Membership Site Savvy

I was surprised the other day when I cancelled my paid membership with a popular internet marketer. I received an email offering the same service free, for another three months.

I asked myself, why would someone just give me free membership?

When you think about it, it makes very good business sense. It is more expensive to find new customers than it is to keep your present customers. If you have a customer who cancels their membership, you are losing money. If you were to offer a free membership for a limited time, your customer may feel a debt of gratitude. At the very least, they will be impressed with your generosity and customers will remember you as an honest, caring person who is not just interested in money.

If you have a membership site, you would do well to follow up any cancellations with an offer of free membership (for a limited period), or with a gift (or bribe) for feedback on why your customer has cancelled.

It is always better to keep a customer who has paid for something from you, e.g. a membership, as they are more likely to buy again. You want to put your efforts into growing your business, not just into replacing dropouts.

Sometimes, the personal touch is enough to earn a customer’s trust and you will profit from the relationship for many years. At the very least, you will find out what your membership needs in order to keep its members. You have nothing to lose by offering free membership to some customers and a great deal to gain.