“Digital touchpoints” is just a fancy way of saying “member interactions”. In the old days, this was as simple as phone calls with your members or posting them an annual member renewal invoice. Today, there are numerous ways members can interact with your association, and it’s important to ensure all digital touchpoints are consistent in terms of branding, messaging, and member experience, so that customers feel like they are interacting with the same company at every step.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the most common digital touchpoints that should be a part of every association’s digital strategy.
How to identify digital touchpoints
The easiest way to identify digital touch points would be analysing your members’ digital journey. Think what stages your members go through from the point they first find out about your association, to the point they become loyal and engaged members and dedicated volunteers.
Learn how to build your own Member Journey Map with this easy step-by-step training.
Below are typical member journeys (which may differ from association to association) and related digital touchpoints.
Discovery (Awareness) Touchpoints
At the discovery stage, the most important touchpoints would be your marketing channels (digital and non-digital) and indirect recommendations.
The first stage touchpoints may include all marketing channels such as social media, digital and traditional advertisements, partnerships and sponsorships, events, search engines and more. The main goal of these interactions is to introduce your brand to your potential members and encourage them to visit your website for more information.
Indirect contacts, such as word of mouth, recommendations, and customer reviews are the most important, and at the same time the trickiest touch points as they come with only a limited level of control. Indirect messaging includes peer recommendations, as well as the messages your members leave about you on forums and social media. There isn’t much you can do to change these messages, however there are tools you can use to respond to them if they’re negative and tools you can use to encourage spreading positive comments.
Consideration Digital Touchpoints
If your touch points at the previous stage were compelling enough, your potential member will go to the next step of their journey – consideration.
The main touchpoints at this stage are your website, social media profiles and every channel you use to demonstrate your member value proposition and member benefits. Don’t forget, marketing touch points and materials still play a crucial role at this stage, such as your blog, content marketing, and thought leadership.
The aim of this stage is to stay in touch with your audience to be able to continue your marketing efforts – either by inviting them to subscribe to your emails or to follow you on social media.
If a person is interested in your content and is happy to subscribe to your emails, use the power of marketing automation to convince them to become a member.
Service Use (Acquisition)
More happens at the member acquisition stage than simply signing up to a membership. Before making a decision about a long term commitment, they may purchase your content, attend your event, or simply want to interact with your membership team to ask some questions.
Important touch points at the acquisition stage:
- Point of sale for your events and content (online shop, chart, delivery)
- Your cross-sell and up-sell initiatives
- Virtual or face-to-face events
- Member support
- Customer service (cancellations, invoicing, troubleshooting etc.)
- Member application form and member joining process
Make sure the steps of joining your membership are outlined in a simple way (even if it’s a complex process), terms and conditions are clear, the pricing structure is easy to understand and the member value proposition is restated at every stage of joining.
Membership Onboarding & Engagement
We know that membership relationships only start at the point of joining, and your next year’s renewal campaign starts now.
What is your member experience and what are the touch points after they join? How do you deliver your member value promise? Are you consistent with the promise you provided in your marketing campaigns at the previous stages? Is your member experience consistent throughout different engagement touchpoints, such as:
- Member onboarding initiatives (from marketing automation to phone calls and physical mailouts)
- Member portal and member library
- Member events
- Online community
- Learning management system
- Certification programs
- Other association programs, such as mentoring, awards, consultancy etc.
- Member surveys
- Mobile apps
Renewal
What are your renewal campaign touchpoints? How easy is it to renew your membership? What channels are you using for a smooth and seamless renewal? How do you reinstate the value of your membership during the renewal campaign?
Here is a list of typical renewal campaign touchpoints:
- Member Portal
- Invoicing
- Automatic payments
- SMS
- Mobile app
- Phone calls
Loyalty & Advocacy
Loyal members don’t just keep coming back — they’re fans who advocate for your association and volunteer their time to run its initiatives. These touchpoints not only keep members engaged, but start the cycle over again by encouraging referrals to new potential members (think about indirect communications).
- Online groups for committee engagement
- Member referral campaigns
- Digital badges to promote member achievements, and with that your association and its services
- Rewards programs
- Anniversary celebrations
Prerequisites for a Successful Touchpoint
Every member contact, by any means and of any length, is an important part of a member journey. However, life is not perfect and there will be pitfalls on your member journey. If you want to improve the interactions you have with your members, it’s important to map out all your touch points, identify the most important and effective ones and create a plan for improving your member journey.
Not all touchpoints are created equal. Some of them simply need to be ‘good enough’, while others need to stand out and clearly deliver your member value proposition.
No matter what shape or form they take, all of your brand touchpoints must:
- Clearly represent your association and speak about your MVP
- Be consistent and ‘on brand’
- Motivate your customers to take a clear action, depending on the next step
The Importance of Personalisation
Personalising the digital experience based on the member’s interests and needs is vital and digital touch points are not an exception. Use your member segmentation and personas to customise your messages and touch points from the very first step. For example, your older members may prefer to receive a phone call, while the younger generation are expecting a strong online community platform for interactions. Use your technology (such as your AMS and email marketing software) to gather data on members’ preferences and behaviour and use that information to deliver targeted content and recommendations. Ultimately, personalising the digital experience is about creating a more human and meaningful connection with members in an increasingly digital world.
Knowing your association’s touchpoints at different stages of the membership journey is vital. To elevate member satisfaction, you must aim to deliver a great member experience across all the touchpoints and meet member expectations.
