If you want to create meaningful connections with your healthcare members, the key is to engage them emotionally. But, how do you ensure they remain loyal when so many choices exist?
Creating a winning member engagement strategy can elevate your organization tremendously and entice new members from the start. The right program can cultivate a strong online community and engage members to become future brand ambassadors.
What is member engagement?
In simple terms, member engagement refers to the ongoing interaction between an organization and its existing members in exchange for meaningful benefits. When done correctly, it’s an emotional investment between both parties.
Although your members might feel strongly connected to your organization’s mission, you should strive to supply a valuable experience through increased membership engagement.
What are the characteristics of an effective member engagement strategy?
A Member-centric approach
An effective engagement strategy focuses on the organization’s members and caters to their needs, wants and preferences. The organization must achieve this while consistently providing positive experiences.
To build long-lasting relationships with your members, start by gathering their data . For example, customer mapping allows you to walk in their shoes as they interact with your interfaces.
Every interaction your members have with you reveals their needs — at every stage. The most optimal way to capture this data is through a membership automation platform that gathers and summarizes information using AI technology.
Proactive outreach
Engagement is meant to build an emotional connection with your members. Hence, it should be prevalent throughout the year, not just when they have an appointment or transaction that will help your organization make some money.
Maintaining regular communication with your members shows that you genuinely care for them. Ask about their experiences, and seek advice to improve your services in the future. Also, help them build meaningful connections with the right people. With their permission, you can share their inspiring stories with the public.
The Hybrid interaction model
Should you focus on in-person or virtual engagements? Actually, both can be utilized to bring people together and remove geographical boundaries.
A hybrid interaction model gives you the flexibility to stay connected to your members however they prefer. Consider combining in-person and one-on-one chats with virtual events like webinars.
Personalization and automation
The truth is that member engagement is a time-consuming effort because it involves sending renewal notices, calling people asking why they didn’t renew and providing regular updates. Automation is an excellent way of personalizing your approach to better drive engagement.
What are examples of effective member engagement strategies?
Surveys
The primary goal of member engagement is to drive member satisfaction. Distribute surveys regularly to get feedback from your members. Fortunately, this doesn’t require them to manually fill out forms.
Consider sending surveys via Google Forms or social media channels — even email. All the answers will be collated, so you can analyze what your members think should be done moving forward.
Customized content
Segmenting your members helps create customized content that will engage them effectively. Classifying them according to their interests gives you a good idea of what tactics work best for a particular type of audience.
A solid communication strategy
Membership engagement entails communicating with your members regularly, but you shouldn’t overdo it. Choosing the right platform is key. A highly-targeted approach can more effectively create meaningful relationships with your members.
Give your community a sense of control by allowing them to choose the channels they prefer. They also should also have a say in the frequency of contact.
Engaging events
One way to bring together your community of members is by hosting regular in-person and virtual events. These gatherings offer valuable opportunities for learning and networking and help your community appreciate their member benefits better while allowing you to cultivate more solid relationships.
Regular content
Posting regular content helps educate members about your offerings and gives them insight into what makes your organization valuable. If you want your members to continue supporting your mission, they should know what makes your organization vital to their lives.
Monitoring memberbership engagement strategies
Is your member engagement strategy working? Monitor its progress, and adjust your tactics if necessary. Not everything should be set in stone. You should be ready to pivot according to what your members want and need.
