Spreadsheets offer a simple way to track members, which makes them popular with many associations, clubs and membership organisations.
But relying on these presents significant drawbacks. That includes challenges to collaborate using spreadsheets, which often involves emails back and forth, and the increased security risks.
Spreadsheets are a frequent source of bad data caused by entry mistakes and inconsistencies.
When multiple people update information, it’s difficult to understand who edited what making it hard to hold individuals accountable.
Poor quality data keeps organisations from engaging their members when email addresses need to be validated or irrelevant content is shared. And because spreadsheets don’t always enable real-time reporting, managing renewals often proves time-consuming.
To efficiently handle membership renewals, everyone should be able to check the following information quickly:
- What memberships will expire next week/month/quarter?
- How many of these are set to auto-renew?
- What price should each membership renew at?
- How many memberships have recently lapsed?
It isn’t difficult to see how spreadsheets increase the likelihood of mistakes, resulting in missed expiry dates or renewals being incorrectly invoiced. It adds up to a frequent headache if renewals consume hours, or even days, to complete each month.
In this post, we look at how modern membership management applications streamline renewal processes to avoid these issues.
Modern Membership Management.
This starts with the secure storage of your data in the cloud. With complete detail about each member accessible in one place, everyone can instantly check detail, including:
- What type of membership is active
- How much was paid
- Is it a gift membership
- Who is the primary contact
To simplify membership renewals, each record provides a single source of truth, including the next expiry and renewal dates.
Rather than working with Excel filters, data is easily accessible in real-time lists and dashboards highlighting upcoming renewals and any lapsed memberships.
Automated Membership Renewal.
While most organisations renew memberships automatically, they often rely on manual processes to administer this.
Using modern membership management software, workflow automation and other capabilities can be used to reduce effort.
For instance, an auto-renew status can be set on a membership record that will automatically send a renewal quote on a trigger date. This process could also include creating an invoice and a new membership record for the new term.
The renewal date could also trigger a nurture campaign to send a sequence of messages. Connecting a marketing automation platform could include thanking members for their continued support, sharing a reminder of their membership benefits, and communicating a renewal notification.
Auto-renewal processes can be fully adapted to fit most requirements. For instance, suppose you offered a promotional new membership sign-up offer for an initial 12-month period, but upon expiry, the membership should be renewed at the regular price.
Or perhaps your membership price has increased since the previous renewal, so the latest rate should automatically apply for the new term.
Sometimes, you might want a membership to be renewed at the same amount if a price guarantee commitment has been made. Or, you may want the flexibility to set your renewal price at a custom rate or even migrate the membership to a different product upon renewal.
These and other renewal scenarios can be easily handled using our membership management app to achieve better outcomes, including:
- Reduced effort to complete renewals
- Timely renewal notifications sent
- Accurately creating memberships records and invoice renewals
Next Steps.
Let us show you a more efficient solution that offers more functionality and provides valuable insights to increase your membership retention. Book in a call to find out more.
