The Place for Member Driven Associations that are Ready to Boost Membership FAST!

Understanding and dealing with “Milestone Members”

Every member in your Association reaches some sort of “milestone” over the course of their membership. When it comes to retention, acknowledging and recognizing these milestones will increase renewals significantly. Read through the following milestones (you can probably come up with more) and make a decision to “recognize and reward” as often as possible.

Membership Milestones: New membership First General Membership meeting First event participation Joining a committee Recruiting a new member Every “renewal anniversary” Any financial contribution Any volunteer participation Attendance at a legislative event Birthdays Business Anniversaries Consecutive meeting attendances …the list goes on and on

Each of these “milestones” is an opportunity for recognition from the Association. For many people it may be the only recognition they get.

There is a famous quote – “A man will work hard for a dollar, but will die for a ribbon”.

We use the word “ribbon” as a form of recognition loosely. A “ribbon” can be a thank-you note, a pen, a mug, a t-shirt, a public congratulations or words of appreciation, a plaque, a pin, special event seating, a complimentary dinner or drink, a mention in the newsletter or even a simple phone call. The “secret” is that each and every one of your members will reach some sort of a milestone many times a year. Your role is to make sure these milestones are acknowledged frequently and aggressively.

Special note on the “tenure” milestone

Send a “ribbon” that recognizes members at all levels of tenure. This means that you need a “ribbon” to “award” first year members, second year members, third year members and so on. Send a card each year with a small pin and a personal note of thanks signed by the entire board.

Mail them a t-shirt with the Association at year two or three. Go get some ribbons numbered one through five and award them at a membership meeting whether the recipient is there or not! Put the rest in envelopes with a HANDWRITTEN note of thanks. Recognize the milestones in your newsletter. Always, give the recognition in some way prior to sending the renewal notice.

For the record, the renewal notice is NOT a form of recognition. It’s an invoice. While it’s great to add a handwritten note on each invoice, it is not the envelope that you shove an unsigned form letter from the President into and call it “recognition”.

Remember, membership retention is often toughest in the early years of membership. Do you really only want to have “ribbons” for your five year, ten year and longer members?

Don’t wait. Recognize every level of membership at every chance you get…even if it means spending a little extra on postage or adding a page to your newsletter or a section on your website. Be creative and be consistent.