Associations are making a move from old school, legacy association management software (AMS) systems to modern enterprise platform-based AMS systems on the Salesforce App Cloud. The primary drivers are these:
Performance, scalability and security. The Salesforce platform offers associations a performance envelope unmatched by any other.
Ecosystem and Extensibility. From email marketing to volunteer management, the Salesforce AppExchange offers more than 3,500 applications for associations to advance their mission.
Innovation. Forbes magazine voted Salesforce the most innovative company in the world (ahead of Tesla, Apple and Google). Last year, Salesforce spent $780 million on research and development, and their customers are already leveraging this investment with artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (oT).
Three Keys to Salesforce Association Management Success
There are three key things associations need to look for to truly harness all of this Salesforce goodness for their organization.
1. Continuous Delivery.
Make sure every customer of the AMS you select is on the same version. Nearly every association professional has seen the adverse effects of being left behind with outdated software. Salesforce is automatically upgraded three times a year, and every Salesforce customer is on the same version. Your AMS should do the same. Another advantage is it empowers your AMS provider to focus on supporting only one version, which allows them to have more capacity to innovate.
2. Correct Architecture.
Verify your AMS provider uses Person Accounts, the supported Salesforce architecture purpose-built for the use cases professional and trade associations face every day.
3. Financial Stability.
Lastly, take a deep-dive into the finances of your AMS provider. Building, delivering and supporting enterprise software is incredibly expensive. Innovation requires a high level of focused, continuous investment into research and development. Look for a firm with revenues starting with a ”B,” not an ”M,” because it takes billions of dollars to move innovation forward. You want your AMS provider to be around five years from now.
Learn More
An AMS can set you up for success in the future. Learn how in our free ebook, 6 things to know before selecting new association management software.
