new members (using it as a sponsorship opportunity for existing members to offer goods, coupons, and other welcome gifts).
- Assign a volunteer or ambassador to guide new members through their first few months, introducing them to other members and resources. They can do this with a phone call, an invite to meet them at a local coffee shop, or a visit to the new member’s business.
- Create a series of automated emails to all new members on a predetermined schedule. Include the key things you want a new member to know about the chamber. For instance, you might include a link for them to fill out their directory listing, directions on how to download the chamber e-badge for their website, the best contact info for you, a link to the chamber calendar, and an invitation to get involved. If you sent all that in one email, they’d never read it. But if you serve it up in a single-focus email every few days, they’ll digest it and begin to expect regular communication from you.
Doug Jenkins, Membership & Events Manager at the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber, shared his experience in creating automated emails. “I was hesitant at first…but in the end your investor relations person is ultimately the one writing the emails to begin with. I’ve not seen any push back and it’s helped keep things on track. Actually, feedback has been positive, we’ve seen very few outs over the first 6 months of the plan. Beyond that, it gives you the chance to put members into drip campaigns for issues they care about, like opportunities for exposure or workforce retention. I even started one that’s an orientation of sorts for new contacts at current members so more people in each organization are familiar with what we do. The bad news is that it took me about two months to set up the emails and drip campaigns (Used most of December and January since it’s slower for us then), but it was ultimately worth it because very few members go more than 3 months without hearing from a staff member directly.”
Your retention plan should detail what onboarding looks like as well as who is in charge of the touch points. Track these activities on a project management tool, your CRM, or on a shared drive.
Regular Communication
If you created an email nurture campaign for your new members (and we hope you did), you have set the expectation that the chamber will be communicating with them regularly. Think of every piece of communication as a way to instill chamber value and stay top-of-mind for your members.
Here are a few additional ways to stay in contact:
- Monthly (or Weekly) Newsletter. Highlight member successes, upcoming events, and chamber initiatives. Check out these newsletter ideas.
- Weekly Event Emails. This is a great way to stay in touch and show members what the chamber is doing in the community.
- Quarterly Check-ins. Conduct personalized phone calls or emails to members to see how they are doing, address any concerns, and gather feedback. If you don’t have time to do that, enlist the help of volunteers such as your ambassador group.
- Annual Member Survey: Use an online survey tool (or your CRM if it has those capabilities) to collect feedback and identify areas for improvement. While you may be tempted to leave new members off that first year, don’t. They will have valuable feedback on reality versus expectations on membership. Use AI to analyze results based on years of membership, type of business, member involvement, and other significant factors.
Communicate Value-Added Benefits
Many chambers host a Member 101 Class or VIP Welcome Event designed around welcoming new members and helping them understand their benefits. This can be a great way to shower new members with a little love. Some of the things addressed at those types of events include:
- Upcoming networking events, business lunches, after-hour events, festivals, signature events, etc. This is also an ideal time to talk about sponsorships or ways to get involved as a volunteer.
- Available member discounts.
- Member spotlights and how they’re conducted (highlighting member achievements in the newsletter, social media, at events, etc).
Include in your retention plan how often you will host these events, where they will be, who will be speaking, and what the agenda will be.
Reach-Out Frequency
All retention plans should include a reach-out frequency. Use automation and reminder tools to ensure it is done in the scheduled time. Good practices include:
New Members:
- Within 1 week of joining: Welcome call or email
- New member email campaign: Several emails over the first two weeks
- Monthly for first 3 months: Check-in calls/emails, event invitations
Existing Members:
- Quarterly: Personalized check-ins
- 90 days prior to renewal: Some chambers reach out again before the invoice is sent with a reminder of how the member has participated over the past year and what they’ve received from membership
- Annually: Member satisfaction survey
Technology & Automation to Lessen the Load
Retention is essential to the success of your chamber and the happiness of your members. But it’s difficult to do on your own. That’s why you need to use technology to automate the things you can and in-person talents to handle the things you can’t (automate).
- Use a CRM system to track member information, communication history, and renewal dates.
- Set up automated email campaigns for onboarding, event reminders, and renewal notifications. Track and analyze open rates. Personalize whenever possible based on viewer history.
- Implement a chatbot on the chamber website to answer frequently asked questions and provide support.
Rally the Troops
Even if you’re the only chamber employee (or the only one tasked with retention), you can enlist the help of volunteers. Many chambers turn to ambassador programs, event committees, their board, and other volunteers to ensure members receive the communications and touches they need to feel valued.
You might train and support volunteer ambassadors to assist with onboarding and member engagement. Involve members in planning and executing events. Pair experienced members with new members to provide guidance and support.
Volunteer activities needn’t be an ongoing commitment either. Sometimes you just need assistance with a single task. The Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce worked with a member to set up their automated emails. Now each of their 550 members receives an email each month. Ashley Siler shared, “We have a series of emails, automated tasks for staff members to call to check in, texts, social media shoutouts, member surveys, etc. They are automated by renewal date.”
Draw a Line in the Sand
Before you put your retention plan in place and activate it, draw a line in the sand and record your existing data. You’ll want to record your pre-plan renewal rates, event attendance, and member survey feedback to identify trends and areas for improvement.
Going forward, schedule a regular review to update your retention plan based on feedback and results. This is a living communication document that shines a spotlight on your connection with your members.
You don’t want to be working hard on a model that’s no longer appealing to your members. Dave Moravec, President & CEO of the Colerain Chamber of Commerce teaches the flywheel model, which uses momentum gained from aligning your entire organization around delivering a remarkable experience.
Finally, recognize and appreciate members and volunteers for their contributions. Making people feel valued is essential for them to continue membership with the chamber. Through a member retention plan, the chamber can foster strong relationships with members, increase renewal rates, and build a thriving business community.
