In my last email, I spoke about the concept of “marketing” to your current members to increase your retention rates.

It might sound like a strange concept to market to your members, but think about it: Coca-Cola doesn’t continue spending $4 billion (more than 10% of their revenue) on advertising each year to attract new customers only.

They do it to keep their brand in your conscious awareness, to build positive associations, and to keep you reaching for that ice cold beverage on a hot day.

You don’t need to spend a million dollars putting ads in front of your members. That wouldn’t be good marketing.

Instead, you want to build a deeper relationship with them. You want to add value to their lives. You want to show them that you care. You want your brand to mean something special and to evoke a positive feeling.

The opposite of a brand is a commodity. People aren’t loyal to commodities. They aren’t loyal to strangers either. Marketing to your members means building a relationship with them individually and at scale.

And the best way to do that is by talking to them (either in person or by survey), finding out what matters, and finding ways to leave a positive impression on them at every touchpoint.