Ep 76: The One Question you Need to Ask your Members

Aug 1

Cracking the Code: Unraveling the Key to Long-Term Member Loyalty

Have you ever wondered why your long-term members, those who have been with you for years, keep sticking around? Typically, when discussing member retention, we focus on the crucial first 21 days of their journey. However, once we optimize that initial period, we need to understand why members stay for longer durations.

Average Length of Stay

To determine why members stay beyond the average length of time, which could be around eight to ten months, it's important to gain insights from those who have been with you longer than the average member. If you don't know the average length of stay, you can refer back to episode 70 on lifetime value (LTV) to learn how to calculate it. Obtaining feedback from these long-term members is actually quite simple—we just need to ask. Despite mentioning the importance of surveying members in previous articles, we often forget to do so.

Member Retention

I recently worked with a client who had already identified why new members join their community but still had a lingering question about what keeps them around. We understand that people initially join for the content and training, but they stay for the sense of community. However, it's essential to differentiate between marketing strategies to attract new members and focusing on member experience to ensure their retention.

Survey Your Members and Analyze Data with AI

In our survey, we asked members who had been with us for over a year, "What do you love the most about this program?" By analyzing the responses, we found the key reasons why they remain committed.

In the past, reading through and analyzing each response manually was a time-consuming process. However, with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT or this custom AI Tool, we can streamline this task. We input all the responses into ChatGPT and instructed it to identify the top six reasons members love the program, providing detailed descriptions for each reason using language from the responses.

If you don't already have survey data, you can easily create a one-question survey for your long-term members. Sending it via email or posting it in your community are effective ways to gather their insights. Additionally, you can ask the question after members renew their annual membership. Open-ended questions yield the most authentic responses, although multiple-choice options are also viable. Analyzing the responses using AI tools enables us to uncover valuable insights.

One crucial point to remember is that what sells members initially might not be what keeps them engaged in the long run. Often, it's not the tangible deliverables that matter most but the sense of community and connection. Recognizing this distinction allows us to adjust our messaging throughout the member journey to emphasize community and connection rather than solely focusing on deliverables.

By asking long-term members what they love most about your program and analyzing their responses, you'll not only gain valuable insights but also gather wording and language that resonates with your target audience. This task aligns with understanding your avatar and tailoring your approach accordingly.

Let’s Get To Work

Your task for this week is to discuss with your team how you can ask this question to members who have been with you for at least a year and determine how you'll utilize the insights gained. Need help keeping your customer longer and want to work directly with me? Apply here!