Developing the Right Audio for Your Institution: From Big Productions to the ...
It's a Balancing Act!
1. It’s a Balancing Act! Session Highlights The “art” of renewals - ideas, strategies, materials The “science” of renewals - timing, performance, evaluating the impact of changes and new initiatives Diverse garden representatives to share their experiences
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3. More than 400 events or programs held each year
4. 500,000 lights outdoors at Christmas attracting more than 200,000 visitors from Thanksgiving through Jan. 15th.
13. Membership expiration dateOnline Members Only e-Newsletter Mailed the last week of each month E-Renewal Reminder – 1st week of the month R1 - Two months prior to expire date Mailed reminder – 2nd week of the month R2 - One month prior to expire date R3 - Same month as expire date L1 - One month after expire date L2 - Two months after expire date
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15. E-Mail Renewals E-Discounted Renewal Offer Offer: $10 off all levels, except Student - $5 off 3,112 emails sent to recent lapsed and members within renewal cycle Offer ran from 1/15 – 1/30 Response Rate:19.7% or 616 memberships
19. Seasonal specific language Its summertime at Longwood Gardens and we are celebrating the Festival of Fountains with six spectacular fireworks shows this season. Member specific events or public programs offered free with membership. Be sure to register for the upcoming members lecture series. Join us for the third annual Kite Festival on …. Highlight key benefits or benefits specific to the season (complimentary guest passes, discounts) Ways to renew (online, mail, phone, onsite) RENEWAL NOTICES INCLUDE:
20. Garden Pass Member Cards Fulfillment and Acknowledgement Packages Student Individual Dual Family Garden Plus
26. What Changed…….. New program structure, categories and benefits introduced (10/2009) New membership desk added significant presence for the member program in our Visitor Center. (10/2009) Special Member’s E-Newsletter with behind the scenes info, tips, highlights and free downloadable wallpaper. (2/2010) E-Renewal reminder program started Onsite fulfillment of all memberships (2/2010) Added members only events Educate our members more about their benefits and importance of support Educate and train staff on Garden Pass Member program
34. Overview 100,000 annual visitors $5.6 million operating budget Opened Tree Adventure exhibit in July 2009 6,200 memberships 10 membership levels
35. Renewal Communications 2006 to 2010 Letter with perforated return form R1 (60 days prior) through R3 (30 days after)includes upgrade ask Membership levels and benefits pre-printed on back of stationery Use mail house for memberships of $105 and below Upper levels ($165) and above are signed by the Executive Director– done in-house Email renewal request sent prior to R1 – R3 Maintained 65-68% renewal rate (new and multi-year combined)
38. Renewal Tracking Responses were tracked by source only: BR – Mailed billing renewal Online – Member renewed online Phone – Member called to renew Visitor Center – Member renewed on-site Plant Sale – Member renewed during Sale Tracking system implemented March 2010 includes R1, R2, and R3 labeling to renewal letters
39. Recent Activity Summer Palace Sculpture – April 2009 Tree Adventure – July 2009 Higher attendance Higher admission fees – January 2009 New membership cart with sales-oriented staff Increase in new members
40. Highlights from the past year Membership revenue up 49% compared to this same time last year Number of memberships up 29% compared to this time last year 2,066 new memberships as of May 31 – exceeds FY09 (1,260) and FY08 (1,480) One third of our memberships are NEW
41. What do we do in “year two”? Focus on RENEWALS Keep our members Focus on REVENUE Maximize income Focus on GROWTH Stabilize the base Striving to have a 35% renewal rate for NEW members
48. March “Batch” Renewal Mailing Members that expire/d March - June 2010 were sent R1 letter on March 26 Message renew now, prices increase May 1 1,765 pieces mailed On May 31, 518 renewed – 29 percent renewal rate – $63,000 Bought time for the organization R2 went out to this group in May
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50. Over the next year, R1 will offer a limited-time discounted rate to renewing members in upgraded packaging with other extras…savings and values
55. * 830,000 visitors in 2009 * 34,500 member households * 1,700 acres Whether you seek a quiet walk in the woods or an active family exploration, the Morton Arboretum offers a wide variety of activities, events, tours and classes for people of all ages and interests. Within an oasis of magnificent trees and beautiful landscapes, come explore 16 miles of hiking trails and 9 miles of paved roads. The Arboretum is a unique place to explore, discover, escape and connect with trees and nature.
56. The Challenge The Morton Arboretum raised membership prices and admission prices in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Since 2005, when the Maze and Children’s Garden opened, membership has more than doubled from 17,000 to 34,500 household units. Family and Family Plus now equal approx. 68.5% of total units. Retention rates have declined by about 10%-15% overall.
57. Renewal Schedule –a work in progress R1 – mailed letter R2 – telemarketing R3- mailed letter Sent 6 wks prior to month of expiration. “Only letter you’ll receive prior to expiration.” Incentive: 2 free guest passes (valued at $22) if renewed by 1st of month of expiration. During month of expiration. Incentive: if pay by credit card, 1 free month of membership. Month following expiration. “We miss you” message. 60 days lapsed.
58. Renewal formats In house fulfillment. 2 per 8.5 x 11 page Outside partner. Variable printing. 8.5 x 11 page
59. Current format Side 2 features Benefits Chart and brief survey. About 15% completion. In 2009 43% of renewals came via mail or phone!
60. More details and decisions E-renewal option for monthly program to be implemented (when issues with online renewal are fixed). Considering “guerilla” scenario. Able to customize mailed letters for different categories of member recipients. Need to use this not just talk about it! Plan to segment renewals into various interest segments, but need better database manipulation via “warehouse” (relational database). We do not discount renewals, BUT . . .
