5 Best Online Course Platforms to Grow Revenue

Here’s a surprising fact – one which anyone in today’s highly competitive, globally-connected economy should know: 80% of customers believe the experience provided by a company is just as important as its products and services. That’s an eye-opening statement. It’s no longer enough to have the item someone needs and sell it at a reasonable price. These days, people prefer businesses that make them feel good, and this often comes down to customer engagement.   Customer Engagement Revolves Around Your Brand Customer engagement is created by the connection between a customer and a brand. It’s the relationship a customer has that keeps them coming back. In order to maximize an organization’s results, maximizing this relationship is key to sustained growth. There are customer engagement best practices related to marketing, sales, and service, with plenty of nuance in each segment. But in a nutshell, the whole idea is to improve a customer’s experience through positive interactions.  In the old days, this was mostly done at the point of purchase. But now customer engagement also happens digitally with advertising, social media, blogs, surveys, and more. Remember, you are up against sellers on the other side of the planet, so a great experience can separate your business/non-profit from the pack. Take a look at these two figures for more insight into why this matters: 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. 95% of customers say trust in a company makes them more likely to remain loyal to that brand (OutGrow).   The truth is that engaged customers are more valuable, so customer engagement is a powerful business driver which should be a priority. But maintaining this great experience is an ongoing process. It begins long before the first purchase and continues long after.  Today we’ll present eight tips to help improve customer satisfaction and loyalty–if you’re a small business operator or a super-sized organization. Remember: Great customer engagement doesn’t happen by accident, after all.   8 Best Tips to Increase Customer Engagement    1. Know Who You Are, Know Who Your Customers Are The best customer experiences start with a clear message. Build a strong brand voice for your organization, and strive to maintain it at all times. If you know who you are, customers will know, too. And when you feel like you know someone, it’s possible to build trust. For your customers, start with a Customer Journey map to clarify the steps customers take when engaging with your business or organization. Build your service and product to serve their realized needs.   2. Stay In Front Once people know who you are, it’s important to stay in front of them. Make the customer life cycle as long as possible – and you can do that with follow-up on social media, online ads, blogs, great email marketing for returning customers, and much more. Figure out where your customers are, and go to them.    3. Track Preferences In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s easier than ever to collect useful data that can help with decision-making later on. Things like Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics, or even surveys are invaluable tools for learning what customers prefer. But even so, 39% of companies don’t regularly ask for feedback!   4. Trigger Warning Another powerful use of data is to determine the “trigger” that convinced a customer to engage with your organization or buy that product. There’s often a reason, whether it was an advertisement, a social media post, or even word of mouth. Try to identify these triggers and put them into practice when possible.   5. Be Personal Despite the power of data, there’s still no replacement for a personal touch. Almost 40% of customer interactions will be automated through AI and machine learning by 2023. But, 49% say that after getting a more personalized experience, they have splurged on an impulse buy.   6. Be Honest No one is perfect – and even though businesses try hard to make themselves seem that way, they aren’t either. A big part of customer engagement is owning up to mistakes and making things right, with personal communications when possible. This is often easier for a small business, so take advantage!   7. Use Everything You Know Just like navigating the news, it’s best to never rely solely on one source of information. Be flexible in where and how you get customer engagement details, and then try hard not to cherry-pick data points that confirm what you already thought. Learn to be ok with learning.   8. Punch Above Your Weight Finally, outstanding customer engagement will often mean your little operation seems like a much bigger one. Using a combination of data, flexibility, and a personal touch, it’s possible to make decisions like a big business – and tailor the experience like a mom-and-pop shop.   Grow Customer Engagement With Cause Machine Starting with a community engagement strategy is the secret to building a successful platform in the long term. Cause Machine helps customers build the plan of engaging a community well and then begin mapping out the technology to help support that strategy. We’re certain that you’ll find some great resources and powerful tools in Cause Machine to better engage your customers. Learn how it can work for you here.

