One of the biggest challenges that faces any membership organisation or professional body is not just gaining members, but keeping them. This guide looks at how making your membership 'sticky' - with a little help from technology and e-learning - will ensure your members stick with you.

1. 5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky
A Webanywhere Free Guide

2. A Webanywhere Free Guide
5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky
Telephone: 01535 604026 marketing@webanywhere.co.uk / www.webanywhere.co.uk
One of the biggest challenges that faces any membership organisation or professional body is not just
gaining members, but keeping them. How do you make membership ‘sticky’? How do some organisations
succeed in gaining new members and keeping them - whilst others struggle?
As we continue through tough economic times, the situation isn’t getting any easier. Taking drastic
measures to keep hold of members may actually cause organisations to lose sight of what their purpose
is, or misunderstand what it is that members want from them.
So you can deliver a service worth the membership, we’ve put together five ways that, with a bit of help
from technology, you could keep your members ‘sticky’ - engaging with you, understanding the value in
what you do and staying with you.
Introduction
To give your members what they want, you have to understand their needs. There are many ways you can
find out what they want from you.
If you have ever carried out surveys or questionnaires with members, the results may contain information
- or maybe even just clues - as to why they joined your organisation in the first place.
Acquiring big data could be the most insightful solution, however: This can tell you current trends within
the sector your organisation serves, and the habits of people within it.
Big data is much more in-depth than traditional data capturing and has helped many companies, like
Walmart, improve engagement (and increase sales) with customers. It can take months of work and a large
amount of investment, but it has so far proven to be a worthwhile investment for many businesses in
understanding the needs and trends of customers and potential customers.
You can purchase big data, or employ companies to look at big data for you - but another way of analysing
data to get an insight into trends is by looking at the traffic to your own website. For example, looking at
where on your site traffic has increased and where it has dropped off can hint at what’s popular with your
members and what isn’t.
Using a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Moodle or Totara for online courses can allow you to
produce clever reports based on user information. This can then be linked to your CRM (for example,
Salesforce) for campaign management.
1. Analyse big data

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A Webanywhere Free Guide
5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky
We’re living in an age where people want information instantly. Keeping your organisation front of mind for
members via devices like their smartphone will mean they won’t forget why they joined. Provided, of
course, that what you’re giving them is relevant and of a high enough quality.
Keep updates regular. Email your members at least once a week with industry news, information about any
events you’re holding and also direct them to your latest courses and opportunities for continuing
professional development (CPD).
If you have a website, make sure email updates direct to this and also make sure the website has new
content added regularly - even if it’s just a blog post rewritten from a recent email update (incidentally, the
more often you update your website with relevant, quality content, the better your search engine ranking
and therefore visibility to potential members).
Look into developing a smartphone app. This could be a vehicle for all manner of content - from news feeds
to registering for events, to signing up, and completing, e-learning courses.
2. Give them instant information
Big data statistics
Smartphone usage statistics
50% of organisations say that big data helps in better meeting consumer
demand and facilitating growth
72.7% consider driving operational efficiencies to be the biggest benefit of
a big data strategy
23% (estimated) of the digital universe is information that might be valuable
if analyzed
(statistics source: Wipro (1/2); International Data Corp (3))
(statistics source: New Relic)
2011 2012 2013
1.6billion
Smartphone usage is increasing year-on-
year. There are currently around 1.6 billion
smartphones in use globally - with
smartphone users checking their phone
roughly every 6.5 minutes each day.

