The Road to Member Engagement is Paved with Personalized Marketing

If you feel like your association has a member registration or renewal problem, certain factors can help, but here’s the bottom line: it’s almost always an engagement problem.

As consumers, we are recipients of personalized experiences as we engage with brands online. But a personalized experience goes a lot deeper than an organization knowing our name.

Personalized marketing is about assessing the member journey from start to finish and making data-based decisions to facilitate interactions that truly speak to recipients, so they feel seen, valued, and supported. It’s about defining the experience you want to deliver and providing each member with the next step that makes sense in their journey.

The experience that a person has with your organization is a direct byproduct of how you’re using your technology, data, and strategy. Vivian Swertinski, Senior Manager of Strategic Services at Higher Logic, says these three pillars define what a member’s experience is going to be:

• Technology - Integrated systems are a requirement
• Data - Observe and serve audiences across all touchpoints
• Strategy - Define and deliver exceptional member experiences

Assess Your Tech Stack
Do an internal check: Is the technology you currently have being underutilized? To increase engagement through effective personalization, leverage your technology. An integrated tech stack means that your tools (such as an AMS, LMS, event software, online community, marketing automation platform, and website) are not operating in data silos–information can be passed back and forth for a more insightful, holistic view.

Tools within a marketing automation platform include web tracking and targeting, automated workflows, landing pages and forms, engagement scoring, and robust analytics. Note that web tracking and targeting within marketing automation differs from Google Analytics because it’s about communicating with your audience based on their browsing behavior, knowing who they are, and having the permission to speak with them - not about tracking every single visitor.

Use Data + Automation to Personalize with Purpose
Data insight fuels the personalization engine by getting to know people by their behaviors, so you can communicate with them about relevant topics. Your prospects have different needs, so their journey to membership is going to differ. It’s not strategic to target a recent college grad seeking certification in the same way you would a seasoned member seeking mentorship opportunities.

Tap into transactional data to get further personalization insight, including purchase activity, event registration, certification paths, and membership subscription. Automated flow membership renewal campaigns can help reach members that have slipped away, and indicating you’ve noticed their engagement has dropped is a personal touch.

Observing data can help you determine who is digitally raising their hand and showing interest in your offerings to determine who is most likely to take action, like registering to attend an upcoming event. Specific messages can be then tailored to help people with that decision-making process, guiding them with extra support and information along the way.

Strategize for Success
The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) used data to think through their member journey and automate engagement. Now?

“We can track over 73,000 in registrations to the nurture campaign and noticed that many of those registrants hadn’t attended in 3 or more years! That is more than we had ever hoped for, it’s fantastic.” -Beth Arritt, Staff Vice President, Marketing, AAAE

Remember: Don’t lose sight of authenticity when trying to strategically reach your members. Effective messages are the ones that strike a chord with us as recipients, making us think, “Wow. You’re talking to me in a way that lets me know you get me - it’s relevant, it’s timely.” 

That’s what makes marketing personal, whether we use someone’s name or not. Of course, the recipient ultimately gets to determine whether something is personalized and relevant, or whether they’re being targeted as part of a larger group. Want to learn more?

Watch this on-demand webinar presented by Vivian Swertinski for more strategic tips.