Terms

The common discussion is about acquisition as an essential element of every business plan. But Michael Gillespie, who leads Customer Success here at , is aware of an overlooked element of membership that happens immediately after acquisition and Onboarding.

"A large portion of members focus on the sale of the membership, but after the sale has been made it's the time when the tough part commences!" says Michael. Initial interactions with a new customer are more crucial in membership due to the aspect of interaction with a human that you might not see in other fields.

What does it mean to get someone aboard successfully? "Onboarding could be different to the membership you have. This could be a factor that triggers an event, for example a welcome email - and others may simply end their journey at that point," Michael explains. He believes that it is designed to establish expectations: it let the new member be aware of the benefits gained from joining your group - not immediately, but over the following months.

"Onboarding is typically delivered as an inactive experience, which fails to create a roadmap for members," Michael adds. It's better to assume that at the first touchpoint with your community, your member knows nothing about what to do. Lack of knowledge creates obstacles that hinder new members from connecting with your membership in the way you would like them to.

Common onboarding sequences

"In an average membership, I sign someone up and then send them an email welcoming them and they get three to five hyperlinks to the content I would like them to engage with, and I'm done," Michael says. "Members find themselves overwhelmed or unserved."

The members who do not receive an onboarding plan will seldom engage and often churn. On the other hand those who are aware of the steps to take stay committed. "It's essential to build the impression of a commitment from newly joined members" Michael says. "Tell your new members about the direction you're going to take them on your membership journey."

"If you're a producer, do you want anyone to be a part of one particular show? Would you like people to be engaged with a different kind of content? If you're not able to explain to the members what you're doing, and more importantly why you're taking them, they're going to be making their way through the membership in a vacuum," he explains.

If you're a producer Your onboarding could inspire people to listen to the particular episode

This is the only event that causes the most turnover in the initial stage of membership. "You've been given an possibility of up to one day. Do you have a specific action that you want your member to perform? Determine what you want from onboarding, and then the way you can design your process to ensure you offer an enjoyable experience to every participant," he adds.

Removing barriers for the ideal journey

When building your onboarding process first, you must consider the intended output. "Do you wish for a new member to upgrade to a tier with additional benefits? Maybe you've already joined as a monthly customer, but your desire is to convert them to a yearly member?" Michael asks.

This output could also be completed in completing a course or read a particular article. "Most folks, when it comes to onboarding, have not laid the intended outputs out," he adds. "Make the list with between 3 and 1 intended outputs. Consider, "What are the barriers that may exist to realizing those outputs?' - there are always barriers to those who are interested in your members."

Barriers could include cost, time, or a combination of each of the three. "Folks do not have an unlimited quantity of time. They're very busy; they have countless distractions," Michael explains. "Is there a limit on price in the case of upgrade options? If there's an equivalent product available in the marketplace, what makes this member choose you over other?"

Even knowledge could be a barrier. "Members don't often get informed about where they are supposed to be' within the organization. What's the purpose? Where do they want to be in the next period of time?" Michael asks. "The faster members can grasp the benefits, the faster they'll be able to buy in and produce the output that you'd like to see." Early engagement can help. One option for onboarding is to ask members to respond to a welcome email, including information about any issues they're experiencing.

Transparency: inform them what you would like to get out of the onboarding process and what benefits they will get if they decide to take the initiative. "Don't be afraid to let your members be aware of what you are trying to accomplish. People who are in high awareness of your intent will take action at the time you're asking them to. The members who are aware of your intentions will remain for the longest period of time." Michael smiles.

Welcome videos

The welcome emails are easy and efficient onboarding tools. most new members will expect an email immediately after signing up. However, we believe it's possible to go further: "You have a small chance to impress your customer," says Michael. "Memberships with a welcome video in their onboarding have a 50% reduction in churn rates during the initial two months of the membership."

The welcome video will make you feel more human in your membership. "One of the biggest potentials in today's joining is the human element," says Michael. "Automation and AI-generated content are excellent, however membership comes with the added benefit of having a personal aspect of it. If there's something that consumers believe they're lacking today in membership products, it's humans who interact."

Jay Klaus from Creator Science provides a wonderful introduction video "In the welcome email he sends to new employees, he puts a video on the screen and greets you. He explains why the way he's working and also outlines what you can expect during the next 6 months," Michael explains.

