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Managing member data with spreadsheets might have worked when your association was just getting started. But now it will only slow you down. Here are five reasons to move on to a better member management solution.
When your small association is getting started, spreadsheets might seem like the easiest way to manage member data. But as your organization begins to grow and evolve, spreadsheets will only hold you back – or worse, cause your association to decline. The Community Brands 2023 Association Trend Research Study found finds that only one-third or less of Members rate their professional membership organization’s use of technology to provide benefits and services to members as “excellent.”
Here are five reasons to move on to a more modern association management software (AMS) system:
1. Get a complete view of your member data.
As your membership has grown, you may have moved to using a combination of multiple spreadsheets and other systems to manage all aspects of your membership. Eventually, this approach makes it difficult to pull together a complete view of your membership. The data is in too many different places.
By moving to an AMS, you can collect and manage member data in one central location.
2. Keep your member data safe.
It’s difficult to collect and share data safely when your member data is housed in multiple locations and staff members are sending spreadsheets back and forth. You need a single place to keep you members’ data safe.
Moving your member data and management into an AMS system puts all of your member data in one, secure place. Be sure to select an AMS that offers a high level of data security to protect your member data and reduce risk.
3. Gain greater insights into your membership.
As your association grows, so do executive staff and board member demands for information. It’s important to be able to provide detailed reports on things like member acquisition and retention. With spreadsheets, it becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming to pull those reports.
Look for an AMS that allows you to set up dashboards and reports for quick access to key metrics and detailed underlying data.
4. Operate more efficiently.
Over time, your membership management processes evolve and mature. They also become more time-consuming. With spreadsheets, your organization spends too much time on manual processes that could be better spent developing member programs and benefits.
Look for an AMS solution that can automate manual processes so your team can focus more on serving members.
5. Deliver a better member experience.
Findings from the soon-to-be-released Member Engagement and Loyalty Study show that the benefits members value when they join an organization change throughout their membership and career lifetime. To keep members engaged, it’s important to provide value throughout the member journey.
Another study, the Community Brands Digital Evolution Study, shows that members are interested in receiving personalized content from their associations. In fact, 79 percent say it is very or somewhat important that their organization provide targeted, valuable content.
But with spreadsheets, you simply don’t have the ability to provide this type of highly-personalized member experience.
Look for an AMS system that allows you to collect and analyze data about your members’ career stages, interests, and behaviors to provide them with the personalized benefits they’re seeking. For example, based on your members’ interests and preferences, recommend new industry reports or new services offered by your organization that will help them in their specific career stage.
The 2023 Association Trend Study found that while 85 percent say their organization is at least somewhat effective in delivering an industry-leading MX, only 25 percent say their organization is “very effective.” It’s time to take the next step to an AMS that’s built for small associations at your stage of growth. Making this move can help your team operate more efficiently while improving member engagement and enhancing member value.
YourMembership is built for small-and-growing associations like yours. It offers a single platform for membership management and includes features such as automated workflows to simplify and streamline your association’s day-to-day processes. It also provides online community capabilities and a mobile app for a modern member experience as well as configurable dashboards and reports for insights on the health of your organization.