79. Mail IS Viable! Stung by the economy, non-profit fundraising looks for additional funds online. “12% of new donors were acquired online, up from just 6% in 2005” BUT . . . Take a look at channel and source! Source: Blackbaud, Inc. Q4 2009 Index of National Fundraising Performance Published by the American Marketing Association
86. Special member ticket price for Meet the Astronaut, the John Muir musical and Earth Day Green Tea
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88. Renew by March 15 to receive 2007 membership rates with 2010 member benefits!Don’t miss our newest exhibition! Steelroots opens April 9! April 9, 2010 - January 2011We invite you to this exciting, first ever comprehensive display of the Steelroots sculpture series by artist Steve Tobin.
89. 2 EASY ways to renew You must use Code S10-03T to take advantage of this offer! For additional information on all membership levels and benefits, view online. We want to offer the best personalized service we can, so there are two easy ways to reach us to renew your membership right away! By phoneCall the Membership Hotline, at 630-719-2453Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. In personPrint out and complete this membership form and bring it with you to the Membership Desk in the Visitor Center.
90. Telemarketing Tips The ‘Art’ The ‘Science’ The creative. Brainstorm! Become a Team for a seamless process. Educate your partner/vendor. What’s the desired outcome? Script development Essential to get the message right Test (Conversational engagement vs. “give me the facts” Value-driven vs. mission The psychology of telemarketing Timing Accurate analysis of response rates List, List, List! Clean data matters Phone appending DNC (do not calls) Timing of list transmission Analyze data b4 making decisions: Look at renewals Look at response rates Analyze Make changes as needed
91. Staying on the TM track Caller experience and training What makes a good call? List / Appeal / Experience Monitoring Daily Reports Credit card processing: Getting money in the bank Handling calls to/from members End-of-Campaign Reporting Now what do I do? Database updates What about those refusals? Fulfillment
92. Spring Phone Campaign –dropped house list 2009 2010 Conversion avg: 7.2% Average pledge: $ 98 On credit avg. 61% Offer: 1 month and gift Conversion avg. 14.54% Average pledge: $ 106 On credit avg: 74.39% Offer: 20% off; best offer of year
97. Oversee one full-time staff member.History Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA Membership Manager Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Associate Director of Development for Membership and Annual Giving. The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA Assistant Director of the Annual Fund The Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA Development Coordinator - Helped create a brand new membership program, responsible for all gift processing and database management as well as a new annual fund program.
Tracking click through rates – what they are interested in learning – Zoomerang Email Marketing tool
Out of 32,500 households – we have 21,000 email addresses for our primary members, plus another 4,100 email addresses of their secondary members.Growing your email baseSend a postcard to all members that you don’t have email addresses for. Ask for both the primary and secondary members email address. The primary member might be interested in lectures and the secondary member might be more interested in concerts, so you want to be sure you are getting in front of both of them if possible through email. In this recent campaign we were able to collect more than 1500 new email addresses in a months time. Email Collection - Eco-Friendly – Front Line Staff We are also sure to train our frontline staff to request email addresses and ask the member if they would like to be eco-friendly
Different letterheads for each notice
Again – reminding the member of the value of their membership and how they can best access their member benefitsThe more the member uses their member benefits, the better chance of a renewal the following year.
Rate increase between 8% - 15% for basic levelsCreate a full-color member magazine with behind the scenes info, tips, articles, project updates, staff/ volunteer/ member highlights and coupon opportunitiesAll 6 of our free member lectures were sold out this past year with more than 170 in attendance at each.Members only hours – give exclusivity in the evening when we are typically closed to the public. Our holiday members only hours drew more than 3,000 during the evening hours alone between 7-10.Restaurant & Gardens Shop – helps drive attendance while giving the member a bonus benefit and boosts shop sales. Offering these benefits during our holiday hours boosted sales tremendously over past years sales.
This clearly illustrates that your most successful efforts are with your tried and true former members or ticket buyers. They will give you the highest return on investment.They are your most likely to renew/rejoin when presented with a special offer.
Converted Access database to Raiser’s Edge in 2006.
We have not offered membership discounts since the early 2000s … a very new venture for Morris.
Did significant analysis of more than 40 cultural institutions and public gardens in the Philadelphia region and beyond to inform our pricing. Priced so these prices can last a few years.
Compelling offer – join today before pricing increase – this is the best offer you are going to get.
March – August of last year – these are the folks that joined last summer. We want them to make us part of their summer plans, again. Part of the messaging in this packet.
Highlight enhanced benefits – move members up the ladder. Let them know that their support is a vote of confidence in our organization and their support is crucial to our mission.
HISTORYCURRENTLetter: USPA, Use outside partner. Super Stuffers vs. postage carrier-route sort. Guest pass scenario. ONLY mailed letter prior to expiration.Telemarketing: Very strong for us. 2-3:1 results. Credit card 70%+. “pledges” at 87%. Personalized call offers 1 add’l month of membership IF credit cd. pay 75% take offer.Final letter: We miss you. Will be only the second contact for those not reached by telemarketing. Lapsed status 60 days.
Inhouse mailed with Super Stuffers. More like an invoice. Moved to personalized letter.
E-renewal will offer options. Fast. Probably will use not as a reminder but as an incentive. May provide guest passes; they work. Refer to our lapsed success using guerilla email tactics.
Show member brochure with benefits; Show Thornhill; Show Member cards
Show Pitch book
2010 tested 2 messages. Tobin beat Plant Sale by 3:1. Test, Test, Test!
And we make sure that the refusers will not et offered anything better and not within a full year.
Bringing more than 25 years of both non-profit and corporate experience to the membership arena, Jaros has consistently pushed the membership "envelope" and, in her first two years with the Arboretum, saw member households increase by 68%. Even with the challenges of the current economy, both acquisition and retention have remained on target.. She holds an MS in Communication Management from Northwestern University.
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