Membership Management

ABDO membership is mandatory for students working towards Fellow of British Dispensing Opticians status, but optional once fully qualified. To encourage member recruitment and retention, we ensured the new public website articulates the undeniable benefits of membership much more clearly.

When IE landed, the annual renewal process was extremely resource-intensive for ABDO. It created a huge amount of admin between December and January, and again at the start of the academic year. The process took weeks, giving a poor experience for members.

IE Digital streamlined these processes and introduced online self-service and automation. 

Process mapping and wireframing

We mapped out the membership process in detail, looking at the user journeys for applicants, members and ABDO staff. As well as enabling online applications and renewals, we needed to process online payments, manage paperless direct debits, and allow members to apply for their Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) online.

We worked closely with Advanced and ABDO’s contracted NG expert to translate the technical details into simple user flows. We pinpointed every front- and back-end requirement, and every web-to-CRM interaction. We then identified the many API interfaces that we’d need between the website and NG.

From here, our UX designers created low fidelity mock-ups – wireframes – for the key areas of the website.

Agile, iterative approach

Although the discovery phase was very thorough, we knew we wouldn’t get the full picture until we started to develop each aspect of the functionality. By working in an Agile way, we had the flexibility to adapt as we uncovered more layers of complexity. 

Member application, on-boarding and renewals

For non-members, their journey begins on the public site. The secure online form leads the applicant through the process and takes their initial payment. Once approved, a member account is created and they receive a welcome email. 

Each new member can now be processed in under 2 minutes, reduced from 15 minutes often spread over at least a week. A massive 87% time-saving.

For new members the onboarding process includes:

• Creating a login for the members-only website.
• Viewing their membership certificate – automatically generated as a PDF.
• Updating their personal details and workplace information.
• Joining the Locum Register.
• Setting up paperless Direct Debits for renewal payments – through integration with Bottomline PTX.
• Applying for free Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Users receive a triggered email reminder at renewal time. This links to a pre-populated form so they can check and update their details. Built-in logic manages any permitted discounts and payments are processed securely. 

Impact on membership applications and renewals process

This digital transformation has already produced some exceptional results. The more streamlined process has lowered the barriers to membership renewals.  

• A 4-fold increase in members renewing early.
• 42% decrease in membership renewals requiring back-office administration.
• 68% of new Direct Debits used the new paperless system in the first year.
• The membership team can now keep up with demand – even at the busiest times – with HALF of the previous resource.

Member engagement has also improved, with higher uptake of the benefits of membership.

A transformed experience for members

These new systems have revolutionised several complex, manual processes into seamless user journeys with minimal manual intervention. As well as managing their membership and personal details, members can now access a range of other benefits. Everything from the CPD programme and Business Support Hub, to exclusive articles in ABDO’s online magazine. This provides a much richer experience for members and keeps them regularly coming back to the site.