7 Tips for a Successful Dues Renewal Season

7 Tips for a Successful Renewal Season

Author: Jenn Norman, CAE

Membership renewal season can sneak up quickly, but with a little preparation, you can make it seamless for staff and your members. Here are seven tips to ensure your next renewal season is a success:

1. Check Your Dues Rules

Are you increasing dues or making any other changes from last year? Double-check your dues rules to ensure they're up to date. Do you have new membership levels, rate changes, or special circumstances that need attention? Ensuring your dues rules are correct will help prevent issues down the road. 

💡Tip: Do you have supplier/vendor/allied members? Have you considered adding an optional dues rule for a featured directory listing? Setting this up takes less than five minutes and could earn you thousands in non-dues revenue! Contact us if you have questions.

2. Refresh Your Renewal Emails

The message you send when asking for renewals sets the tone. Is your email copy clear, concise, and member-focused? Take time to update your messaging and ensure it speaks to the value your association offers.

Novi offers you the ability to customize language for the following renewal e-mail cadences:

• Renewal Notice Email
• Renewal Payment Confirmation Email - New since 2023 renewals!
• Auto-Pay Notices (for those who store credit cards and opt-in to auto-pay)

Check out our help article on updating these renewal e-mail messages.

3. Review Your Renewal Settings

While you're updating your renewal e-mail language, take a moment to review your renewal settings for each member type. Whether it's auto-renewal, or payment options, make sure everything is configured just the way you want it.

4. Add Your Renewal and Drop Dates to Your Calendar

This may seem simple, but add your renewal and drop dates on your team's calendar so everyone is on the same page! Be sure to give yourself enough buffer time for reminders and follow-ups. You may also want to double-check you are on the daily digest e-mail to receive updates when your dues run.

💡Tip: Don't do your drops manually. Novi's Non-Renew and Credit Feature allows you to drop anyone who hasn't paid dues in bulk.

5. Check Your Data

Now is the best time to make sure you have the data you need for renewals. Two common custom reports we see for data clean-up include:

• Missing/Null Custom Fields - Great report if you have custom fields that drive dues.
• Missing Billing Contact - Check for missing billing contacts and billing details such as e-mail and dates.

As always, reach out if you have questions about utilizing or setting up reports.

6. Start Using the Net Promoter Score Feature

If this hasn't been a part of your year-long renewal cadence, there's no better time than the present to start gathering member sentiment. If you aren't familiar with the Net Promoter Score (NPS) feature or you are a little nervous to get started, check out what your association colleagues have to say in Novi Exchange. We loved Therese Brown's comment, "My approach to NPS is this. I don't really care what the scores are. What I really care about is the feedback and what action we can take to improve the member experience, and then how their score changes over time."

7. Take Your Dues for a Test Drive!

Finally, before dues run, create a test invoice for a member of each member type. 

Do you have some tips of your own or questions you want to socialize? Let's continue this conversation over in Novi Exchange!