Improving New Member Onboarding in Unions with Digital Tools

In its 2020 benchmark survey of association marketing, Marketing General reported 80% of associations sent a membership confirmation/welcome email, but only 36% had a welcome email series that explained themselves to new members. On top of this, only 47% were offered to create a member profile and were invited to a member only website section. Onboarding campaigns are a best practice for unions because you are creating a new relationship by exploring benefits and how the new member wants to engage with you. It also allows the new member to constantly update the union with their current contact info.

A solid onboarding campaign doesn’t overwhelm the member but gives them all of the information they need in a personalized and digestible delivery. With a good campaign, the new member will be entrenched in the union within hours. Eliminating confusion and giving them a strong sense of union pride.

Think about a new member joining the union. They just paid you money, and are at the stage where they are going to be the most responsive to you that they have ever been. Don’t take their money and not tell them about all the awesome things your union does until their dues is up.

Onboarding is your best chance to personalize your union to your new members and connect with them. It creates opportunities to:

• Increase volunteerism

• Increase lobbying

• Educate

• Lay groundwork for future member engagement

• Boost retention

Don’t just let someone join your union and leave them out to dry. They need to know what the plan is. Constant communication and engagement starts with a good onboarding process.