YOU may have encountered the phrase or expression “take a walk in your customer’s shoes.” Figuratively speaking, it means stepping into your customers’ world to understand and appreciate their needs and/or their pain points to serve them better. In the context of associations, we will change the word “customers” to “members” as members of an association are its main customers.
I recently attended a webinar entitled “Member Digital Journey” organized by Member Boat, an Australia-based digital marketing agency dedicated to helping associations in their digital transformation initiatives. It was presented by its founder and principal consultant, Olena Lima, who outlined a framework of a workbook called “member journey mapping,” a visual representation of what members go through from the moment they have first heard about your association to eventually becoming loyal and engaged volunteers and ambassadors.
To create a powerful and insightful “members map,” Olena cited the following steps, which I termed “Guider” for easy recall and reference:
1. G—Gather qualitative and quantitative data on your members such as digital data from your existing database, from your web site and from your social-media account.
For instance, analyzing your web site’s user flow or user experience is a critical step in data collection. Web sites are a great source of information about your members’ demographics, among others. Your membership team is also a rich data source since they talk to your members, listen to their feedback, and know their main pain points. You can also collect data from member surveys and forms they fill up.
2. U—Use the collected data to build your member persona which is a character derived from research insights, demographic data, and member interviews created to represent a common group of people. Unlike traditional member segments, personas have all human characteristics and creating them helps you understand them better and, eventually, create a deeper connection with them with an extensive understanding of their demographic profile, behaviors, and pain points.
3. I—Identify all your touch points with members, e.g., your web site, marketing channels (social media, print advertisement, e-mails, partnerships); direct interaction (landing pages, follow-up e-mails and marketing automation, call centre); customer service (purchase process, payment, cancellations, invoicing); indirect contacts (word of mouth, recommendation sand customer reviews).
4. D—Determine the different stages of the member journey, typically divided into six important stages—discovery, consideration, service use (trial), membership, retention, and advocacy/contribution—and analyze each of these to map your member’s journey with your association.
5. E—Experiment the member journey, identify the gaps, and address any issues.
6. R—Review, validate and repeat.
“Walking in your members’ shoes” is mapping your member journey to better understand your members, as well as to personalise communication, content and offers based on where they are. Member journey mapping is a powerful tool your association can use to create a highly personalised member experience that makes a difference.
The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associations”—is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: [email protected].
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