Back to the Basics of Membership Retention

You’ve attracted members, but how do you retain them?

The first thing to know is why each member joined. What were the intentions and goals of each person? If you don’t know, it’s time to ask. After all, you can’t actively retain members if you don’t know why they joined in the first place!

Here are some tips to increase member retention (adapted from Success 101 (Item 1622)):

Evaluate Interest

  • Find out members’ needs and goals so you can help them reach their objectives. The Member Interest Survey (Item 403) is a useful tool for accomplishing this.
  • Base the focus of your club’s educational program on the results of your research.

 Analyze Reasons for Missed Meetings

  • Are members missing meetings because of their time or location? If other members agree, consider adjusting the time or location of your meetings.
  • Do meetings run too long? A shorter program might encourage attendance.
  • Do members have enough opportunity for participation? Try a rotation method that allows everyone a chance to fulfill all meeting roles.

Nurture Potential Non-renewals

  • Once members reach their original goals, suggest new ones, such as the advanced communication and leadership tracks.
  • Are members “burned out” from fulfilling too many meeting roles? Lighten the load as needed.

 

Despite your best intentions, members will leave. Members leave Toastmasters for a variety of reasons; it’s important to find out why.

Here are some of the most common reasons members leave their clubs, along with suggestions for how to encourage them to stay:

  • Too many other commitments
    Suggest a break to take care of commitments. Check back with them in a few months to see if they are able to come back.
  • Inconvenient meeting time
    This might also be the case for other members. Take a poll to find out if another time works better. If not, suggest the web page www.toastmasters.org/find to find a club with a more convenient meeting time.
  • Pressure to work too quickly
    Remember that Toastmasters programs are self-paced. It is important to encourage members while allowing them to work at their own pace.
  • Relocation
    When members move away, wish them well and suggest they visit www.toastmasters.org/find to look for clubs close to their new homes.

The aim is to fulfill members’ needs. When members know how to succeed within their club or district, membership retention increases.

From: 
Email:  
To: 
Email:  
Subject: 
Message: