Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 1 Cathi Hight

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 2 Design an Effective Retention Plan A retention plan is so much more than a collection plan

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 3 Objectives Recognize the importance of a retention plan Explore the components of an effective retention plan Understand how The Member Retention Kit can help you develop a retention plan

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 4 Why Have a Retention Plan? Most chambers lose 20 – 60% of their members each year Lost members = lost dues & non-dues revenue Chambers have to depend on lots of new members to take the places of those lost Too many ‘drops’ hurt chambers’ image, credibility and their recruitment efforts A retention plan helps chambers to enhance communication, increase engagement and the ROI of membership

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 5 The Member Retention Kit Section I: A Guide to Member Retention Section II: Situational Analysis—Understand Where We Are Section III: Feedback—Understand Member Needs and Expectations (22 samples) Section IV: Alignment—Improve Retention Section V: Tracking—Measure and Manage Outcomes Section VI: Retention Tools Section VII: Hight Performance Group Info

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 6 Overview of Member Retention Kit Section I:A Guide to Member Retention Retention Scorecard Common challenges around retention Reasons why members leave and renew Lifetime Value of Members Difference between satisfaction and loyalty New concepts to adopt: Member Relationship Management (MRM) 5 stages of the Member Experience Cycle and Member Experience Management (MEM)

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 7 Section II: Situational Analysis: Start with Where You Are Describe current member base, overall retention rate, and analyze various member groups Segments may include: industry sector, size, revenue, zip code Consider: first year, second year, 3-5 year, 5 year + members Define member base make-up Industry, size of business, length of time in business, town/city, etc. Compared to the business landscape Total no. of member accounts / total no. of businesses in the service area. Ex: 2,000 / 20,000 = 10% Market share by industry—No. of member accounts per industry / total number of businesses in industry. Ex: 50 / 200 = 25% Calculate overall retention rate Based on NAMD formula Total no. of member accounts for last year – total no. of cancelled accounts for current year / total no. of member accounts for last year – overall retention rate Example: 2,000 – 400 / 2,000 = 80% Determine member segment retention rates & identify trends What is the retention rate of each member group? Which member groups are you retaining the best? Which members are-at-risk and how do you know? Select member segment(s) to focus on for retention initiatives Which groups present retention challenges? Which member groups do you want to see an increase in retention?

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 8 Member Companies by Primary Category

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 9 Member Companies by Size

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 10 Members with the Best Retention Rates

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 11 Overview of Member Retention Kit Section III:Feedback—Understand Member Needs and Expectations Benefits of collecting feedback from members Brief overview of ways to collect feedback Create a Retention Task Force (volunteers) to conduct a retention study Design the feedback instrument Launch the feedback process Review the results Collect insights and possible strategies Analyze the data Create a retention study report to share with others

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 12 Design the Feedback Tool Determine what you want to know Identify areas to collect feedback (MRK, Sect III) Perception about the organization’s image and brand Member values and reasons Reasons for joining and rejoining Overall experience with the organization Usage of benefits Experiences with benefits How well expectations are being met Other benefits needed or of interest to members Loyalty to the organization

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 13 Challenge Areas: Communication, Engagement and Value Retention challenges fall into three areas: Communication No two-way communication with members Lack of awareness of what is offered, how to access benefits, and your goals and accomplishments Type of venue not used or are not user-friendly Engagement Members do not participate or are uninvolved Venues are not user-friendly or productive Value No ROI visible or ROI does not equal expectations Does not see value for investment

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 14 Create a Retention Study Report Retention Study Report content: Overview of retention baselines Cite retention challenges State the purpose of the retention study Provide overview of the process Recap the results of the feedback process Define challenge areas and possible recommendations to address them

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 15 Overview of Member Retention Kit Section IV: Alignment—Improve Retention Retention Goals : What Do We Want to Accomplish? Planning Assumptions: What Will Affect the Plan’s Success? Retention Strategies and Tactics: How Do We Implement the Plan? Retention Tactics Timeline Retention Budget

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 16 Section IV: Alignment—Retention Goals and Strategies Which member group do you want to focus your retention efforts on? What specific results are you hoping to achieve? Sample retention goals: Increase retention with 1 st year members from 50% - 65%. Participate in two-way communication with members three times/year. Increase the overall transactional value of members by 10% through higher levels of engagement. Create a profile of ‘ideal members’ and target that 25% of all new members recruited align with those profiles.

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 17 Retention Strategies: Communication, Engagement and Value Consider strategies that address these areas: Communication Two-way communication with members Awareness of what is offered, how to access benefits, and sharing your goals and accomplishments Ensure that venues are user-friendly and utilized Engagement Identify ways for members to participate and be involved Monitor engagement levels and identify members-at-risk Value Communicate the ROI of membership Determine ways to meet or exceed member expectations Realign programs and benefits to meet evolving needs

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 18 Retention Tactics Timelines: What is Our Implementation Plan? Every strategy creates tactics Tactics need resources (e.g., time, people or money) Use the Retention Activity Flowchart in Section IV to determine how often and when tactics will be implemented Identify responsibilities and who is accountable for implementing specific tactics Verify resource availability Talk with others who need to be involved Gain their commitment to support implementation

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 19 Overview of Member Retention Kit Section V: Tracking—Measure and Manage Outcomes Identify what to measure Determine frequency of monitoring outcomes Consider contingency plans

Designing an Effective Retention Plan © 2007 Hight Performance Group, Inc. 20 Develop an Effective Retention Plan Based on retention trends, and specific retention goals and strategies. Use the Member Retention Kit as your guide Explore sample retention tools provided by other chamber peers Receive one hour of consulting from Cathi, wherever you need it Save $75 on the Kit if purchased by 12/5/07! For more info, contact Cathi at (720) by