Membership Manager Introduction

Dear Lord’s Taverners Members and Supporters, 

I am thrilled to introduce myself as the Membership Manager for the Lord’s Taverners - It is great to be a part of a wonderful charity which has such a positive impact on the lives of young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities. I have already had the pleasure of seeing our impact firsthand at this year's Table Cricket finals and through conversations with some of our participants, which has been wonderful to see. As I settle into the new role, I bring with me a deep passion for our mission and a commitment to enhancing the experience of our members who make our work possible in the first instance.  

Over the past three months, I have been working in the background to build my knowledge about the Lord’s Taverners – looking at our history, how we work with our incredible volunteers, how we communicate - and reviewing feedback collected from members and supporters alike to touch base on the general sentiment of members and discover where they want us to go next. This research has helped to lay the groundwork for what I hope will be a new and exciting phase for our membership. My aim in all of this is simple – I hope to modernise and reinvigorate the membership experience, ensuring that it not only meets the needs of our members but exceeds their expectations and allows us to continue growing so that we may continue to deliver our innovative, inclusive, and impactful cricket programmes for many more years to come.  

Alongside introducing myself, I wanted to use this opportunity to provide a brief overview of the work I’ve undertaken thus far, and give you a sneak peak of what you can expect to see in the coming months and years. Perhaps more importantly, I also wanted to stress that this journey to improve the membership journey is centered on you and your experiences. As such, it relies on you, as members, making your voice heard so that the changes made genuinely deliver and improve your experience – so do get in touch whenever possible and keep an eye out for any communications from me asking for your feedback and opinions.  

1. Data Cleansing, Data Collection and Building Technological Capacity 

Before any major work can be done, we need to ensure that we have a solid foundation and a deep knowledge of our membership base that we can begin to build upon. My priority so far has therefore been to ensure that our membership data is as accurate and up-to-date as possible as we prepare to transition to a brand new, fit-for-purpose Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This new system will be continuously developed to give us the best overarching view of our members and supporters – allowing us to get to know each supporter and tailor their experience. This has meant that I have spent a lot of time getting in touch with members to review and cleanse our existing data – updating records, removing duplicates and verifying information where this is possible. Ensuring that we have clean and reliable data as we transition to our new CRM system, which will be the backbone of all future membership operations, ensures that we can work to provide you with a more personalised and positive experience as a member of the Lord’s Taveners. Good data is essential to improving the way we communicate with you in the future.  

In line with this, I have also implemented some new methods of capturing information at key points along the membership journey, including introducing an exit survey for those who no longer wish to be members and preparing to implement an annual membership survey. Collecting this new information will help to keep on top of member sentiments and ensure that we can continuously improve our membership offer in a way that is meaningful to our members.  

2. Building a system that puts the power back in your hands  

Alongside this, I’ve been sketching out plans to build and implement a membership management system and, hopefully, an online members portal which will reduce barriers to engagement. The goal is to put the power back into your hands and offer you greater autonomy, ease of access and flexibility in managing your membership and getting involved. Whether it’s a simple update of your details, changing your marketing preferences, renewing your membership, or getting access to personalised news about the events or programmes in your area – I want to build a system that allows you to do so quickly and easily. This, of course is no easy task, and not something that can be delivered immediately – but the work has started.  

I’m also working to reduce the barriers for new members who wish to join by working to move our membership form online and improving the member onboarding experience so that new members are fully informed about the benefits of membership and ways they can get involved with our work. By improving this crucial first impression of becoming a Taverner, I hope that we can begin to recruit and retain new members of our community by ensuring they feel valued, informed and connected from the start. 

3. Strengthening regional connections and nurturing community  

As I’ve already witnessed, the Lord’s Taverners is more than just a charity working across the UK – it's a community of like-minded people, coming together to support us and raise funds to ensure the delivery of our inclusive cricket programmes continues nation-wide. Central to this community are our regional committees, who organise and run a wide variety of fabulous events and fundraisers in their local areas. It is here where the real benefits of membership can be found, as members will find and develop their community within their own area of the UK. It’s vital, therefore, that our committees have the support necessary to continue their fantastic work. Primarily, this involves ensuring that they are aware of the members in their region, what they are interested in and how they want to be involved. To this end, I have started, and will continue, to work with our regional engagement managers and begun to meet with regional committees to better understand their wants, needs and challenges.  

By building on and strengthening these relations, together we can start to develop strategies to enhance communication between regions, members and staff, share best practices and provide the necessary support and information they need to thrive.  

Next Steps and Future Visions  

These steps are just the beginning in a much longer journey – and more work is to be done to ensure that current and prospective members feel valued and excited about being a member of the Lord’s Taverners. Strengthening our foundations by improving our data and working to increase our technological capabilities is a crucial first step to driving the change needed. Once we have achieved that, we can focus on improving and tailoring our communications, ensuring members contributions are recognised, and creating a more exciting and engaging stewardship journey. Perhaps more excitingly, in time I will undertake a review of our membership offer – looking at introducing different tiers of membership and new and exciting benefits.  

I look forward to including you in this work through focus groups, surveys or conversations on the ground at events and encourage you to share your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback on how we can improve whenever you can. I hope to bring you updates in the new year about all the progress made – for now, do get in touch with any queries, comments or ideas. I am eager to hear your suggestions and make membership work for you! 

Rachel Roy, 
Membership Manager