Santa Barbara Zoo - Membership Renewals

PRODUCT/SERVICE Renewal program, including direct mail and email reminders

TARGET AUDIENCE Current members that are about to expire and recently expired members

OBJECTIVE To invite current Zoo members to renew their memberships before they expire, increasing the Zoo’s renewal rate

STRATEGY/EXECUTION The renewal strategy for the Zoo consists of both mailed and emailed renewal reminders. Reminders are sent monthly, and each member receives up to eight renewal touches — four mailings and four emails.

RESULTS The Zoo’s current renewal rate is 58%, a decent renewal rate for zoos. The addition of the email touch approximately five years ago aided in the ease of renewing expiring members and brought about a significant increase of e-commerce utilization by members.