Jay Klaus from Creator Science is a fantastic introduction video

It is an excellent opportunity to spark engagement in the early stages of beginning the process of onboarding. For video, the click rate inside an email on video content is 17 times higher on average than the text of hyperlinks. "Put front and center whatever your intent is and make it more human to what it is you're doing to your target audience. Build it once, deliver it over and over again," he adds.

Roadmaps

An onboarding email needs to contain a road map. Establish expectations: how do the members gain access to benefits? Are there any specific times for those benefits, perhaps every week? How do they access those benefits - do they need to access their email account? Are they required to sign into their account?

"This is a frequently ignored aspect of membership but informing your members precisely what you're delivering is crucial to limit churn rate within the first two month," Michael explains. "Members should not be left to figure anything out by themselves."

We've seen plenty of examples lately. "The onboarding email includes the links to tons of wonderful material, but the members become lost. In the event of this it's either a member who's not engaged and you're left with someone who's lost and isn't willing to put in the effort to go to your website to learn more," the author continues.

There's no way to overload information in front of members when it comes to a roadmap. It's common to believe that your people know how to use the content, but it's better to think a member knows little or nothing about it. "Explicitly provide everything to your members as you'll notice a decrease in churn," Michael adds.

Upsells

Most people don't think about upselling immediately after signing up as a new customer. If done properly, it is a highly impactful aspect of onboarding, and can lock in significantly higher revenue.

Michael has noted that new members are most likely to be receptive to sales within the first 24hrs to 1 week after having purchased an account. "It's much easier to convert an existing member in the first couple of days since they have all the required information about the membership. Already, they're 'one foot in'" He says.

Upsell offers within onboarding have distinct positioning from those on your website. Most of the time, these deals don't show on your website - they are reserved exclusively for during onboarding. "Once you have a person an active member, they feel a part of an organization. It's a good idea to offer upsells to give them an enhanced experience through additional benefits," he states.

"Let's say you have an e-newsletter that costs $6 per month. You provide a user with the option upgrade to a annual option which offers of value at the same price, but on a monthly basis. The members who are well-informed upon onboarding are more likely to purchase an upsell on a yearly subscription. We typically see conversion rates that range from 30-40 percent for these deals," Michael reports.

Additionally, they get an entire year of time to consume your contents. If members take advantage of such offers The lifetime value of those members is about four or five times higher than those who did not respond to the upsell.

"Think about enhancing your experience as a member. You could do this by adding additional benefits that you can make an exclusive membership plan," Michael adds. "Every membership includes a section of members that are extremely engaged, and those members tend to be the ones most likely to buy an upsell in the early times. But you have to put the opportunity in front the members."

The text in the welcome email you receive could read"This week only, we're extending an opportunity for new members to buy a VIP membership. You'll receive three personalized membership coaching calls per month all year. Two aspects to the offer: it's limited, with an exact date when it expires; It also comes with a huge discount.

Upsells reduce the probability of short-term churn. "Members who sign up for such a 60% off the cost of an annual membership in the first week after joining are eighty percent more likely to be members two years from now," Michael reports. "The upgrade must increase incrementally in cost. However, statistically speaking, those who sign up for the upgrade are long-term members, and that is more money to your business."

The upsell conversion rates within the onboarding series can be 7 to 10 times more than for first-time purchases. "If you have a 3 percentage conversion rate on the regular membership, after you've enrolled these members into your membership, you could expect a 30% per cent conversion," Michael explains. When you offer upsells at the onboarding process, your members can earn five times more money for your membership on average over those who don't get the benefit of an upsell.

Pricing

In terms of pricing We would suggest that you do not exceed 50% when it comes to the increment.

"For instance, I'm a year-round member. I've joined for $50 per year. I'm greeted with an upsell offer that includes access to five or four different things for $75 a year. It's an increase of 50% but it's also 50% more money you've earned already from the customer during the first year," Michael explains. Over the next few years, the customer will generate between five and seven times more income.

"Think about how you could incorporate into existing advantages for a better experience. Effective upsells can bring in huge amounts of money that are otherwise money left on the table. There are always members in your group who have a longing for more," Michael concludes.

The great part about upsells is that it allows the user to instantly locate those people at the right moment and then extract the value. It will be possible to keep those gains over the coming years, if this person decides to switch.

This should help you in your strategies for onboarding. Contact us on social media if you have any concerns. Have fun!