A membership website is any website with content that is 'gated' and hidden from the view of most users. They can be very useful and even profitable if built with a few best practices in mind.  Membership sites are used by clubs, teams, professional associations, influencers/niche-based guru's, non-profit organizations, and even businesses (big or small). The possibilities are endless, but the purpose is the same: To foster community value, lead members on a journey, and create more revenue. WIth a membership website, members-only content is what gets you there. You’re selling exclusivity, a pass into the private club. What if you're on a budget, not a programmer, or don't have tons of marketing/sales experience? No worries. You can still create a successful membership site for free.    What do Membership Websites Do?  First, it would be to define a membership website properly. It’s different from a subscription model. Both charge a fee for access to exclusive content like online learning courses, private newsletters, exclusive deals, or entertainment content, but membership sites offer all that plus features to participate in the community. The content or access offered in the membership is often just a perk – a tool to help convince people to become more than users. Because once customers become members, it strengthens your organization. Whether through revenue from subscriptions, products sold, virtual events, or community engagement.   5 Steps to Launch a Free Membership Site No two missions are the same, but if you’re looking to create a membership site free, there are some basic standard practices you can follow. Each method leaves room for interpretation and personality but will prove essential to success.    1. Know Your End-Goal Before you do anything, you first need to know what you’re offering and who you’re offering it to. If you’re running a small business, for instance, think long and hard about what sets it apart and why people will want it. Then consider which people love that specific brand of individuality. What could you offer as an exclusive experience? It must be something you can’t get elsewhere, and it must solve a problem. See who else is operating in your space, and try to stand out. Action Steps Create a customer journey outline. Define what you do differently and why your target customer needs it. Research and get to know your target customer as people (Typical interests, styles, hobbies, what are they currently consuming?).   2. Build a Value Proposition Next, it’s time to build the selling point for the membership. You need to figure out what people will get for joining. Make sure the special offer aligns with your goals. Make sure this is simply communicated to the customer. Action Steps Decide what the basic 'bargain' will be – what do people get for joining?  Figure out what that’s worth based on the current market, and see where you can compete/compare. Keep it simple when it comes to creativity and extra complexity, especially as you get started.    3. Set Your Pricing Levels Now that you know what you’re offering, you have to price it. Using what you learned in the last step, strike a balance between what it’s worth and if you'll have any costs as you continue building and maintaining your site. One way to generate revenue based on your customers' commitment level is by creating membership tiers with different value propositions. Consider offering a free tier, which might translate into a paid membership later. Researching similar competitors in your specific market will give you a clear picture of what is successful. Depending on your niche, you'll need to adjust as you go. Action Steps Find a balance between what your offer is worth and your costs to deliver it. Decide on membership structure and align it with your value proposition. Choose a tier in the middle to recommend to potential customers.   4. Brand It A key step in how to create a free membership website is branding. This is where you’ll give your website/platform a face – metaphorically speaking. Actually, you’ll give it a name, create a logo, pick a color scheme, and maybe even write a snappy slogan. Whatever you do, make sure it is crystal clear and speaks directly to the purpose of your offer. In short, make it professional, and take your time because people respond strongly to good branding, although it's not important as your content or product. That gives a brand its true identity. Actions Steps Create an official name that you can own wherever needed (Web URL, social platforms, etc.). Design a logo and color scheme. Make it easy to understand and interpret.   5. Build It Now we have arrived at the fun stage; you get to build your own membership site and what it will contain. This can be a complicated choice as the 'solutions' are numerous. But again, there are a few basic practices that you can follow as you create for success. There are countless membership site tools that you can use to craft your plan in real time. Many offer free trials or free plans altogether. Once you choose which is best, you can implement the strategies covered in this article into your approach.  A few core things to include in your site are: 1. Landing page (make the sale here) 2. Membership options (Pricing tiers) 3. Clear Call to Action (CTA) 4. Gated content/experiences for exclusive members 5. eCommerce store to process transactions 6. A secure domain Based on your needs, you'll want a platform where you can host exclusive content. Just remember this is the main attraction, so give it special attention. Action Steps Choose a tool/method for building your site. Create a members-only space to host forums, event details, classes, etc. Remember to include value propositions and sales material to gain new members.      These are some basic elements to create a membership website for free, and now you’re ready to get started. You'll need to dive deeper into a few specifics, like what membership platform fits your needs and how you'll work to deliver your content.    Get Started With Cause Machine Starting with a community engagement strategy is the secret to building a successful platform in the long term. Cause Machine helps customers build the plan of engaging a community well and then begin mapping out the technology to help support that strategy. We’re certain that you’ll find some great resources and powerful tools in Cause Machine to better engage your community. Learn how it can work for you here.