If it's your job to get people to subscribe to your event, online course, or camp, you've probably spent most of your energy devising ways to get your product in front of potential customers' eyes.
But unfortunately, your work isn't done after they click "Register."
It's imperative that you welcome new members in a way that keeps them excited and motivated to follow through on their journey with you.
That's why in this article, we'll give you twelve brilliant strategies for making your new members feel welcome and valued-which will translate into a higher participation and satisfaction rate for your product.
Let's dive in!
Why It's Important to Give New Members a Warm Welcome
You probably already know that customer service is an essential element in your brand's success as a whole-but did you know that good customer service is important even before the consumer journey begins?
It's true.
In fact, 84 percent of consumers consider customer service to be a key factor when deciding whether or not to even make a purchase.
In other words, a warm welcome is not just a good idea; it's a survival tactic.
So when it comes to your event, online course, or membership product, you should start making your customers feel valued and heard from the word go.
No matter your event strategy or membership structure, it's crucial to onboard new members with a friendly personal or virtual welcome.
Making new members feel welcome means that they'll start off on the right foot and be primed to feel that their experience with you was satisfying and enjoyable rather than a chore to get through.
Taking the time to present a warm welcome shows that you respect the person-and it reminds them that you're human, too.
Especially for online events and courses, it's helpful to show that there's a real live person (or, more likely, a group of people) on the other end.
That human connection and demonstration of mutual respect sets the stage and helps put your new members at ease right away.
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1. Send a Personalized Welcome Email
The right membership management software solution will send an automatic confirmation email to welcome new members after the purchase is complete.
This welcome email should, at a bare minimum, thank the new member for joining the program and provide confirmation of payment.
However, to get the best results from this automated email, consider personalizing and boosting it with more useful content than a simple two-sentence thank-you note or receipt.
Emails are a powerful tool in all stages of the customer experience, from leading them through the marketing funnel to staying connected throughout their experience of your service or event.
Perhaps this is because it's a direct line to the customer, and they have a direct line back to you simply by pressing "Reply."
Take advantage of that direct line by sending a personalized message that makes them feel welcome.
That welcome email is not only expected in today's digital age, but it comes with certain standards your new members will (even subconsciously) expect you to meet.
Here are a few tips on creating a personalized email:
- Personalized subject line: Start on a personal note by including the recipient's name in the subject line of your message so that they feel personally welcomed before they even open the email
- Confirm their membership: Use a clear statement at the beginning of the message simply congratulating the recipient on joining your program, course, or group. For example, "Hi, [first name]! Welcome to [group]-we're happy to have you. Here's what happens next."
- Don't send a "noreply" email: While you might be tempted to limit the interactions you have with all of your members, setting your welcome email to "noreply" sends the signal that you're difficult to get in touch with and that your organization doesn't want to start a dialogue. That's probably not the message you want to send.
- Stave off buyer's remorse with social proof: Have you ever purchased a new course or membership, then immediately regretted spending that money? Validate your customers' decision with a simple statement like, "Congratulations on joining 5,000 other industry professionals in becoming a part of [organization]!" After all, if 5,000 others found the offering useful, it must be worth it!
- Introduce them to their membership benefits: Send the details they need to get started (login details, subscription information, links to online resources about your offering, instructions on how to set up their account) or give them access to whatever product you promised they'd receive upon signing up.
Make sure you adhere to these standards in your onboarding email to support your new members.
2. Create a Welcoming Video
Along with the introduction email, you should consider to make videos to welcome your new members. With Regpack, you can embed videos in a form to welcome new members and personalize your registration process.
The video should include general information about your course, group, or event.
Don't get too bogged down in the details in your welcome video; your content should highlight the new member and the value your organization is about to provide to them.
You can also touch on your organization's values, basic background, and anything else that you feel is important to share to give your new member a better idea of who you are and why you do what you do.
To create a welcome video that gets the best results, you can use a script or cue cards-but be conversational enough not to sound stilted or monotone.
Also, remember to make eye contact with your audience by looking into the webcam, not watching yourself on the screen, or staring at the script the whole time.
You should appear authentic, friendly, and welcoming-not overly formal or corporate.
3. Welcome New Members in the Company Newsletter
Does your organization offer a newsletter? It may be weekly, monthly, or quarterly-but if you have one, think about including a special shout-out to welcome new members.
Give them an official welcome by listing each new member by name.
However, to avoid confidentiality issues, consider listing their first name and the initial of their last name only.
During the onboarding process, you could also ask the new member how you should refer to them, since they may not want to be called by their legal name.
If your group or course has a limited number of people, you may want to take the newsletter introduction even further.
Send questionnaires to new members asking for a little relevant information about them (for instance, their occupation, general geographical location, or personal fun facts).
Use this information to craft little informational blurbs about new members in the newsletter so that established members can learn about their new peers and more easily welcome them into the fold.
No matter how much information you share, don't forget to get consent from new members before sharing anything about them publicly within your group or organization.
Consider including a consent question in your onboarding or signup form, explaining when and how you'll share their personal information.
4. Prepare an Onboarding Kit
When someone signs up for your program, course, or association, they probably have a million questions about what happens next.
They may have certain expectations of what their membership will be like-and it's likely that they expect to start getting a bang for their buck right away.
Don't give them the chance to be disappointed in your product! Send them a kit of useful resources and ways to get immersed in your product immediately.
It may include all the digital resources they'll need to get started with you, such as:
- eBooks
- Handbooks (see tip #5)
- Learning materials
- Contact sheet with all the relevant contact emails
- Guide on how to use your software
While a typical welcome kit for virtual groups and online courses usually takes the form of an online archive, you can also opt for a physical one.
5. Share a Useful Handbook
Next, consider adding handbooks to your onboarding welcome experience.
Especially if the product you're offering is a course, new members can benefit from a handbook detailing the course content, how it is delivered, and how the students can succeed in meeting expectations or passing assessment milestones.
Your handbook should contain all useful reference information that you can think of, such as:
- Contact information
- The services available to members
- Any regulatory compliance that your organization follows
- The rules or regulations your members are expected to conform to
Think of your handbook as the main information source about your product. What kinds of things should your customers know in order to interact with your offering successfully?
If you offer a variety of courses or products, you may want to have different handbooks for each one.
That way, each handbook is unique to the product at hand and contains relevant information.
Another option is to offer a generic handbook across all of your products, which may be preferable to you if each of your products shares similar content, rules, or contexts.
6. Personalize Their Welcome With Milestones
A milestone is simply a specific point along a timeline, which, once reached, can be celebrated or rewarded. These milestones inspire goals and set up achievements to come.
When onboarding, milestones will be anything that helps your new members feel that they are making progress.
These milestones might be:
- Creating an account in your member area
- Downloading your handbook or reference materials
- Starting the first module of your course
You may also simply show them the milestones you've already created as regular benchmarks along your program journey (such as modules in your course or the timeline leading up to your event).
Using a bright, colorful infographic that outlines their upcoming journey will help them orient themselves and get excited for the process to come.
7. Send Them Some Swag
What says "we're glad you've joined us" better than a branded gift delivered to your doorstep?
While digital welcome techniques can be extremely effective, there's just something special about receiving a physical token.
It sends the message that your organization doesn't hesitate to spend the time and resources to design, purchase, and physically mail items to the new member's home.
After all, your customers know that welcome emails can be automated, but physical mail is less easy to set-and-forget.
Of course, if you do decide to send new members some swag, be careful to send the right thing.
