Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and with the holiday comes a celebration of love!
You deserve association management software (AMS) that shows its love every day! You work hard to engage with your members and achieve your association’s mission. Your AMS should support you all the time, even when times get tough.
Read our blog to discover seven features you should love about your AMS.
Associations love these top AMS features
Do you love your current association management software (AMS)? If you’re unsure of how to answer, it may be time to reconsider your current technology.
Your AMS should empower your entire organization, simplifying staff processes and enhancing the member experience. Look for an AMS that offers these seven key features:
1. Member experience
Offering an excellent member experience is a top priority for all associations. Both your staff and your members should love your AMS user experience. If you’re experiencing feelings that don’t quite amount to love, it might be time to think again about your software choice.
Here are three examples of how an AMS should prioritize the member experience:
a. Personalization options. Your AMS should make it easy for members to customize their membership journey. Look for software that ensures members can personalize their experience by easily updating crucial information and customizing user options.
b. Modern e-commerce. To simplify payments and offer an excellent member experience, you need an AMS that offers PCI-compliant stored payment options including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other express payments.
c. Networking opportunities. Does your AMS offer a built-in online member community? With an online community platform, members can further personalize their experiences by joining groups, discussing industry news, and earning digital badges.
2. Automation
Your AMS should make it easy to simplify staff processes, freeing employees to do more tasks that they love. Look for an AMS that offers user-friendly point-and-click automation tools. By automating key organizational processes, you can decrease low-value work and increase staff efficiency.
3. Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics
Everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence, but is your association using AI in a meaningful way? Your AMS should include AI and predictive analytics tools, making it easy to explore and leverage the latest technology to move your organization forward.
The latest Association Trends Study found that just 18% of member-based organizations currently use AI solutions and only 22% of association professionals plan on integrating AI into their processes. Additionally, just 13% of association professionals have an AI policy to guide their organization. However, leveraging AI is an important factor in launching any digital transformation. With an AMS that includes AI and predictive analytics tools, your organization can increase efficiency and enhance the member experience with intelligent recommendations.
Associations that adopt AI solutions see major benefits in exceeding their organizational goals, especially in connecting with their members. For example, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) leveraged Nimble AMS AI and predictive analytic tools to improve member retention and engagement. With innovative Nimble AMS AI tools, AOSSM could anticipate member behavior and intentionally act before a lapse boosting membership renewals.
“I’m an IT guy, but not every organization has IT staff at their disposal to leverage AI or predictive analytics. It was extremely helpful for AOSSM to have user-friendly AI and predictive analytics tools available to use with Nimble AMS.” — James Jankovec, Director of IT, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM).
The Marine Corps Association & Foundation (MCA&F) offers another example of how associations can overcome membership challenges with AI tools. Working with Nimble AMS, MCA&F leveraged AI and predictive analytics to identify members at risk of non-renewal. With powerful AI solutions, MCA&F renewed 25% of the members at high risk of lapsing.
4. Continuous innovation and upgrades
You shouldn’t have to settle for a partner that never changes for the better. Likewise, your AMS should constantly update to give your staff and members the most advanced technology experience. With routine product upgrades, your organization can save money and boost your technological ROI.
“I would recommend Nimble AMS to other organizations because it is a stable, reliable platform. MSTA has had wonderful experiences with Nimble AMS product upgrades. I’ve slept, worry-free, through every product upgrade Nimble AMS has ever done.” — Bruce Moe, Executive Director, Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA).
Look for an AMS that offers seamless product updates to protect your organization from security risks, ensure you’re on the latest software version, and offer innovative technology enhancements.
Ready to learn more about the benefits of continuous product innovation and updates? Don’t miss our live webinar on February 26! Register now.
5. Dashboards and reporting
Your AMS should include association-specific dashboards and reports to empower your organization with streamlined workflows and data-driven decision-making. Generic reporting tools often fail to capture the nuances of membership trends, engagement metrics, and financial performance unique to associations.
With association-specific dashboards, your staff can easily access real-time insights on membership renewals, event participation, and fundraising efforts, allowing them to act proactively rather than reactively. Customizable reporting ensures that your leadership has the right metrics to measure organizational success, optimize operations, and enhance the member experience. By leveraging an AMS with built-in, association-specific analytics, your organization staff can work more efficiently, allocate resources effectively, and drive sustained growth.
Organizations that adopt association-specific dashboards and reporting tools describe greatly reduced redundancies and simplified processes. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) leverages Nimble AMS’ real-time reports and dashboards, empowering staff to align with their member data. With association-specific reports and dashboards, AHLA can make smarter decisions and gain new insights into member behavior and engagement.
6. Security
In addition to feeling loved, you should feel safe and secure on your AMS. Look for an AMS that adheres to data security best practices and provides the following:
a. Multi-factor authentication, login IP ranges, custom domains, the latest authentication and encryption protocols, and more
b. Data recovery services, offering routine backups
c. Transparency about service availability, performance, compliance, and more
d. An in-house data security and compliance team to meet data privacy regulations and expectations
7. Integrations
Your AMS should show a little love for the rest of your software ecosystem. Look for an AMS that seamlessly integrates with your entire tech stack, making it easy to offer even more tangible member benefits by simplifying data sharing across platforms.
Consider an AMS that integrates with your learning management software (LMS), career center, events management software, and more. You’ll also want access to apps to configure your platform to meet your association-specific needs.
This Valentine’s Day, take time to re-evaluate your current AMS and decide if it’s the right technology for your organization’s future. Come next Valentine’s Day, you might be spending time with an AMS that truly understands your association and empowers both your staff and members.
