Member Retention

Maximize Member Retention: Research-Based Best Practices for Member Renewal

Chris Vaughan, PhD
April 10, 2024

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Member Renewal Best Practices

A Bespoke Research Study By Sequence Consulting

We conducted in-depth research with ten highly prominent organizations with renewal-based business models to understand member retention best practices and benchmarks across industries.

Participating organizations included associations, publishers, financial services, and philanthropic organizations.

The research topics include:

- Value Proposition
- First-Year Renewal
- Auto-Renew
- Renewal Stream and Duration
- Renewal Timing
- Grace Periods

The result is a revealing look at what works in renewal across the board, regardless of the business you are in, and practical insights you can use to improve your own member retention.

To learn more about member renewal best practices see The Art of Member Retention: 3 Essential Strategies and Membership Retention and Renewals: Strategies, Processes, and Tips

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Todd Unger

SVP Marketing and Membership, American Medical Association

It’s been a dramatic impact. Transformative. Our rate of growth last year tripled. We could never have done it without Sequence.

Ian King

Chief Strategy and Membership Officer, American Psychological Association

Our results with Sequence Consulting were phenomenal. It was massively successful. They have great experience they deliver a lot of value.

David Wickenden

SVP Enterprise Strategy, AARP

What Sequence Consulting delivers is excellence. I’d recommend them for anything related to the organization's strategy.

Rich Harwood

Founder, The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation

Sequence helped us make a leap – and we’re grateful for it. We got much greater clarity about our value proposition and a strategy we’re still using years later.

Daryl Thomann

COO, Make-A-Wish Foundation

Sequence has extensive not-for-profit expertise. They made the project a complete success for our organization.

Andrew Smart

Chief Membership and Marketing Officer, SAE International

Most companies have that one really great consulting experience. Sequence Consulting is that one-in-a-million consulting group.

David Schutt, Ph.D.

CEO, SAE International

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Director of Web Strategy, American Chemical Society

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Tom Nelson, Ph.D.

Chief Operating Officer, AARP

I think of Sequence as the paradigm busters. We get superior thinking every time.

Christian Kuhn

Director of Partner Strategy, AARP Services

Sequence Consulting is the kind of firm that adds value and totally gets it. They figure out things that have never been done before that have repercussions for years.

Dave Austin

CEO, Influent50 an AARP Services Company

We took a new business from zero to $47 million in three years. We could have never done it without Sequence Consulting.

Arthur Evans, Ph.D.

CEO, American Psychological Association

Our strategic planning with Sequence was incredibly successful. They gave us great confidence that where we ended up was the right place for the organization.

Cris Gardner

VP Corporate Strategy, AARP

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Mark Nylec

Director of CRM, AARP

Other firms fly at 100,000 feet; Sequence tells you how to land the plane. I say: here is my idea, and Sequence takes it and runs.

Bernie Hengesbaugh

COO, American Medical Association

If you want a turnkey approach, go with the big firms. But if you’re interested in someone very credible working with you on a personal level, I would go with Sequence Consulting.

Tami Brehm, CAE

VP Member Services, American College of Rheumatology

Sequence brought focused expertise to our partnership and invested in our success. We are a complex organization. Sequence helped us easily leverage our unique differences to create new growth opportunities.

Chris Gloede

CMO, American Bar Association

Sequence Consulting led the way. When we needed help evaluating marketing automation, they developed the business case, and they helped us identify the fastest path to revenue and profit.

Barbara Burgess

COO, The Wright Foundation

Sequence has been transformational. Sequence gave us an entirely new way to think about our business. They gave us the confidence to move forward and showed us the way.

Julia Fitzgerald

CMO, American Lung Association

We are still benefiting from their work years later. Sequence helped us chart a strategic path that empowered our team and produced better-than-expected results.

Christine Donohoo

Chief Communications Officer, AARP

Sequence always over delivers.

Margaret Mueller, PhD

CEO, Executives Club of Chicago

Our membership doubled in the last three years. Sequence helped us lean into our purpose, restructure our model, and reframe our value proposition to deliver what our members needed most.

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Maximize Member Retention: Research-Based Best Practices for Member Renewal

Member Renewal Best Practices

A Bespoke Research Study By Sequence Consulting

other popular client stories

Our Successful Client Stories

The Doctor Is In: How Sequence Helped the AMA Achieve Exponential Member Growth

The Membership Multiplier: How Sequence Helped the Executives’ Club Double Down on Growth

From Standards to Solutions: How SAE International Multiplied Non-Dues Revenue by 10X

Breathing New Life into a Lapsed Base: How the American Lung Association Achieved 50% Growth

Strategic Breakthrough: How APA Achieved 25% Growth & Beyond

Case Study: How AARP Turned Market Insight into a $43 Million Revenue Stream

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