A deep understanding of member engagement patterns and digital behaviour shows what members love and empowers associations to maximise their acquisition and engagement strategies. We’re nearing the end of 2020 and many associations struggle with questions of how to enrich engagement within target markets; how to best market unique products and new services and which markets to target for new members or customers.
A comprehensive dynamic engagement score is the solution to overcoming each of these challenges. It considers all touchpoints and data source for Structured Data (CRM) and Unstructured Data (Web Analytics, Twitter, Social platforms, etc) to measure how engaged your members are with your organisation and in what ways. When done well and by using best practices, an engagement score will show:
· Patterns of how each individual or company member has engaged with the association for a designated period of time.
· Identifies key demographics and the digital journey that are likely to predict future engagement patterns.
· Provides insights into the factors that drive engagement.
· Pinpoints target markets for member acquisition or engagement related to a unique product or service.
Building an engagement score
Engagement scoring can be handled in a few ways. Ultimately, it should begin with an in-depth data analysis to evaluate member and customer engagement touchpoints over a specified time frame, ideally three to five years.
Data should then be segmented by key demographics and digital behaviour to understand which elements drive engagement behaviour and demonstrates your value. This data may also be supported by market research to gain a better understanding of drivers and barriers to participation.
The formula required to create the overall score is composed of unique elements determined by member actions and digital behaviour. These are weighted based on their relevance to predict future engagements, adoption of services and revenue, greater alignment with your strategic objectives and other key factors.
Broad elements in an engagement model and score should include:
· Breadth — How many ways has an individual or company engaged with your association?
· Depth — How many times have they digitally and virtually engaged?
· Loyalty — How frequently do they engage over time?
Using the engagement score
These and many specific elements used in the engagement model for scoring can be altered, broadened or narrowed depending on your membership and benefits. The result is a score that quantifies beyond transactional and includes digital engagement showing levels for each member and rolled up into specific KPIs. There is also value in breaking down an engagement score to see which elements of the score members derive their points from. Is it breadth or depth? Learning engagements or volunteer opportunities? The final step in leveraging an engagement score is to break down the resulting scores into quartiles or deciles, depending on the size of your membership, and categorise member and customer types within each segment.
An engagement score is a powerful tool to improve sales, member retention and acquisition. A comprehensive understanding of how and why members engage allows associations to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing and communications strategies. Ultimately, associations can deepen their impact, improve member satisfaction and reinforce their bottom line.