The Give and Take of Customer Loyalty

The online community I manage is much newer than the global community it represents. Our Society was established in 1852 and is considered the oldest National Engineering Society in the United States. As you can imagine we have thousands of “life members” who are very loyal to the organization. We even have members who have added the Society logo to their gravestones.I have found that these loyal life members are the most active in our community, but how do you nurture loyalty from new members? Associations are losing their footing as the “gatekeeper” for professional networking. The thousands of life members that we have are from a pre-digital age that had to join an association to network with their peers. Now one can create a LinkedIn profile and network with professionals for free from the comfort of their own homes. Why do they need to join your organization to be part of your association’s community?Members join associations because of what value they see in it. What will I “get.” That’s how members will start participating in your community. What answers and contacts will they make by posting? Somewhere along that member journey they start asking what can I “give.” I think this is an important turn in the member journey. Only by walking your members through that transition will you achieve customer loyalty.Larger Network Your community is a larger network. You members may be able to use social media to connect with other professionals, but your organization’s network is much larger. I recently noticed a student who had posted a question on her LinkedIn and didn’t receive any replies. She posted it in our community and received six responses over the weekend.Customer loyalty is about meeting needs. If you community can meet the needs (i.e. answer questions) of your members, your members will feel like the organization is worth their time and money. Leverage your organization’s network so members know what the community can do for them and they will want to stick around.I noticed a colleague that constantly name drops as he talks to members. It’s not done in a boastful way - to make him look more important. He’s causally letting members know who they can connect with through the Society. It’s a great idea.Element of ChangeYour community should be igniting change. Your members should be excited about working together to improve their careers and their profession. Your members will not be loyal to the community unless they are inspired by it. How can you encourage your members to inspire each other? Ask them to share what projects they are working on. Chances are others will be interested if it aligns with their work. If it doesn’t, it may inspire others. You need to be involved with your community to know who is doing what to inspire change.If they feel like they are part of a community that ignites change, they will be proud of being a part of the community and the organization. They will want to actively participate and promote the community to both members and non-members, because they are proud of the change the community has accomplished together. Change is a key element of improving customer loyalty.Investing in Community After members have received benefits from the community, they reach a point in their member journey where their participation is not about what value they “get.” It’s more about how they are giving back to the professional community. I’m not sure how many of our members reach this point in their membership journey, but it is the ultimate goal in customer loyalty. Until members decide they want to participate intrinsically rather than extrinsically, you should be worried about them finding another organization to meet their needs. How do we get members to reach this “high level” membership?Conclusion Community participation is a great motivator to encourage this level of membership and customer loyalty. I actively participate in communities where I receive the most support. If other’s respond to you, don’t you feel obligated to “pay it forward” by supporting others? We have a topic moderator that got involved with the program after someone offered her a part-time job in the community. Because she personally benefited, she decided to start helping others in the community as well. That’s the ultimate goal in customer loyalty and membership satisfaction.