What is member loyalty worth? Imagine this – over a ten-year span, the value of a typical member outstrips that of a casual visitor by an astounding 4.5 times. Even more striking, renewed members contribute 66% more net revenue to organizations compared to new ones. In our rapidly evolving world, consumer choice and mobility are expanding at breakneck speed, propelled by the digital and e-commerce explosion during the pandemic. Unfortunately, this has precipitated a slide in customer retention and loyalty across industries. Consequently, cultivating member loyalty has become a critical necessity for organizations depending on the member revenue from for sustainable and robust growth.
Mastering Digital Membership Card Adoption: Proven Strategies from Industry Leaders
Planning a Digital Membership Card launch or looking to boost engagement? Amplifying adoption is vital to your organization's success. We hosted a webinar featuring industry leaders Kelsey Brown, Membership Manager at the Oakland Zoo, and Melissa Smith, Director of Alumni Marketing and Special Events at the University of Tennessee Alumni Association, each of whom achieved a digital card adoption rate of over 70%. They provided invaluable insights and effective strategies to improve digital card usage and extract more value from membership initiatives. Dive in to learn key strategies and takeaways from their success story in ramping up digital card adoption rates.
A Simple Secret to Adoption Success: Resending Digital Membership Cards
Whether you're in the early stages of launching your digital membership program or seeking renewed inspiration, enhancing adoption is a fundamental strategy to streamline services, elevate member experiences, and drive greater engagement and retention. The good news is that boosting adoption doesn't have to be complex. In fact, sometimes the simplest strategies, like resending digital membership cards, can do wonders! Let's take a look at this simple yet effective strategy:
Looking Back On #AAM2023 – 4 Top Takeaways From The Annual Meeting
Two weeks ago, we convened with more than 3,000 colleagues, partners, and museum professionals at #AAM2023, this year’s American Alliance of Museums (AAM) conference in Denver. The annual gathering was teeming with lively debates on an array of critical issues pertinent to museums, art, and culture - spanning areas like membership growth, development strategies, education, digital engagement, sustainability, and artificial intelligence.
Here we’ve identified a few key takeaways from #AAM2023 that will help equip museums and cultural organizations to meet rapidly shifting demands and confront emerging challenges of the digital era. Let’s dive in!
Decoding Membership: #AAM2023 Insights and an Invitation to a Can’t-Miss Webinar
It’s just been one week since we joined over 3,000 peers, partners, and museum professionals at #AAM2023, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) conference in Denver. The annual meeting was abuzz with riveting conversations touching every corner of the museum landscape - membership, education, digital engagement, sustainability, and even artificial intelligence. Among these enriching dialogues, the session titled "The Power of Data-Driven Member Research to Drive Growth and Build Resilience" stood out, generating excitement throughout the conference. Read on for some key highlights from the session (and an invitation to dive deeper into trailblazing member research)!
Cuseum’s New Zapier Support Offers Seamless CRM Integration & Effortless Automation
At Cuseum, we’re committed to streamlining membership operations to help you save time and cut costs – and so we’re thrilled to announce the rollout of our integration with Zapier to connect with even more CRMs and member management systems.
With Cuseum’s new Zapier integration, launching a Digital Membership Card program at your organization will be easier than ever. Streamlined CRM integration means that tasks like importing member information, generating digital cards, and delivering cards to members is simple and effortless, saving you and your staff the time and headache of completing these processes manually.
In this post, we want to show you why we’re so psyched up about this new integration.
By leveraging Cuseum’s suite of digital tools, ballets, operas, theaters, and performing arts centers from the Tessitura ecosystem and of all types can streamline their processes, boost their revenue, and provide audiences with the ultimate experience.
In this blog post, we'll be exploring some amazing organizations that have successfully implemented our solutions to modernize their operations, increase engagement among members, and cultivate loyalty among their patrons.
Cuseum's 2022 Year in Review
Last year was an incredible ride for Cuseum: we forged exciting partnerships with game-changing organizations all around the world, welcomed inspiring new additions to the Cuseum family, and unveiled groundbreaking new products, research, and solutions. All-in-all, 2022 will go down as a banner year for our company.
Over the last 12 months, we worked with an ever more diverse range of cultural nonprofits and visitor and member-serving organizations, including museums, zoos, aquariums, science and nature centers, botanical gardens, universities, and public attractions of all sizes. We launched innovative new digital solutions for membership, drove thought leadership in the art and culture sphere, and continued to help our partner organizations recover and thrive in the wake of the COVID-19 era. 2022 was alive with opportunities and connection - we thank all who were part of this journey. Here's wishing 2023 brings even more success on our mission toward deeper engagement between visitors, members, and donors alike!
As we head into the new year, join us in looking back at a few highlights from 2022!✨
Cuseum's Top Resources of 2022
2022 has been a challenging, exciting, and transformative year for museums and cultural organizations. Throughout it all, Cuseum has continued its mission to provide the arts and culture community with the resources and support to survive and thrive in this new era.
As we prepare to jump into 2023, check out some of Cuseum’s top eBooks, webinars, and blog articles from the past year!
