The COVID-19 pandemic has been full of stops and starts for cultural institutions. Depending on their location, public health guidelines, and the type of organization, museums, zoos, aquariums, and gardens may be facing difficulties like capacity limitations, intermittent closures, operations challenges, and more. Membership and development departments have been hit particularly hard. From keeping up with membership card fulfillment during extended remote work, struggling with tight budgets and staff cuts, declining renewal rates, managing membership extensions, maintaining communication with members, to facilitating a positive onsite experience, membership departments have faced no shortage of setbacks throughout the pandemic.
Whether your museum is fully reopened, yet to reopen, or anywhere in between, Digital Membership Cards can help.
Read on to discover 7 ways digital memberships are helping organizations adapt their membership program in the age of COVID-19:
1. Streamline Card Fulfillment During Remote Work
Since cultural organizations first closed their doors in March 2020, many museums have extended “work-from-home” policies indefinitely. This has given rise to interruptions and difficulties executing processes that have traditionally been completed onsite.
For example, tasks like membership fulfillment and sending renewal notices still rely on print-outs and mailings. With limited resources to print and mail from home (and do so at scale), and increasingly severe delays in the postal service, organizations may be looking at alternative methods to fulfill membership cards. Digital membership cards offer a no-print solution that drastically reduces the time, resources and costs associated with traditional membership cards. Fulfillment can be done from your home in a matter of minutes, erasing the burden of stuffing envelopes and depending on postal mail.
Throughout COVID-19 disruptions, organizations already using digital membership cards have completed their membership processes with exceptional ease. For example, the Anne Springs Close Greenway, a nature preserve in South Carolina, experienced an unprecedented spike in their membership numbers in 2020, as did many venues like botanical gardens, zoos, and other organizations with extensive outdoor offerings. According to Elizabeth Bowers, Communications and Guest Services Director at ASC Greenway, in February 2020, they had 7,100 member households – by July 2020 they had more than 12,000 members!
During this period of rapid membership expansion, limited staff, and working remotely, ASC Greenway was able to continue their membership fulfillment process uninterrupted – they are even able to boast a less than 2-day turnaround time for membership fulfillment, which has enabled them to expand their program to its greatest potential.
If you’re looking to streamline membership card fulfillment, digital membership cards may be right for you!
2. Reallocate Money and Time to Other Goals
Making the transition to digital not only saves time, but also a number of avoidable costs. Traditional membership cards include costs such as production, postage, staff labor, and printing of other promotional materials. Going digital eliminates these fees, while providing members with up-to-date information and faster card delivery. Cuseum’s customer service team also assists with digital membership support for your members, so your staff will never have to worry about allocating additional time for customer technical support.
In a time of tight budgets and limited staff, every dollar and every minute counts. Going digital frees up funds and labor for more strategic initiatives, like planning member engagement activities. It also allows staff to focus their time on making personalized connections with members, which can be critical for member retention.
Blank Park Zoo is a case in point! The zoo launched their digital membership cards in March 2020, shortly after COVID-19 lockdowns swept the country. This ended up being an enormous benefit for the zoo, saving significant time and resources. According to Colin Muehleisen, Blank Park Zoo’s Annual Fund and Membership Manager, “Prior to launching digital cards, we essentially had one person who was in charge of printing and sending the cards. Every Friday, we had a dedicated staff person who would pull a report, then print the plastic cards and letters. It was a very tedious process.” After launching, he added, “The savings on materials, postage, and time has been significant.”
With more resources freed up in membership, the Blank Park Zoo has been able to focus on more mission-critical membership initiatives to increase engagement throughout the pandemic.
3. Drive Renewals and Share Special Offers Through Push Notifications
One of the major challenges that cultural organizations have faced since the onset of the pandemic has been a decline in membership renewals. In a December 2020 survey of over 200 membership professionals in the cultural space, over 57% cited “decline in membership renewals” as a top challenge they’ve faced in 2020.
Digital membership cards can help! Digital cards come with the ability to send members push notifications directly to their mobile device. With an open rate 2x to 4x higher than email, these push notifications can be a quick and effective way to remind users to renew their memberships and update them on new benefits.
