When it comes to welcoming new members to AEM, it’s like the old saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
Association staff and leadership are always working diligently to put their best feet forward when welcoming member companies and their representatives to AEM. That means a commitment to being intentional and effective with regards to increasing engagement and driving retention, as well as doing our part to optimize our onboarding strategies and tactics.
“We’re always exploring ways to enhance our support for our 1,000-plus member companies and ensure they get the greatest possible return on their investment in AEM,” said Sara Stromski, the association’s director of membership and customer success. “It’s why we felt it was important to take new-member-company onboarding to another level by launching a new, comprehensive program to raise new member awareness of AEM’s service areas.”
The multi-step program, which was implemented in 2022 by the association’s membership and sales team, allowed AEM to:
- Consistently and effectively engage new member companies and primary membership contacts
- Address nearly 1,000 new onboarding cases over a 12-month period
- Accurately track efforts in our customer relationship management (CRM) platform
New AEM member companies should expect the following touchpoints once they’ve joined the association:
- A welcome email within 24 hours of application approval (activation)
- An opportunity for the primary member contact and any colleagues who may use the membership to attend an orientation with their AEM Account Success Advisor
- A follow-up email within a day or two of the orientation
- A follow-up phone call from the Account Success Advisor at a later date
“Formalizing and enhancing our new member company onboarding efforts has been very much worth the time, effort and resources invested in making it happen,” said Stromski. “And now, more than a year since we first implemented our revamped program, the proof of our success is in the results.”
Not only did the association ensure more members were engaged within the first 90 days of their AEM membership (thereby allowing the membership and sales team to achieve its member engagement goal, but more new members attended the 2022 AEM Annual Conference, and the association achieved an above-average member retention rate of 92% heading into this year.
“Representing the interests and organizational priorities of our members has always been a top priority for AEM,” explained Stromski. “One critical component of that effort is onboarding and engaging new member companies and membership contacts. And while our strategies and tactics have changed over the years, our end goal is the same as it’s always been – to provide AEM member companies and their representatives with unparalleled access to comprehensive information, connections and actionable support to make educated and impactful business decisions.”
For more AEM news and updates, subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor.