Purchasing Association Management Software: 6 Questions
Purchasing the right AMS can make your association’s operations far more efficient and effective than before!
Once your association has drafted your AMS selection team and is ready to get to work choosing the right software, you’ll want to ask:
- Can the AMS help my association gather member information?
- How will my members benefit from the features of the AMS?
- What can the AMS do to simplify event management?
- How can members use the AMS to help them learn?
First, your association’s team should ask how your AMS can help you gather and store member information in your database.
1. Can the AMS help my association gather member information?
Some of the most valuable types of member data that your AMS can help your association collect include:
- Their contact information. Members can update their information as it changes so that your association can stay in contact with them.
- Their event registration and attendance information. Gather additional information on your members and track which of your events and sessions are most popular.
You can check out Fonteva’s guide to association management systems for more information on features to look for.
Avoiding data challenges is one major reason why an AMS benefits your association, but these systems are equally useful for your members.
2. How will my members benefit from the features of the AMS?
Choose an AMS that allows members to make updates to their information. Look for features that support your members’ involvement in your association such as:
- Member profiles. These profiles should be updated automatically as members engage with your association by, for instance, registering for events.
- Member-driven committees. Member-run committees in your association management database can help more members take active roles within your association.
Conferences and other events present excellent opportunities for members to learn and connect with one another.
3. What can the AMS do to simplify event management?
The right AMS will save both your members and your association’s staff plenty of time and energy. Make sure that the AMS your association chooses can:
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- Help members register for your event. When members register through your AMS, they won’t have to reenter the information that already appears elsewhere in the system.
- Offer eCommerce options. Want to build excitement before the event? Design shirts for your members using an online platform and sell them to your members through your AMS.
When you plan your next event using your AMS, you’ll encourage registration by sharing the details of the event in advance and making the signup process easy.
4. How can members use the AMS to help them learn?
Look for the following features in addition to integration capabilities with your AMS:
- Customizable courses and modules. Tailor your courses to include the information your members need to learn most.
- Personalized course recommendations. Keep your members learning with an LMS that recommends new courses. You can check out Web Courseworks’ guide to association LMS features to learn more about how course recommendations work.
Integrating your AMS and LMS help your association overcome challenges to learning and education from the accessibility of courses to data management.
Selecting the right AMS is an important step to take in helping your members achieve their goals and increase their engagement with your association.
Fonteva delivers highly configurable membership, events, and eCommerce applications on an innovative platform that can easily scale and quickly integrate with other business solutions.