For example, as part of Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s Digital Membership FAQ, they mention “you can even receive notifications about member events directly to your phone,” while the KidsQuest Children’s Museum membership page reminds members that “going digital means your membership information is at your fingertips! Information on your membership benefits, renewal notification, and reciprocal program information access (for qualifying membership levels) in a convenient place!”
With more and more institutions creating new virtual content, push notifications can be a great way to remind your members about your own organization and offerings.
4. Update Members with Useful Content and Information
In addition to push notifications, digital memberships offer one centralized place for members to access information and receive communications. Indeed, the back of a digital membership card can be used to provide members with all the details they need.
Each digital membership card also has a customizable section on the back to include vital information. Some organizations have utilized this space to keep members in the loop about reopening plans and other updates. For example, Newfields has converted the back of their digital card to reflect a notice to their members about temporary closures due to COVID-19. Whether you have a new exhibit, virtual programming options, or an update on your hours of operation, including this information on the back of the card can be a great way to offer reminders to members in an easily accessible way.
If you’re facing another closure or are already in the midst of one, these updates can be even more important!
5. Increase Opportunities for Promotion
If your organization is closed or planning to close again, you may be concerned about timing the launch of digital membership cards. Over the course of the pandemic, Cuseum has been excited to help many organizations successfully launch their cards during closures, which provide a valuable communication tool during a time when members can’t be onsite.
Additionally, if you prepare for your digital launch during closures, you can be all set and ready to promote your digital membership cards in conjunction with your reopening, which offers an opportunity to create excitement around your new digital benefit and increase member adoption of the digital cards.
For example, the Washington State Historical Society began preparing for their launch while they were still closed in the summer of 2020. When they reopened the history museum in the fall, this provided a perfect chance to share this new digital offering with members, along with a new onsite exhibit. The cards also offer contactless entry to members, which can encourage constituents to return to your physical site.
In short, digital membership cards support membership departments whether museums are open or closed - so why wait!
6. Implement Membership Extensions at Scale
After the Spring 2020 lockdowns began at nearly every cultural organization across the country, many membership departments chose to extend memberships, either through an opt-in program or blanket extension to all members. This has produced a number of difficulties down the line, since membership cards may no longer reflect the updated membership terms and expiration date. In a December 2020 survey of over 200 membership professionals in the cultural space, over 26% cited “managing membership extensions” as a top challenge they’re facing.
Digital membership cards to the rescue! With a digital membership card, changing the expiration date for a membership base of any size is as easy as a couple of clicks – there are no headaches or costs associated with printing and resending cards! Digital cards give you the flexibility to update your policies and allow membership cards to be updated accordingly and automatically. That way, you can make the best decision for your organization and members without any logistical barriers.
Organizations like Madison Children’s Museum and Grand Rapids Art Museum have made mass updates for their members, highlighting the ease of applying membership adjustments as a perk of the digital cards.
7. Enable Contactless Entry for Members
Keeping staff, members, and guests safe has been a top priority for cultural organizations since the pandemic began. As a result, museums are implementing new procedures to stay within proper public health guidelines, which include limiting close physical interactions between patrons and workers.
Digital memberships can help here too! Digital membership cards afford members an easy and contactless way to enjoy the museum onsite. After adding a card to their mobile wallet in just a couple of clicks, members can present their mobile phone and staff can easily scan their membership barcode as they enter. This enables contactless entry, limiting unnecessary exchanges. ICA Boston and the Montclair Art Museum have highlighted contactless entry as a major benefit to members on their websites, and many more institutions are doing the same on social media.
Moreover, across a range of industries, we’re witnessing a rise in contactless payments and exchanges. According to a study by Mastercard, 8 in 10 consumers are now using contactless payments globally, and 3 in 4 plan to continue to do so after the pandemic.
The rise of contactless offerings is unfolding before our eyes, so now is the time to get started in museums!
Digital membership cards present a range of benefits for your team and members, especially in a time of uncertainty. Making the switch to digital has assisted countless organizations with their operations and overall business strategy during COVID-19, at all stages of closure and reopening. With digital communication, mobile solutions, and contactless offerings on the rise across every industry, now is the time for cultural organizations to make the switch!
Looking for more information? Schedule a free consultation with Cuseum today!