We know there are more important things to you than telephone calls right now, during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
For us, the health of our employees and everyone we interact with has top priority. That means our families, communities and of course you – our clients and suppliers. And we act accordingly. You may have already seen how Chord plans to keep delivering support for our clients.
The Chord team is learning daily about how the Coronavirus pandemic is causing all sorts of new problems for our membership clients.
While we are aware of the situation, we are still here to help you and share the burden.
Coronavirus: how Chord is helping reach out to members
Several things have changed since the Coronavirus outbreak.
For example:
Personal contact during a time of crisis
More membership clients are asking Chord to make touchpoint calls to their members. It’s so important that those who are struggling are able to remain part of an organisation that can support them through difficulties. And members are sure to remember you reached out to them at this difficult time. Calling them now is highly likely to have a positive impact on member satisfaction and ultimately retention.
Member care calls increasing
Finding out how members are doing and letting them know what support is available is important to them. This is especially true for vulnerable members. For example, one client has switched all member renewal calls to touchpoint calls to students, many of whom are struggling at the moment. Changing the emphasis of contact to member care or ‘cuddle calls’ doesn’t just show that you care. It can also provide you with new insight to improve your decision-making.
Change in emphasis for membership renewals
Our call guides have changed significantly for all membership renewal campaigns. If members cannot afford to renew, they are supported through the call, then granted an extended grace period or extension to pay if needed. For members who are able and happy to renew, we continue to take secure payments.
30% increase in reach rates
The number of members Chord is speaking to per day, on behalf of our membership clients, has increased by 30%. This is due to more members answering their mobile phones. Many landlines in empty offices are being diverted to mobile phones too.
Membership teams working from home
If your membership teams are working at home, information security may be an issue. Chord is helping clients manage data securely, making a range of recorded outbound calls and stepping up member engagement from a protected office environment where our staff are safe.
Inbound call support
If your membership team is working from home, they may be struggling to answer every member call as it comes in. We have seen an uplift in requests to help with handling overflow calls from members. This helps to prevent members being diverted to an impersonal answerphone. We can help with most member queries, including taking payment, signposting, transferring calls, arranging call-backs and more importantly, just being there to listen.
Planning for after lockdown
None of us know when the lockdown will be lifted. Nor how long the effects of Coronavirus will be felt by members. But we are already seeing an increasing number of clients planning member insight and lapsed member campaigns to implement when life starts to return to normal.
Data housekeeping
Now is being seen as the ideal time to ensure that your member and marketing data is clean; accurate, consistent and complete. As well as being a legal requirement under GDPR, you can make sure that your targeting improves, return on marketing investment grows and potential brand damage is reduced.
Could a practical campaign checklist help?
If you’d like to start planning an outbound calling campaign, either in-house or outsourced, you may find our Membership Campaign Checklist helpful.
And if you think we may be able to help you with any of our services – please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
I do hope that you, your families and colleagues stay safe and well during this challenging period.
Amanda Gilmer
Managing Director
