1. Getting More from your Member Management Software:
A practical guide for associations and chambers of commerce
Member management software provides a wealth of information that helps
organizations optimize backoffice and website operations as well as member services.
While many of these programs are not difficult to use, what can be hard is figuring out
how to take full advantage of the software's many capabilities. It’s not uncommon for
people to use a very small percentage of the software’s features – creating a point of
frustration for both user and vendor.
Usage of Features and Functions in Typical System
45% Never Used
19% Rarely
13% Often
16% Sometimes
7% Always
Source: Standish Group Study of 2000 projects at 1000 companies
Here are some recommendations that should help you get more from your investment
1. Get buy-in from staff. Change is tough for most people and some staff will even be
a little suspicious of new systems. They may feel threatened by the possibility of close
oversight or worry about being disciplined for mistakes. Explaining how a system will
help them and provide benefits, such as improved member and board satisfaction, time
savings, error reduction, etc. can help to overcome such concerns.
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2. Even management can have trouble accepting new systems and will put-off making
decisions on purchasing member management software even when they know they
need it. Some may think of data collection and analysis as an additional, unwanted
burden, instead of a useful tool for carrying out one of their primary responsibilities. To
make the case, it's helpful to show how using the software could improve their own key
performance indicators (KPIs), such as return on investment (ROI), increased non-dues
revenue, increased website traffic, shortened average days in A/R, increased dues or
donations, increased social media presence, increased event registration and so on.
If you haven’t done so recently, consider listing your organization’s objectives and how
you are currently measuring each goal along with current and projected results so you
can begin to track the impact a new system might have.
2. Make training an important part of your culture. New users may be intimidated by
technology or afraid of looking foolish to co-workers or just worried about the time it
might take to learn something new. If the organization takes a strong stand supporting
a culture of continuous learning, much of this anxiety will be resolved.
Sometimes, users need additional instruction in basic tasks such as how to access and
review reports. In such cases, a live online seminar using the organization’s actual data
can improve their comfort level. Even after users are familiar with the software,
additional training will help them learn more about the software's capabilities, including
functions that are specific to billing, communications, the website, mobile features,
events and so forth. Once users have hands-on experience with the system, they often
have questions that didn't come up during the initial training.
Ideally, the vendor will have a series of online training resources to allow to your staff to
grow and develop their skills on their own schedule. Make sure everyone knows what
their resources are and how to access them.
Typically staff feel more valued if they receive regular training, even if it’s informal.
Employees involved in classes report they have increased job satisfaction and higher
membership, marketing and website solutions
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3. morale than before training and are better able to adapt rapidly to new technologies --
all leading to less staff turnover.
3. Prioritize information. Information overload, a common concern among users, can
discourage people from making full use of the software's many capabilities. One way to
prevent that is to clearly define each users’ roles and responsibilities, and then provide
them with only the information they actually need to carry out those responsibilities.
After they are comfortable with their core activities, it will become important to both to
go into more depth and crosstrain your staff on key tasks so you can accommodate staff
vacations and changes without missing a beat.
Member management software makes so much information available that it's easy to
lose sight of what's most important. We recommend that you focus on the reasons the
organization decided to take on the software in the first place. Whatever it is, e.g. time
savings, better reporting, stronger member benefits -- that's what you need to focus on
as the primary objective. That doesn't mean you can't look at secondary issues, but you
should identify priorities and then phase in others.
4. Take a phased approach and take it slow. Once association and chamber
management start seeing opportunities for improvement, they may be eager to
introduce changes quickly. However, moving too fast could disrupt operations and elicit
pushback from staff. Start with small initiatives that require little effort or change, and
then moving on to broader efforts.
Before beginning the use of a new system, make sure your current data is accurate and
complete. Additional time spent reviewing your starting data (whether converting from
a prior system or data that has been manually created) is time well spent. The end of
your first live month is not the time to review the quality of your data. Your organization
can expect a significant return on this very important upfront investment of time.
5. Make people accountable. The ability of member management software to take
data and generate reports is impressive, but to get a return on their investment,
membership, marketing and website solutions
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4. organizations have to take action based on what they learn. The best way to ensure that
happens, is to allow staff member be held accountable for making improvements in
member satisfaction, billing efficiencies, website improvements, overall reporting, and
any other major areas of concern.
Check to see if your software allows you to create customized reports to help you track
KPIs and member engagement over time.
MEANINGFUL CHANGE
Because member management software provides companies with a number of valulable
reports, such as member engagement metrics and so forth, it can be tempting for
association and chamber managers to think that the software itself will solve all their
problems. But that's not very realistic. The purpose of the software, is to help
organizations make meaningful decisions and to streamline operational processes. Any
cost savings or other improvements will depend not on the software or the data itself,
but on how the user analyzes it and puts it to use.
ABOUT MICRONET
MicroNet, Inc. is a developer of software and networking services based in Nisswa, MN. Over 1300 chambers and
associations trust ChamberMaster and MemberZone from MicroNet with their member management, member
marketing and website needs. Our SaaS is built from the ground up to be the most comprehensive and easy-to-use
member management system, helping organizations save time through streamlining processes and automating
routine tasks. With 14 modules spanning Billing, Communication, Social Media, Reporting and more – you’ll have all
the tools you need to run your organization smoothly. Importantly, the organization has a highly ranked customer
service and support center dedicated to your success. www.micronetonline.com
membership, marketing and website solutions
www.micronetonline.com | www.chambermaster.com | www.memberzone.com | 800.825.9171