Give your members a warm welcome
First impressions in life are all important. This is certainly true in the world of email. Welcoming a member or new subscriber is a key point in a customer’s journey, and can be a substantial factor in their retention.
I have delivered and tested a range of welcome programmes both in-house and as a Pixl8 consultant for membership organisations and charities. There are some points that I have observed over the years:
Lucy Conlan, Senior Marketing Strategist
- Engagement is always super high at the beginning so it is a good time to set the scene well for your members
- Prioritisation is important - if you try and offer too much you can turn them off. Consider what they want to know (how do I access my benefits) vs what you want them to know
- Brevity is your best policy. Enough said.
- Showing warmth and empathy really does boost engagement. Give them the opportunity to see who the members are as well as your team. This is especially important with the backdrop of remote working conditions
- People love a welcome offer. Can you offer a special welcome promotional code to attend their first event?
- You need to encourage the type of interaction you are seeking right from the start. Give them a reason to connect with you - tell them why others value you; tell them about something that is happening near them, or something that int
Our Pixl8 2021 Membership Forecast has shown that 54% of membership organisations are personalising their welcome programme. At Pixl8 our Preside platform enables clients to hyper personalise their email and website experience.
Here are a few ways that you can enhance your existing welcome emails:
- A simple hello can make a difference - a bold conversational welcome can provoke an immediate boost in engagement.
- Get your welcome email in their inbox almost immediately - the closer proximity to joining, the better the response.
- Give them a chance to tell you what they want to hear from you - direct them to tailor their preferences and be clear how this will benefit them.
- Earn their trust - include something about what they can expect from you and your communications.
- Keep your customers loyal - generating their first and second interactions with you are very important. Show them what they can now as a member and give them an insight into what to look forward to such as your events programme.
Let us make it happen for you
A key barrier for organisations can just be around the ‘making it happen’ stage. We work with our clients to create a journey strategy, designs and lead copy. We ensure that the right data is being pulled in to inform automations and we can review journeys with you to make ongoing improvements.
How our Preside platform can help
Our email centre MessagePipes allows you to set up an automated welcome sequence for new members. You might want to invite them to a welcome webinar or give them personalised content related to their role. You can set up automatic reminders askiing new members to complete details or to notify them of their renewal date. See what they love by looking at clicks, opens and page visits in our CRM. With these insignts you can then personalise their member homepage by surfacing content that's best for them.
Talk to our experts
Pixl8’s Creative Director Luke Holderness and Senior Marketing Strategist Lucy Conlan can guide, inform and create standout welcome journeys and more. They can guide Pixl8 clients to draw on our digital platform, Preside - so that journeys across email and the website are seamless. We give clients the opportunity to target, schedule and personalise the content and messages to key member segments.
Not a client yet?
Luke and Lucy provide strategic advice and guidance to clients to set up journey plans and creative approaches by making better use of their existing systems.
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