Introduction: The Emergency Nursing Association (ENA) is a nonprofit membership organization catering to healthcare professionals. With over 50,000 members, most members are based in the USA, while its training efforts have an even broader impact around the globe. The organization’s primary focus is to deliver compelling value to working ER nurses through education programs and advocacy on health-related issues.

ENA faced significant challenges in terms of brand recognition, member awareness, and engagement. Seeking solutions, ENA teamed up with Access Development to add a private labeled discount platform to their suite of benefits.

With over 300,000 popular restaurants, retailers, and theme parks nationwide, Access operates the nation’s largest private discount network and delivered an ENA-branded discount platform and mobile app for the association’s members. Its discount program solution aims to deliver meaningful consumer value that can help member organizations boost retention, acquisition, and engagement.

This case study highlights the challenges faced by ENA and how Access helped them overcome them successfully.

Challenge #1: Increasing Member Engagement in a Challenging Economic Environment During the COVID pandemic, emergency room nurses were on the front lines. They worked excruciatingly long hours, experienced intense scrutiny, and were confronted hourly with life-or-death decisions. Almost universally, emergency room nurses were recognized for their heroic service throughout the US and worldwide.

ENA, however, faced many uncertainties about the future of their organization, especially because their members had grown overwhelmed by their existing circumstances. Even as pandemic restrictions eased, nurses were not re-engaging with the organization’s core benefits, such as attending conferences and educational events. ENA needed to deliver greater value in addition to their popular education and advocacy programs. The decision was made to launch the Access program for ENA members.

A key question needing to be answered was how ENA members would receive a new message that was focused on consumer discounts, especially amid such trying circumstances. It was important to find the optimal message that would resonate with their members, as well as the best methods for promoting this new benefit.

Given the challenges facing its members, ENA and Access set a stretch goal of achieving 5,000 enrollments in the first year to drive organizational growth.

Solution: Access’ Marketing Strategy – Access and ENA devised a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote the Access discount benefit. The strategy included weekly and seasonal email campaigns, automated onboarding emails for new members, prominent placement of discount offers on ENA’s website, dedicated printed mail pieces, and leveraging Access’ Client Marketing Portal (CMP) which houses a variety of marketing toolkits and social media assets.

Results: After implementing Access’ marketing best practices, ENA achieved its goal of 10%-member registration within eleven months, a month ahead of schedule. Since then, it has also enjoyed consistent growth in new enrollments. Access’ marketing efforts played a vital role in engaging ENA members with the discount program, keeping it top of mind. The program’s success also contributed to strengthening ENA’s overall brand image by creating a new umbrella program called “ENA Advantage,” which provided the organization with clearer communication of their various benefits, not just the Access discounts and the mobile coupon app.

Members experienced significant cost savings through the Access program, with average savings of $27 per redemption. This quantifiable measure highlighted the potential savings available

to members when they use the Access program. Because 90% of ENA members pay for their membership out of pocket, it enabled ENA to reinforce the message that members who use the Access discount platform just a few times a year could more than cover the cost of their membership. Access’ contribution not only boosted member engagement and renewals, but also served as a powerful recruitment tool to help ENA attract new members.

Challenge #2: Improving User Experience and Accessibility – ENA recognized the value of offering discounts but faced usability issues with their existing home-grown solution. Members struggled with multiple logins, were hesitant to divulge personal information, and found it challenging to navigate their often-confusing web page. These barriers represented potential barriers to members utilizing the benefits.

Solution: An Integrated UX/UI from Access – Delivering a streamlined and simplified login process provided members with a user-friendly interface. ENA members were able to use their existing ENA account emails and passwords to log in to the Access platform without creating separate credentials. This simplified approach, offering a “one-stop shop” that significantly enhanced accessibility, and utilization of all ENA’s benefits, not just the discounts from Access. The end result was higher rates of member engagement.

Challenge #3: Launching a New Benefit Without Overwhelming ENA Staff – ENA’s staff members faced heavy workloads, and it was crucial to implement the Access program without further burdening their existing bandwidth and negatively impacting other successful programs.

Solution: Seamless Integration and Ongoing Member Marketing – ENA found great value and reliability in working with Access. The onboarding, implementation and marketing programs have all been launched and are working according to plan. ENA got what they wanted from the Access

program, a “set it and forget it” solution that allowed its staff to continue delivering the high levels of service their members have grown to expect.

According to Matt Hessler, Director, Member Engagement, “Frankly, it all happened like Access promised. We haven’t really felt any impact on our staff time. It’s as much a set it and forget it program as you can get.”

Conclusion: The implementation of the Access program led to increased member registration, higher engagement and renewals, and substantial cost savings for members. Access’ compelling discounts, its streamlined onboarding/launch process, and ongoing marketing efforts all

proved to lead to greater rates of member engagement and awareness. The program also promised it would NOT require significant time and effort by ENA staff to manage the program. Access delivered on that promise.

By overcoming these significant challenges, ENA solidified its position as the most valuable education and advocacy organization for emergency nursing professionals around the globe.

“Access gave ENA a powerful way to deliver value to our members, and that value is unmatched, even for specialty nursing organizations. It has been great to be able to provide such a robust suite of tools, resources and savings to our members, and Access has empowered us to do that.” —Matt Hessler, Director, Member Engagement