Member personas and journey mapping – RCEM
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) represents a wide range of members at different stages of their emergency medicine careers. To better understand and support them, RCEM recognised the need for in-depth membership research and segmentation. This would help them tailor their services and offer more value to each group.
Membership challenge
RCEM wanted to get a clearer picture of its members and their unique needs. They were looking to move beyond general feedback to uncover what drives engagement and retention, as well as where members felt unsupported.
The aim was to shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more personalised experience that supports career growth, professional development, and community-building.
Member research, persona creation and journey mapping – what we did
We delivered a comprehensive research programme combining surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews to understand what RCEM members value and where improvements were needed.
Building on these insights, we developed a set of evidence-based member personas representing different career stages and motivations. We then undertook extensive journey mapping for each persona, mapping every stage of the membership lifecycle—from awareness and joining through to onboarding, engagement and renewal—to identify key touchpoints, barriers and opportunities to improve the member experience. This created a clear, evidence-based roadmap to strengthen communications, services, digital channels and long-term member engagement.
Impact
This research helped to:
- Develop evidence-based member personas representing key audience segments
- Create detailed member journey maps across the full membership lifecycle
- Identify practical opportunities to improve onboarding, communications, digital services and member engagement
- Develop value propositions aligned to different career stages, motivations and professional priorities
- Deliver strategic recommendations to strengthen the overall member experience
- Build greater internal alignment around member needs, behaviours and future priorities
- Better align membership benefits, learning and policy activity with member expectations
- Achieve significant improvements in member engagement, renewal rates and Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Transform your membership experience
Want to understand your members better and boost engagement? Our research can help you unlock deeper insights and deliver a more personalised experience. Get in touch to see how we can support your membership strategy. Contact us today on 0345 955 5155 or email us at hello@membership-matters.co.uk
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