Before you sign up with a new AMS vendor, ask yourself this question: “Can I spend the next 7-10 years working with this company?” Because if the answer is “no” or “I’m not sure” you might want to think again. Buying an AMS is like entering a marriage. This isn’t a one-off purchase where you …
Before choosing a new AMS vendor, ask yourself THIS question… Read More »
Just like beauty, the idea of software being “user-friendly” is in the eye of the beholder. Very often when I talk with clients about what they need from a new AMS, they’ll say something to the effect of “It has to be user-friendly.” I agree. But what does user-friendly look like? Well, that depends on …
Which dropdown menu am I referring to? Any of them. The paradox of choice is that the more choices we are given, the less likely we are to decide. When your customer is presented with a dropdown menu that has dozens of choices, she is unlikely to scan through all the choices available and will …
If your dropdown menu has more than seven choices, it's useless Read More »
One of the greatest benefits of the internet revolution is that data management has been moved from staff to customer. For example, back when I started my first membership director position (20 years ago now), nothing was being processed via the association’s website. This meant that ALL membership joins and renewals had to be processed by …
The inherent conflict between staff needs and customer needs Read More »
SCIPP International is a nonprofit organization interested in finding out – and sharing back – the extent of the association community’s security prevention and response planning. They have put together a very short survey to benchmark associations’ security readiness. You can begin the assessment by clicking here.
Many associations, because they are small and have relatively low volume on their e-commerce sites, believe they are not a target for hackers. I’ve been telling my clients for some time that a data breach in the association market is not a matter of if, but when. The American Bankers Association recently revealed that …
I recently spoke with a small association about the possibility of them acquiring a new data management system. In the course of the conversation, I mentioned that their website design was quite good, and the design itself looked very fresh. “Oh,” replied the executive director, “that’s because it IS new. We had to redesign …
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 …
This article, co-authored by Scott Oser and myself, outlines some highlights from our sessions at the recent ASAE Membership & Marketing Conference.