Tools and Technology to Help Associations Achieve Their Mission

Tools and Technology to Help Associations Achieve Their Mission

by ​Towsif Nasor

Today’s world is becoming seemingly more digital, and associations are facing the ever-evolving needs and expectations of their members, competition and resource constraints. Associations can help enhance the member experience, improve efficiencies, and streamline operations by identifying and utilizing the right technology. Here, we will explore exactly how technology can help empower associations and drive them to be more successful.

Member Management

​As the epicenter of any association’s success, the ability to manage and engage members effectively is beneficial to all associations. To help make these processes more efficient, associations can utilize an Association Management System (AMS). 

These platforms centralize member data and can help manage internal processes such as renewals, payments, member communications and more. Some AMS systems can even integrate with various other systems, enabling associations to utilize different tools for their needs, while still using the AMS system as the central hub for their member data. By providing associations with a holistic overview of their members, AMS platforms allow for a more personal engagement, which can help drive member engagement.

Learning and Certifications

Many associations embody a core mission of providing ongoing education and certification programs to their members. By leveraging a Learning Management Systems, associations are able to create and distribute opportunities for live and on-demand learning. 

These platforms can enable associations with the power to offer webinars, certifications and other professional development opportunities. This allows associations to reach a broader audience and track a learner’s progress and accomplishments. Not only does such a tool help deliver value to their members, but organizations can also attempt to create an additional revenue stream by offering paid courses.

Event Management

Most associations host conferences of various sizes, seminars, and exhibitions, which can be difficult to manage. An Event Management software can help simply this by offering methods that help tackle registrations, event analytics, exhibitor management and more. When utilizing external tools such as this, oftentimes you see challenges in upkeeping the holistic view of the member profile. 

However, with the correct integration in place, data such as attendee lists, session feedback, and sales data can all seamlessly be written back into the AMS. Whether it is a hybrid or virtual event, these solutions can help make events more accessible to members, reduce manual work internally, and improve the accuracy of the data available to the organization.

Marketing

Associations often face challenges related to member engagement. To help tackle this obstacle, organizations can utilize a marketing automation platform. This type of software allows associations to automate campaigns, segment their audiences to their needs, and often provide a method of measuring the impact of such efforts. 

From targeted content, such as newsletters or event invites based on the member’s interests, these platforms can help ensure that communications are relevant, on time, and safely being delivered to inboxes with heightened security. Integrating these platforms with an organization’s AMS enables associations to track engagement and ensure that their marketing efforts are aligned with their strategic goals.

Data Driven Business Decisions

Over the last decade, we have seen the term data be utilized more. Data is known to be a powerful asset for any organization. Data enables organizations to analyze, and act based on more informed decisions that better align with their strategic goals. To harness this, associations can utilize a business intelligence tool to obtain insights into their member engagement, marketing effectiveness, and website performance. 

These platforms also allow users to create dashboards from dataset allowing leadership to better monitor membership trends, revenue streams and more. Such initiatives ensure that efforts are focused on initiatives that drive member value and help increase renewals.

Conclusion

Technology is not just a tool for efficiency, but the key to unlocking an association’s true potential to achieve its mission. Whether it is an AMS, which can help centralize member data or an LMS to help expand an association’s educational offerings, the right stack of tools can help organizations drive engagement, streamline their processes, and enable data driven decision making. 

Organizations can leverage these technologies to strategically maximize impact and deliver better value to their members. In many cases, the future growth of an organization will be determined by their ability to harness the true value that technology can bring.
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Resources

​If you are interested in learning more about some of these tools and their capabilities, please feel free to check out the Strategico Consultant’s buyer’s guides at this link!