"That's too bad, they'll have to figure it out." "I really don't have time to answer their questions."
Have you ever heard someone say that or something similar about a member request? If we're honest we may have heard those statements or something like them. We are in the business of customer service and those statements reflect attitudes that are not in the spirit of meeting our members' needs. In today's world, if we go into a store and we don't get good service, we are reluctant to go back. In a membership organization, if a member does not good service, they don't renew their membership.
We can do all the promotion and marketing we want, but if we don't treat our members--our customers well--they probably won't rejoin. We all have to be intentional and think of how we can meet our members' needs. When they can't do something or fill out a form that we want them to, we need to ask: "How can I help you?" When they complain about an issue, we need to listen to their concerns and investigate whether there is anything we can do. When a member sends us an email, we need to answer the email within a reasonable time, usually within 24 hours. When we see a member at a meeting, we need to make them feel welcome. When we see someone we know on Zoom, we need to acknowledge them. Those little actions that treat people with respect and show that we value them make a big difference in retaining members. Let's all monitor our behaviors to make sure we are treating our members with the respect they deserve. When we take actions, let's ask ourselves, "What does that mean to our members?"
Putting the needs of our members first must be our priority.
