Business Models: Membership Model | The Ambition Show | Episode 29

The Ambition Show Podcast

Nothing is more powerful than belonging to something greater than yourself. Being a part of a community is a powerful feeling, and people are willing to invest all that they have to be a part of something bigger than themselves This is why the membership business model is so powerful, and if done correctly, you can grow your business from a small operation into something that makes a real impact on people’s lives.

Today, we go over the essentials of building a membership business.

Let’s get it!

• WHAT IS THE MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS MODEL
• HOW TO APPLY THE MEMBERSHIP MODEL TO YOUR BUSINESS
• EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP MODELS

We have all heard the term, "Membership has its privileges." This was American Express company's classic slogan. All because, back in 1954, the American Express credit card was first issued, and it was an early pioneer in promoting the benefits of paid memberships. The membership model not only provides advantages and perks for its members, but it also offers several significant benefits for brands:

• WHAT IS THE MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS
  • Benefits of the membership model for consumers
  • Benefits of the membership model for businesses
    • Lower ongoing business costs by amortizing original content development costs when scaled across thousands of members.
    • Predictable recurring revenue streams through membership fees and related purchases.
    • Enhance customer loyalty and retention through a heightened sense of community and connectedness to the brand.
    • Leverage community influencers to build trust and shape a better consumer experience.
    • Direct feedback from members who are more likely to share their opinions because they experience an intimate connection with the brand and feel they have privileged access.
    • Access better data by evaluating member behavior and fine-tuning the membership model through personalization and content refinement to gain more members, reduce costs, and increase retention.
    • Additional revenue opportunities by offering for-sale merchandise, often through in-app purchases.

• HOW TO APPLY THE MEMBERSHIP MODEL TO YOUR BUSINESS
  • Type of membership models
• Here are the 10 steps you need to take into account when building your membership model or program:
  • Step 1: Identify your audience
  • Step 2: Pick a membership model
  • Step 3: Choose your membership software
  • Step 4: Reuse content
  • Step 5: Create premium content
  • Step 6: Build the website and your brand
  • Step 7: Create a member onboarding strategy
  • Step 8: Decide on a pricing model
  • Step 9: Promote your membership site
  • Step 10: Monitor results

• EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP MODELS
  • Examples outline in Melissa Diaz's article: Membership Marketing
    • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/membership-marketing-5-powerful-case-studies-brands-nailed-diaz/
  • Amazon Prime
  • American Express

WHAT TO READ “THE MEMBERSHIP ECONOMY” by ROBBIE KELLMAN BAXTER

• Robbie Kellman Baxter assists companies in leveraging subscription pricing, digital communities, and freemium models to cultivate stronger customer relationships.
• Over the past 21 years, she has worked with over 100 organizations in 20 industries, such as the National Basketball Association, Hagerty, The Wall Street Journal, and Microsoft.
• This was her first book, “The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction & Build Recurring Revenue,” she knocked it out of the park because this has defined the massive transformation from ownership to membership and the rise of subscription pricing. It was named one of the top 10 marketing books of all time by BookAuthority.
• She hosts the podcast “Subscription Stories,” where she sits down with business leaders to discuss how they use subscription pricing and membership models to redefine the most prominent industries and generate predictable recurring revenue. She also developed and taught nine video courses for LinkedIn Learning on business topics ranging from innovation to customer success and membership.
• Before launching her agency, Peninsula Strategies, Robbie was a strategy consultant at Booz-Allen & Hamilton, a New York City Urban Fellow, and a Silicon Valley product marketer. She received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and graduated with honors from Harvard College.
• How it relates to our topic
  • This is the non-guide book, guidebook.
  • Not speaking over your head. Get all the ins and outs of building a membership model into your business from a person who has worked with some of the most successful businesses with membership models.

1. Learn from their success and their mistakes

Three (3) key takeaways from the book and how it helps the listeners

• Build an online community your customers will love
• Transform freemium users into superusers
• Create a self-generating revenue stream

How to purchase the book

• https://bit.ly/3SlHTWR

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