4. Your organisation can be a massive boost for members wanting recognition that they’re serious about their
career. However, they’ll need more than just a membership badge - you need to provide them with advice,
information and training so that being a member will ultimately produce results for them.
Creating opportunities for members’ continuing professional development with a learning platform means
they could become experts in any given field or competency easily. Utilise the benefits of a learning
platform (online, so can be accessed anywhere, anytime) and reward those who complete the courses with
certificates or even online badges (such as Mozilla Open Badges). That way, they’ll have physical evidence
of why being a member of your organisation is beneficial.
Knowing what kind of learning to provide can come from member surveys, keeping an eye on industry
developments and seeing how successful your previous courses were. You will need to make sure what you
offer is up to date, and that whenever there are industry changes, you are able to provide the training to
suit. Your members will tell you what they want in terms of courses - you just need to know how they will
tell you.
The courses you provide for your members need to be regular and varied; align the training with the
members’ wants and needs and they’ll keep coming back for more. Make sure you’re constantly looking out
for the next opportunity to enhance the knowledge of your members.
Additionally, ‘quick wins’ could be advice from seasoned professionals in the industry. Passing down
knowledge will help your organisation to become a fountain of knowledge and ‘thought leaders’ when it
comes to insider information for the industry.
3. Always offer new ways to boost career
development
Telephone: 01535 604026 marketing@webanywhere.co.uk / www.webanywhere.co.uk
A Webanywhere Free Guide
5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky
Online learning statistics
Online education is proven to increase knowledge retention by 25-60%.
72% of companies surveyed said e-learning keeps them on top of industry changes
In America, e-learning is a $56.2bn business
MEMBERSHIP CARD
60% 40%
MEMBERSHIP CARD
72% 28%
(statistics source: elearningindustry.com)
$56.2bn

5. Kolb’s Learning Cycle Theory
There are four stages in the learning cycle, according to theorist David Kolb. Those stages are based on how
a person learns, what they do following the learning experience, and how it influences the next stage of
their development. Many professional bodies are using the learning cycle, or ‘experiential learning’ as a
template for the learning they provide their members - and it’s easy for you to, as well.
The learning cycle dictates that members will follow experiencing by reflecting on the learning, and then
implementing it in the real world. Once the learning has been applied to real-world principles, they will then
be ready for the next phase of learning.
Following this cycle with the learning you provide will not only allow you to dovetail how the member
receives and uses the information with the frequency you provide it, but it will actually make deciding upon
what courses to run and when easier. Use the learning cycle model when creating the learning by providing
opportunities for discussion regarding the topic of the course. Allow learners to observe how the learning
works in real life situations, and then guide them into real-life experiences themselves.
Following this natural flow of learning will enrich the learning experience, and naturally bring them back to
you for follow-up learning.
4. Follow the learning cycle approach
Concrete
Experience
(doing / having an
experience)
Reflective
Observation
(reviewing / reflecting
on the experience)
Active
Experimentation
(planning / trying out
what you have learned)
Abstract
Conceptualisation
(concluding / learning
from the experience)
Telephone: 01535 604026 marketing@webanywhere.co.uk / www.webanywhere.co.uk
A Webanywhere Free Guide
5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky

6. Gamification statistics
61% of surveyed CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives say they take daily game breaks at work.
More than half of these gameful executives say they play during work in order “to feel more productive.”
1 out of 4 gamers is over the age of 50.
(statistics source: www.ryan-jenkins.com)
Gamification is one of the latest buzzwords in business and online learning. It’s where game-based
elements are added to learning - but it can also be used in any kind of interaction you have with your
members.
What makes gamification such a winner is that it plays to those most basic of urges: To succeed and receive
recognition for it. For it to be a winner for your organisation, and for it to actually increase your interaction
with members and make them stay with you, you have to ensure the game connects with your members
in the right way.
Taking the gamification one step further could improve interaction even further: Making virtual badges
available and even developing a scoreboard could entice people to compete and succeed. The top scorers
could be mentioned in your email newsletters, or on your website. Members will love getting the
recognition, even if it is just a bit of fun.
Obviously, you won’t have people signing up for membership solely for simple games, but they will increase
interaction between you and existing members, and increase the positive feelings towards your
organisation too. All this will help retain members - and therefore you’ll be onto a winner!
Implementing any - or all - of these five suggestions should result in a more ‘sticky’ membership. For more
information regarding technology and how it can help you, speak to Webanywhere using the contact details
on the next page.
5. Give them games to play
Telephone: 01535 604026 marketing@webanywhere.co.uk / www.webanywhere.co.uk
A Webanywhere Free Guide
5 Ways To Make Your Membership Sticky

7. stretch beyond
About Webanywhere
Webanywhere specialises in learning technologies that enable the concepts
described in this paper, and stretch the learning potential and engagement
of your members. Our previous clients include Aslib, Britsafe and MPS.
To discuss the effective implementation of a learning management system,
and we can help grow your profit like the organisations below,
speak to us today.
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