How do you know if you're delivering enough value in your membership for the price you're charging?
This is something that every membership owner worries about at some point, asking ourselves questions like…
Is our membership good enough?
Are we meeting the needs of our members?
If this sounds familiar then don't worry, you're not alone.
It’s a common doubt that many of us have…
And whether we'd like to admit it or not, it usually comes from a form of impostor syndrome…
It’s that “comparisonitis” that we get when we look at what others are doing and somehow feel less in comparison…
Now, I could tell you to just not worry about it.
That it’s all in your head….
But in truth, the question of whether or not you're delivering enough value for your members is a legitimate one to ask yourself…
And the mere fact you're concerned about this means you're a good membership owner…
So how do you know if you're delivering enough value in your membership?
Let's look at this in more detail…
What is value?
Well, in short, it's completely subjective…
And totally open to interpretation…
What one person finds valuable, another will not.
What you want your members to say…
And what we're talking about here is the customer's perception of value…
Their opinion and assessment of the benefits they get compared to the cost of the actual product…
And how it compares to other products or solutions on the market…
You see, there's so much subjectivity there…
You can't please everyone.
And if you try, you’ll drive yourself bonkers.
So the first step is to acknowledge that the concept of value is not only subjective…
It’s also a moving target!
The next step is to avoid making these two big mistakes…
Mistake 1: Believing that more content = more value
This is a big one…
A lot of people who worry about not providing enough value will often try to bump up the amount of content on offer…
But the simple fact is, while a lot of content can be a good thing in some situations…
It doesn’t automatically boost the value of your membership…
In fact, sometimes a lot of content can create overwhelm for your members...
And if anything that can reduce it's value from their perspective…
That's why you should consider why they join your membership site in the first place…
I can guarantee it's not because it has a lot of content!
Think about it this way…
If you can solve the problem that your members are having with a five-minute video…
That’s going to have much higher value than delivering a 20-lesson course that only scratches the surface of what they've joined your membership to achieve…
So keep in mind that content does not equate to value.
Mistake 2: Making a like-for-like comparison
The problem with making a like-for-like comparison with other memberships is that it’s a bit pointless…
You can’t assess YOUR value based on what someone else is offering…
Some people think if you offer the same as someone else that you’re providing the same value and can charge the same.
So, to one-up them, you might look at their 30-step course and say, “I’ll do a 35-step course instead.”
Surely that’s better value?
No, not really.
Like I've said above, more content doesn’t necessarily mean more value…
And value is all about customer perception anyway, so this doesn't work.
What problem are you solving with your membership?
To assess whether what you’re providing is high value, ask yourself a few questions:
- What are you offering?
- What have you priced it at?
- What problem are you solving?
Remember, people join memberships because they have a transformation they want to undergo…
A goal they want to reach…
And you have the means to help them get there…
Or at least part of the way there…
How you want members to feel being part of your membership…
But to do this you need to be clear on the problem you’re solving and how your membership does that for your members…
If you don't have this clarity, then that’s a sign that you’re not fully aligned with your customers’ thinking…
And this will lead to a disconnect when it comes to customer perceived value…
So rather than creating more content…
Look at the problem that content is solving and the results it’s delivering for your members.
How will your membership impact a member’s life?
You also need to consider how your membership will impact their lives…
Are the results you promise going to have a profound impact?
Will you help them climb out of a mountain of debt or solve their diet problems?
Or are you helping them master origami or learn how to paint?
The level at which your membership impacts their life is key in the level of value your members will place on it.
How long will it take members to achieve what they want?
The next thing to look at is how long it’ll take your members to achieve those results…
If you can help someone solve the biggest problem in their lives in under a month…
Then you can charge a premium for that.
The value here is high because it greatly impacts a member’s life, solves a problem…
And does it fast.
Do people get access to you?
The more access people to have to you in the membership, the higher the perception of value is going to be…
Particularly if you're well-known in your field.
Those members join to be around you because you’re their trusted expert…
So, if you can give them access to you and your wisdom in small groups…
Or even one-to-ones…
That will not only boost the value of your proposition…
It will impact how much you can charge for your membership site.
The quantity of content
Now, we did just say that more content doesn’t equal more value…
But it does still factor in, especially initially…
Because when people are looking for a membership, they will look at how much they get for their money…
They will compare it to other memberships…
If a member sees just a couple of things in your library…
They probably won’t stay a member for very long…
Even if they’re amazing pieces of content, once a member has consumed them, there’s no point being a member anymore…
So you need to give them a reason to stick around.
How long will it take someone to consume all your content?
On a similar note…
How long will it take them to consume it all?
You might make a big song and dance about your three-week course…
But if members finish it and say, “is that it?” they’re probably going to leave disappointed.
If you want to keep members for the long-term…
You need to make sure they’re engaged and that your content is valuable over time.
Are you the go-to person in your space?
Are you in demand?
Are you known as the go-to person in your industry?
If you’re not quite there yet, you might not have the same high-value perception as a similar membership with a superstar leader everyone knows about.
You being the celebrity of your industry…
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can only charge high prices if you’re famous in your niche…
But you should be aware that this will factor into that perception of value.
What are people telling you?
Another thing to look at is what people are telling you…
What does your traffic look like?
Do you have a high bounce rate on your pricing page?
If you see people heading to the pricing page and disappearing…
They may not believe you’re offering enough value for the price.
Other than looking at traffic, you could go ahead and get feedback from people…
Look at your email list and ask those who aren’t members what has prevented them from pressing the ‘Join now' button on your sales page…
If they’re happy consuming your free content but haven’t signed up as a member…
There could be something holding them back that you don’t know about.
Also speak to your existing members…
And your ex-members…
They'll be able to give you an insight into the level of value you're delivering…
Some people will say you’re too expensive…
That's bound to happen…
If it's just one or two people you should take it with a pinch of salt…
But if everyone says it…
That might be a hint that you should lower your prices…
Or provide more value for money.
Trust your gut…
When it comes to gauging value of your membership trusting your gut can go a long way…
Especially if you feel that you’re not giving enough value…
Or you're charging too much and are embarrassed to tell people your prices…
Maybe that’s a sign you need to review your value proposition and make some changes.
Value is subjective…
We've already established that…
And that's why it can be hard to get it right…
But it can be done!
Whether you're at the beginning of your membership journey…
Or have an established site and have repeatedly been told you're too expensive…
And this has made you concerned that you're not delivering enough value in your membership..
Hopefully working through some of the points I've outlined will help you get some clarity…
By either refining what you're doing or putting your mind at ease…
If nothing else, I hope I've managed to change your perspective on what value truly means in the context of a membership website…
And given you confidence to deliver massive value to your members.
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