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In this episode of the Strategic Nonprofit podcast, our host Trista sits down with Stephen Foley, Co-Founder at Member365, to discuss what to look for when investing and analyzing membership management software. Many organizations have a membership that expires and needs to be renewed periodically. This is why many Nonprofits waste countless hours using spreadsheets to manage their members when they could be automating processes instead.
Member365 is an online platform designed especially for member-based organizations to streamline and manage their growth by automating everyday data-driven tasks. To learn more about Member365, visit their website to book a demo where they also offer regular webinars and articles
Common Member Management Problems
The first problem we’re seeing is that Organizations work in a world of disparate data, so nothing’s really connected. They are using many different softwares, they may even have a homegrown database, and they have nothing that connects these data sources to make sense.
In 2020, it’s time to look at how to automate aspects of your business because using a spreadsheet to run your renewal season means you’re manually chasing members. This really makes no sense when this is a workflow and business process that can be very easily automated.
Essentially, Organizations spend so much time in their data that they are not spending enough time managing or, engaging members, and adding value to membership. Really that’s where the focus and attention should be is making sure your members are receiving value for the fees they’re paying to join your organization, or to join your association.
Also read our article on Board Management Software.
What To Consider When Investing in Member Management Software
Before you even reach out to companies like Member365 or competitors, assess your landscape. Take an inventory, what software are you using, and understand what the shortcomings are of the software and be ready to talk about them.
Stephen Foley, CEO of Member365
So typically, you need to articulate your business requirements. If you know what your hard requirements are, bring those when you come looking. You can have many conversations, and there’s a lot of vendors that serve the space. If you just take a loosey-goosey approach, then it’s going to be really hard for you to compare one vendor against the next.
Why Customers Choose Member365
Price is usually the main attraction for Member365 customers considering that they don’t charge onboarding or set up fees. Although it really depends on the size of organizations or associations.
They’re choosing us because it’s an all in one platform. So, there’s no need anymore to have all these numerous third-party systems running different aspects of your operations. Now you can do it from that one central dashboard.
Stephen Foley
Member365 has focused on building a strong contact record management system because they recognize that associations don’t just deal with members. They have all different types of relationships from volunteers, to sponsors, to speakers. So they’ve built a platform for them to manage all of their relationships via one piece of software.
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