One of the biggest challenges associations face when implementing a new association management system is staff buy-in. How do you get the staff to adopt the new system and make it their own? In a phrase: rational self-interest. In order to get any staff person to use the system, you have to determine how using that […]
Getting buy-in from other users Read More »
As I work with my clients it becomes clear that there are two “classes” of users when it comes to your data management system. Some staff are managers of data (e.g., membership and events) while some staff are consumers of data (e.g., marketing, communications, government relations). And given these two classes of users, you have
Data managers vs. data consumers Read More »
Over two decades ago, I worked for a small trade association whose primary product was a very large trade show put on every two years. The association itself had been around for over 100 years, and the trade show was in the top 50 in the US in terms of square footage. And yet, ten
How diverse is your product palette? Read More »
Over the past six months I’ve helped several associations go-live with their new association management systems. One thing that has struck me with each of these implementations is the importance of training not just before go-live, but after go-live as well. The need for training before go-live is obvious. But why would you need training
Plan on (and budget for) training before AND after go-live Read More »
I was meeting with a group of association CFOs recently, discussing how they use their association databases. During the course of the discussion, one of the executives said “We call our database the coffin.” When I asked him why, he smiled and said “Because in our organization, that’s where data goes to die.” He explained that although
"We call it the coffin." Read More »
This article, co-authored by Scott Oser and myself, outlines some highlights from our sessions at the recent ASAE Membership & Marketing Conference.
Some tips on how marketing and membership staff can work effectively with the CEO Read More »
This blog post is LONG and fascinating (unfortunately, it’s no longer online!). It’s written by the CEO of an AMS company explaining why associations should not build their own AMS product. Sure, he’s got a vested interest in associations buying off-the-shelf software, but he has an interesting perspective because prior to running his own AMS
Why you shouldn’t build your own software (from someone who knows!) Read More »
In my almost-ten-years as an association professional, I worked for three different associations whose membership was based on organizations rather than individuals (commonly referred to as “trade” associations). One of the biggest challenges that trade associations have is that very often, membership in the association hangs on the relationship with one individual at the member-company.
How a good AMS can help trade associations with membership Read More »
One of the biggest challenges associations face during a transition from one AMS to another is data conversion. Deciding what data to convert and getting it into the right format for the conversion can be a very tedious and fraught process. But there is one way to make data conversion really easy: Don’t convert any data.
Data conversion made easy Read More »
Almost every AMS on the market today has some form of CRM (customer relationship management) functionality that allows staff to track contacts made with members and customers (e.g., phone calls received or made). This CRM functionality provides an opportunity for the association to capture and track the kinds of interactions the association is having with
Use CRM functionality to track calls and promote the value of membership Read More »