Most associations staffers have a story (or two) about a time when they had to sift through numerous Excel sheets to update their membership numbers – or worse, they had to receive something like event sign-up forms through mail or email and go through each one to make sure everyone was accounted for and registered for the upcoming conference.
Luckily, technology has come a long way – and this shouldn’t be the case for many associations anymore. Associations now have the technology to solve a lot of these problems, but it’s often incomplete – platforms are still outdated, inflexible, or don’t fully understand the unique needs of your association. You may technically have the technology to use, but the full picture of your needs isn’t accounted for and it only gets you halfway there.
Just because association technology has come a long way, doesn’t mean that associations shouldn’t dream big and expect or ask for the same standards of technology that other industries get. It’s not too much to ask for an AMS provider that strives to deeply understand the intricacies of your association and helps to build processes or new features that actually make sense for what you’re trying to achieve.
One of the benefits of an effective AMS is that it can take much of the repetitive work off your plate. AMS platforms are built to help you with data so that you can concentrate on the human side of the association. We have identified seven ways you can use automation to improve user experience, streamline your workflows, and provide the information needed to manage association programs – all while giving your members a first-class experience.
#1 – Allow your members to self-serve in the portal
Your membership is constantly changing. Members regularly pay their dues, move to new companies, change their names, relocate, or need to update details in their profiles. By providing a self-service portal, you give your members the power to own their records in your system and interact with your association.
But what happens when your type of membership doesn’t fit the traditional membership structure that a platform is built for? One association we recently talked to couldn’t allow members to self-serve in the portal, because member dues are paid by the office or organization that a member works at. There was no way to account for that in their current system. Every association has a unique way of handling membership – a flexible, modern AMS platform should account for yours.
#2 – Integrate with your favorite platforms
When AMS platforms were first developed, associations wanted one system to power all programs. The goal was to have software that would consolidate data from membership, meetings, finance, education, and all other areas into one database. Associations found, however, that the best learning management tool, for example, wasn’t necessarily the one included in the AMS they used for membership. Instead, brands that associations know and love created platforms that did specific tasks really well. The trade-off for the better functionality of outside programs was often awkward data transfers. To overcome this problem, developers created modular AMS platforms and application programming interfaces, also known as APIs.
Instead of expecting one system to do everything needed for each program, associations now build their AMS platforms by selecting modules that talk to each other and share data within the system. The data from those areas is shared with the primary database using an API. A modern AMS should integrate seamlessly (and the integrations shouldn’t break with every upgrade) with the best-in-breed platforms like your content management system, learning management system, online community, financial systems, and more.
#3 – Create powerful report templates
The core of your AMS is where all your data lives. It should be easy to pull consistent information into easy-to-read reports and lists, right? When looking at new AMS providers, make sure that it’s easy for anyone on your team to pull the reports and data that they need from the system – without any knowledge of SQL.
You should also be able to set up a series of templates that anyone on your staff can use, by department or area. Ask your staff about what information they need most often, standardize it, and make templates available to everyone. Your AMS should also allow individuals to run one-off reports when they need them. On the first of every month, for example, your system could automatically pull and send reports by email to the membership team with details of their biggest concerns. Once membership is done, you can set up the system to deliver similar specialized reports to all program areas, using standard criteria for the reports.
#4 – Communicate with members
You have a great window with new and renewing members to engage them, explain your programs and services, and create goodwill. Automation makes this easier. You can set up your system to send emails after someone joins your association, renew their membership, registers for events, or interacts in other ways. You can also automate marketing efforts like your newsletter or social media posts. Devise your campaign well, and you can watch engagement numbers increase without manually sending each batch of emails.
When your AMS has accurate reporting to pull the correct information and fully functioning integrations with your marketing automation tools of choice, communicating with the right members becomes a lot more automated.
#5 – Automate your financial systems and billing
You can automate financial processes such as invoicing, payment tracking, and financial reporting through your AMS. Your central database can integrate with accounting software to streamline financial transactions and generate financial statements.
Integrations with tools like QuickBooks Online allow you to have a full picture of your association’s finances, without having to export information and manually upload it daily or weekly since it’s pushed automatically. You can also create automated billing reminders for renewing members. And by automating delivery, you are sure that all members are reminded to renew without taxing your team.
#6 – Manage committees and chapters with member help
Use your AMS to keep your committee and chapter information current. Some systems, like Rhythm, allow you to designate committee permissions in the portal so that designated committee or chapter leaders can have access. They can use the portal to see lists of members, create or renew committee members or update chapter leadership. Some systems also allow you to drop members with inactive benefits from committees with one quick process.
#7 – Manage powerful processes + workflows
The great part about a flexible AMS is you’re able to tailor the processes to fit the exact needs of your association. Whether it’s a simple process like becoming a member or registering for an event or a complex process like becoming certified or accredited, it should be easy to set up the process to the exact needs of your association and then sit back as members engage.
It’s not that the technology to automate your processes and streamline your association’s daily tasks doesn’t exist, it’s that it doesn’t always paint the full picture. If you’re stuck feeling that your AMS only gets you halfway there, or you’re constantly having to perform workarounds to get the system to do what you need it to, it might be time to consider if it’s still the right fit for your needs.
If you have a flexible AMS, put it to work! Leverage its automation. With the time you save, your team can concentrate on developing new programs and meeting member needs rather than manually sending renewal notices or updating member records. Automation can help your association grow and reach new goals.