Hot Off the Press: Printable Digital Membership Cards
Introducing SMS Marketing / Text Messaging by Cuseum
Despite the growing need to engage constituents with more effective digital channels, institutions remain heavily reliant on email and snail mail. While these continue to be necessary pieces of an omnichannel approach, in 2022, they no longer yield the same results as they once did. Indeed, in our mobile-first world, channels like push notifications and text messaging are quickly supplanting email as the most effective way to reach consumers.
In response to the growing demand and interest in mobile methods of communication, Cuseum is thrilled to launch a new SMS Marketing & Text Messaging Software solution.
Cuseum's 2021 Year in Review
Over the course of 2021, we’ve worked with a growing and diverse range of cultural organizations, institutions of higher education, and member-serving organizations, including museums, zoos, aquariums, science centers, arboretums, botanical gardens, universities, and professional associations of all shapes and sizes. We’ve also published multiple industry-acclaimed reports on topics like membership and digital revenue streams, launched a leading-edge Member Portal product, and continued to innovate our mobile engagement solutions with AI and accessibility enhancements. We’ve examined new technology trends, like the growing discourse on NFTs, traveled (virtually) to over 25 conferences and speaking engagements, and won our very first Webby Award.
As we prepare to dive into 2022, join us in looking back on this 2021 highlight-reel!
Cuseum Shortlisted for Digital Innovation in Art Award!
We're thrilled to share some exciting news today: Cuseum has been shortlisted for the Digital Innovation in Art Award at the Investor Allstars.
According to .ART, the award honors “a cohort of creatives, who pushed the boundaries in an unprecedented turmoil during the year that has brought us online more than ever before.”
Introducing the Cuseum Community Forum
The Cuseum team is always working to provide a better experience for our clients and partners. As part of these efforts, we are excited to offer a special benefit to our customers: the Cuseum Community Forum. With this community, you will be empowered to take full advantage of Cuseum’s vast network of cultural organizations, universities, and associations to share knowledge and make the most out of our digital tools.
If you’re interested in getting active on the Community Forum, read on to learn how to join, how to use it, and more!
Cuseum Wins Webby Award For Best Art & Culture App
We're thrilled to share some big news today: Cuseum has won a Webby!
With this honor, Cuseum’s [AR]T Museum app has been awarded the title of best Art, Culture, and Event App in the “Apps and Software” category of the 25th annual The Webby Awards.
Introducing Member Portal by Cuseum
In today’s day and age, serving members, providing modern conveniences, and offering valuable benefits have never been more important for membership organizations. Indeed, for museums, attractions, nonprofits, universities, and associations, there is heightened urgency to attract and retain members with new perks and incentives.
At the same time, organizations are facing many challenges and inefficiencies: membership professionals often devote significant time and resources towards updating database records, answering redundant questions, and helping members access their benefits. These inefficiencies can likewise diminish the member experience, as constituents struggle to update their own information, access their membership benefits, and enjoy a seamless experience.
In response to these challenges, Cuseum is thrilled to announce the latest innovation in membership: the Member Portal.
Cuseum Honored For Best Art & Culture App In the 25th Annual Webby Awards
Cuseum announced today that it has been nominated for Best Art, Culture, and Event App in the “Apps and Software” category of the 25th Annual Webby Awards. Widely recognized as the “Internet’s highest honor,” the Webby Awards celebrate excellence on the Internet. With this nomination, Cuseum’s Augmented Reality (AR) app, [AR]T Museum, has been singled out as one of the five best in the world in its category, and among the top 10% of nearly 13,500 projects worldwide. As a Webby Nominee, Cuseum joins the ranks of major brands including Google, HBO, and Comedy Central, along with renowned artists and celebrities Billie Eilish, James Corden, Jennifer Garner, Gordon Ramsay, Sir David Attenborough, and Bon Jovi.
Introducing AI-powered Multilingual Translations
More than ever before, museums and cultural attractions are working to improve accessibility and ensure audiences of all backgrounds feel welcome and able to visit. As organizations strive to implement new accessibility measures, a chief concern is developing experiences and content that are available in multiple languages. In response to this growing need for multilingual audio content, the Cuseum team is happy to announce an exciting new feature for our Mobile Engagement Platform: AI-powered Language Translation.
Introducing Extended Support for Google Pay / Android Wallet
Today, Cuseum is happy to announce an exciting new functionality for our Digital Membership customers: extended support for Android and Google Pay. This new release will provide our partners with even more comprehensive support for mobile wallets, empowering them to offer their members the most seamless and up-to-date way to download and use digital membership cards.
Introducing AI-powered Text-to-Speech for Audio Guides
Today, we’re happy to announce the unveiling of an exciting new Mobile Engagement feature: AI-powered Text-to-Speech. Aimed at enabling our mobile app customers to effortlessly serve their visitors better and faster, the launch of AI-powered Text-to-Speech means that all text-based app content can be instantly converted to a state-of-the-art audio format. In other words, even when no audio has been recorded and uploaded, audio content can be made available auto-magically, making every app a true audio guide.
Let’s learn more!
Cuseum's CEO & Founder Recognized as Forbes 'Next 1000'
We’re psyched to announce that this week, Cuseum’s CEO & Founder, Brendan Ciecko, has been announced as a Forbes ‘Next 1000’ honoree.