Member recruitment: data, needs and follow-up
Eirik Sørmeland and Thomas Tellefsen joined Frode Stenstrøm to discuss the prerequisites, tools and organisation behind member recruitment.
In briefShow moreShow lessEirik Sørmeland and Thomas Tellefsen discussed what it takes for Norwegian membership organisations to succeed at recruiting and retaining members.
- Eirik Sørmeland and Thomas Tellefsen discussed what it takes for Norwegian membership organisations to succeed at recruiting and retaining members.
- Both highlighted good data quality, integrated systems and duplicate control as the foundation for targeted communication and a better member experience.
- Tellefsen argued mass communication is giving way to channels and frequency tailored to individual interests, while Sørmeland pointed to emotional and rational drivers behind membership.
- Sørmeland argued organisations spend too much budget acquiring new members and too little retaining existing ones, since new-member results are far easier to measure than lifetime value.
- Both recommended measuring the cost and benefit of every activity, having a clear insourcing versus outsourcing plan, and owning your own data rather than depending on external vendors.
In this 2024 episode of ProsessPodden, Frode Stenstrøm was joined by Eirik Sørmeland, with a background from OrgSys and the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue, and Thomas Tellefsen, with experience from CRM delivery, to discuss member recruitment in Norwegian organisations. The conversation covered what prerequisites need to be in place, the most relevant tools, and how the work is best organised.
Both guests stressed that clean, integrated data without duplicates is a prerequisite for success, both for making sound decisions and for tailoring communication to each member. Tellefsen noted that members today expect content adapted to their own interests and preferred channels rather than traditional mass communication, citing examples where members themselves produce content, including for TikTok.
A key point was that organisations often spend disproportionately more of their budget acquiring new members, because the results are easy to measure from day one, while the value of retaining existing members over time is harder to quantify and therefore easier to deprioritise. Sørmeland argued that more resources should shift towards following up existing members.
Towards the end, they discussed organisation: whether tasks like telemarketing or user-experience work should be bought from agencies or handled in-house. Both recommended owning your own data and key competencies, buying in specialist help where needed, and avoiding letting old, fragmented systems and internal silos block cross-selling and the reuse of insight across the organisation.
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Foredragsholdere
- Frode Stenstrøm
Gründer og teknologistrateg
Som gründer og teknologistrateg i ProsessPilotene jobber jeg med å hjelpe virksomheter forstå og bruke teknologi som en strategisk kraft for bedre arbeidsprosesser, kundeopplevelser og beslutninger. Rollen kombinerer forretningsutvikling, teknologirådgivning, virksomhetsarkitektur og formidling. Jeg arbeider særlig i skjæringspunktet mellom AI, CRM, digitale plattformer, data, analyse og fremtidens arbeidsliv. En sentral del av rollen er å være brobygger mellom ledelse, fagmiljøer og teknologi. Det handler om å gjøre komplekse teknologiske muligheter forståelige, vurdere hva som faktisk skaper verdi, og bidra til at digitale løsninger blir en naturlig del av hvordan virksomheter jobber. Jeg bruker også rollen til å formidle faktabaserte perspektiver på hvordan AI og teknologi påvirker ledelse, organisasjoner, ansatte og kunder.
- Eirik Sørmeland
CRM-Konsulent
- Thomas Tellefsen
CRM-Konsulent
Discussion
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