The Membership Economy: Find Your Super Users, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue by Baxter, Robbie Kellman;

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?From Netflix to Spotify, over the past few years, subscription models have become a powerful and profitable business model in the digital economy. Robbie has written a unique, well-researched and very smart book for anyone interested in building one.?
David Kirchhoff, former CEO, Weight Watchers International and WeightWatchers.com

?At American Express, we've always been committed to putting our members at the center of everything we do. Robbie Baxter's book provides practical techniques and insightful new examples to guide organizations in building powerful, ongoing relationships with their members.?
Josh Silverman, President, Consumer Products and Services, American Express

?The Membership Economy is an insightful, research based look at the strategies and tactics needed to develop, grow and maintain a membership-style program for customers. It is perhaps the best, most detailed source I?ve found on this subject to date, and it has very much changed the way I think about our own growing membership program. I can?t recommend it enough.?
Mark Kupferman, VP, Insights & Interactive Marketing, Six Flags Entertainment Corp.

?Some will read The Membership Economy as an entertaining collection of stories about some of the most innovative organizations out there, while, for others, it will serve as a practical guide. It?s a fun insider view that?s also pragmatic.?
Marc Bodnick, CEO, Quora

?In The Membership Economy, Baxter explains, illustrates, and advocates for this new way of doing business ? you won?t want to miss it.?
Bob Baxley, Head of Product Design and Research, Pinterest

?Salesforce.com has always focused on open, transparent, ongoing relationships with members of our community, from customers to vendors to partners. As a result, we've been named for four consecutive years by Forbes. Companies that don?t build this kind of community will fall behind, but Robbie?s book can help any kind of organization leverage these principles and thrive. The Membership Economy is a critical read, and one that should be added to your business bookshelf this year.?
Leyla Seka, SVP & GM Desk.com at Salesforce.com

?Having seen and experienced the challenges of building long-term sustainable relationships involving membership organizations, Robbie Kellman Baxter offers clear examples and straightforward advice how to achieve success in both the non-profit and corporate sectors.?
Howard L. Wollner, Chairman, NPR Foundation

?There's a big difference between subscribers and members. From The Times to The Sun and now at The Wall Street Journal, we are committed to building our relationship with our customers around the principles of membership. Members are more engaged, more connected and more profitable. Read The Membership Economy to learn how to take your organization from transactional to relational.?
Katie Vanneck-Smith, Chief Customer Officer and Global Managing Director, Dow Jones

?As the leader of a major alumni relations office, I understand the importance of building long term relationships with our members. Robbie Kellman Baxter's practical advice will drive immediate results. If your organization depends on having highly engaged members, you should read The Membership Economy.?
Raphe Beck, Director of Alumni Relations, Stanford Graduate School of Business

?I've run a successful membership business for a while now. So I'd like to tell you to move along and not read this book... because why is Robbie Kellman Baxter giving away all our hard-won secrets? But I won't tell you that. Because The Membership Economy is great perspective on an important topic.?
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, and author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Everybody Writes

?Robbie?s book is packed with innovative ideas for pricing, acquisition, and engagement of customer. I highly recommend this book for any CEO who seeks to disrupt their industry by putting their customers at the center of everything they do.?
Heidi Roizen, Operating Partner, Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson

"Baxter has brought our attention back to the point of any business--deliberately delighting customers so that they only want to return. Wondering how to make your customers, team and investors enthralled all at once? Make irresistible offers. Read The Membership Economy!
Lisa Gansky, entrepreneur and bestselling author of The Mesh

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Long description:

In today?s business world, it takes more than a website to stay competitive. The smartest, most successful companies are using radically new membership models, subscription-based formats, and freemium pricing structures to grow their customer base?and explode their market valuation?in the most disruptive shift in business since the Industrial Revolution.

This is The Membership Economy.

Written by an expertconsultant, this groundbreaking book will show you how to turn ordinary customers into members for life. Learn how to:

• Turn digital subscriptions into forever sales
• Build an online community your customers will love
• Develop new loyalty programs that really pay off
• Transform freemium users into superusers
• Create a self-generating revenue stream
• Keep memberships and profits growing for years to come

Whether you?re a small business with limited resources, an established company using a traditional business model, or a hungry start-up who wants a bigger bang for your buck, this comprehensive guide provides a wealth of membership-building options to suit every need.

You?ll learn the best-kept secrets of top industry leaders, from global giants like Am Ex and Weight Watchers to smaller dot-com successes like SurveyMonkey and Pandora. You?ll find proven strategies for creating membership programs for everything from vacation timeshares and car rentals to video streaming and Software-as-a-Service.

Most importantly, you?ll discover what works, and what doesn?t, from some of the key players in the new membership economy. It?s not about ownership; it?s about access, options, and freedom.

When you join forces with your customers, membership has its rewards?for you, your company, and your continued success.

In today?s business world, it takes more than a website to stay competitive. The smartest, most successful companies are using radically new membership models, subscription-based formats, and freemium pricing structures to grow their customer base?and explode their market valuation?in the most disruptive shift in business since the Industrial Revolution.

This is The Membership Economy.

Written by an expertconsultant, this groundbreaking book will show you how to turn ordinary customers into members for life. Learn how to:

• Turn digital subscriptions into forever sales
• Build an online community your customers will love
• Develop new loyalty programs that really pay off
• Transform freemium users into superusers
• Create a self-generating revenue stream
• Keep memberships and profits growing for years to come

Whether you?re a small business with limited resources, an established company using a traditional business model, or a hungry start-up who wants a bigger bang for your buck, this comprehensive guide provides a wealth of membership-building options to suit every need.

You?ll learn the best-kept secrets of top industry leaders, from global giants like Am Ex and Weight Watchers to smaller dot-com successes like SurveyMonkey and Pandora. You?ll find proven strategies for creating membership programs for everything from vacation timeshares and car rentals to video streaming and Software-as-a-Service.

Most importantly, you?ll discover what works, and what doesn?t, from some of the key players in the new membership economy. It?s not about ownership; it?s about access, options, and freedom.

When you join forces with your customers, membership has its rewards?for you, your company, and your continued success.

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Table of Contents:

Foreword by Allen Blue ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1

SECTION I What You Need to Know About
the Membership Economy
1 How the Membership Economy Fits into
the Bigger Picture 9
2 Why the Membership Economy Matters 17
3 The Many Faces of the Membership Economy 25

SECTION II Membership Economy Strategies and Tactics
4 Build the Right Organization 33
5 Build an Effective Acquisition Funnel fromthe Bottom Up 45
6 Onboard Members for Success and Superusers 55
7 Start Simple with Pricing, but Leave Room forFlexibility 67
8 Incorporate ?Free? as a Tactic, Not a Strategy 81
9 Use the Right Technology and Track the RightData 91
10 How to Retain Members (and When to Let ThemGo) 101

SECTION III Membership Organizations
Come in All Shapes and Sizes 11 What You Can Learn from Online Subscriptions 117
12 What You Can Learn from Online Community Models 127
13 What You Can Learn from Loyalty Programs 137
14 What You Can Learn from Traditional MembershipEconomy Companies 147
15 What You Can Learn from Small Businesses andConsultancies 157
16 What You Can Learn from Nonprofits, ProfessionalSocieties, and Trade Associations 167

SECTION IV The Membership Economy and Transformation
17 From Idea to Start-Up 181
18 From Start-Up to Mature Organization 191
19 From Offline to Online 201
20 From Ownership to Access 211
21 From Business as Usual to CompetitiveDisruption 221

Conclusion: How You Can Start Transitioning Today 231
Glossary 239
Notes 243
Index 248

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