Member Experience
What is Member Experience?
Member Experience refers to the overall satisfaction and engagement a member has with an organization. It encompasses all interactions, from onboarding and continued client support to the value provided by membership benefits. A positive member experience enhances loyalty and encourages continued participation.
The Basic Idea
Imagine you’re in the market for a new gym membership. What are the factors to consider when choosing the best gym for you? Of course, some logistical factors will go into your decision-making, such as price or location, but often, our choices are guided by the way we feel when engaging with a business. We become loyal to brands or clubs because we have positive experiences from start to finish—and that’s what member experience is all about.
Member experience refers to all of the actions, thoughts, and behaviors that take place when you interact with an organization or service. While member experience and customer experience are similar, member experience refers more specifically to a business or organization that you opt to become a member of— and this further increases a sense of loyalty. For example, interacting with a cashier at a local grocery store would fit into customer service, whereas if you are paying for a membership card at Costco, the experiences you have there would be referred to as member experience.
Member experience is about how people view, feel about, and engage with a brand. If a gym makes this a priority, where, for example, they take the time to meet with you, show you the facilities, or offer extra perks such as free towel service, you are likely to have a positive association with the club which increases your motivation to join and remain loyal.
Achieving a desirable member experience is incredibly important for businesses to consider. There are various motivators and needs that drive someone's decision to join and stay engaged with a business—whether that be joining a gym or deciding where to purchase your groceries from. We live in an era where we are spoiled with a plethora of choices, so to stand out, businesses must ensure that from the moment a potential member learns about their business, to deciding to engage with it and then remain committed, member experience is optimized.
Member experience isn’t limited to consumer choices—it also comes into play when you decide which company to work for, or which political party to vote for.
We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.1
About the Author
Emilie Rose Jones
Emilie currently works in Marketing & Communications for a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario. She completed her Masters of English Literature at UBC in 2021, where she focused on Indigenous and Canadian Literature. Emilie has a passion for writing and behavioural psychology and is always looking for opportunities to make knowledge more accessible.
