Discount programs have proven value as a member benefit. As much as 96% of the US population utilizes coupons, lending a near-universal relevance to the concept of giving members access to a collection of private offers.

As members use the deals to save money, they offset their dues and become more engaged with the providing organization. But generating that usage requires a partnership between the organization and the discount program provider.

Here’s how Access Development and a sport association joined efforts to introduce the nation’s largest private discount network to the nation’s largest association of players of a sport growing rapidly in popularity.

The Opportunity

Access and a sport association partnered to create Membership Rewards, a discount program featuring thousands of deals at restaurants and retailers across the entire nation. The program’s subscription includes national dining, travel, as well as many industry specific offers at sporting goods store and related merchants which were negotiated beforehand by the association.

Before launching in February 2017, the association needed a product that would add additional value to their membership offerings. Within the first year, the association and Access planned for at least a 10% registration rate, as predicted by industry-standard benchmarks. It also liked that the Access program provided a way for their 20,000 members to potentially recover the cost of their $20 annual dues within one to two redeems.

“Members are important to sanctioning events and growing player demand, so it’s important for us to have benefits that keep and grow our member base,” says the executive director of the association.

The Solution

The year-long plan included a variety of promotions delivered to members based on data and usage. Strategic promotions of print materials and outbound emails were utilized to drive awareness and engagement of the discount benefits.

Members were enrolled in the Access gold-track email campaign, receiving up to one email each week regarding the discount program. Registered members would receive an email promoting popular offers, while unregistered members would receive messaging of the potential savings along with a call-to-action prompt to register.

Association ambassadors were trained on the Access program in order to better speak to members for more engagement as well as to entice potential members to join.

Additionally, the association gave Access premier placement on its website via online banners that also reflected popular merchants and a call-to-action message. It also gave prominent mention in its member benefits listing.

The Results

The association exceeded its goal, achieving 40% enrollment within the first four months.

Once registered, members quickly took advantage of the program: $32,600 were saved within the first four months. This averaged around $17 per redeem, nearly covering annual dues in a single transaction.

“Access provides an added value to our membership that helps retain and draw in new members,” says the executive director.

Email was the primary driver of enrollment and engagement. The printed promotions and banner placements on the association’s website also each contributed to incrementally-growing registration in the Membership Rewards program.

Such tremendous results within the first four months have opened up many opportunities to grow the Membership Rewards program.

The association’s primary demographic of 60+, comprising of 61% of membership, love to travel. Access and the association plan to further promote the travel solution to provide value for this demographic.

As the sport’s growth and appeal to a younger generation of over 700,000 begins to trend, the association will continue to work with Access to provide value and relevant content online and on the mobile app to grow and diversify the membership demographic.