The Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey results were released in late August at ASAE and The Center’s Annual Meeting. The results, which are available as a 40-page PDF here (registering to get access to the PDF is easy), compile data from a nearly month-long survey conducted this spring. Previous posts examining the results can be found here.

I still find myself intrigued by the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey. I was scanning its pages this afternoon and noticed something very interesting.

Ninety-one percent of associations incorporate direct mail into their plan for membership renewals.

My first thoughts?

1. That’s not very “green.”
2. That seems like it probably takes a lot of time and resources, depending on the size of the association

I read on, and found the kicker:

“Associations with renewal rates of 80% or higher are significantly more likely to use the more personal methodologies for renewal efforts, such as staff phone calls (66% vs. 46%), board phone calls (34% vs. 17%), and peer member contacts (37% vs. 19%).”

Whoa. So despite the fact that the majority of associations use direct mail (91%) or e-mail marketing (83%), those tactics just don’t work as well. The more personal the contact, the higher the renewal rate.

Lesson? Don’t just send off a bunch of brochures or literature explaining why a member should renew. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Your members should be your biggest advocates.”

It’s all well and good to put some literature together proclaiming how great your association is and why members should renew. But you should never discount the importance of adding a personal touch.

Maybe staff, board or peer phone calls would take more time than sending information via direct mail. But are the resources it would take (time, predominately) be worth it if your association renewed a higher number of members in the end? I’m thinking yes.