The Right and Wrong Ways to Engage Your Association Members
Whether you don’t know what an AMS is yet or you’re already using one, it’s highly worthwhile to explore the features of this helpful software solution!
Let’s look at some of the key dos and don’ts for engaging your members using your AMS. We recommend that you:
- Do create comprehensive member profiles.
- Don’t assume automated communications are one-size-fits-all.
- Do offer continuing learning opportunities for your members.
- Don’t allow event management to become stressful.
- Do use eCommerce to increase visibility for your association.
The more you know about your members, the better your association will be able to meet their needs.
1. Do create comprehensive member profiles.
Look for association management software that gives your members control over the contents of their profile. You’ll want member profiles that are:
- Automatically updated. Updates that your members make to their profiles will appear automatically in your member database.
- Showcases for your members’ achievements. Look for an AMS that offers members the opportunity to display badges, awards, and other professional achievements.
Having the most updated information available on your members means that your association can communicate with them on a more individual level.
2. Don’t assume automated communications are one-size-fits-all
Your team can send automated communications to all of your members. You can also send more targeted automated communications to address:
- Dues payments. Your AMS can help you automate the entire process of notifying members when their dues need to be paid, have been paid, or are late.
- Committee and regional chapter updates. Subsets of your association can also use communications features of your AMS. Fonteva’s guide to association management database features provides more information on how committees can use their AMS.
When your AMS makes it easy for your association to stay in connection with your members, they’ll be excited to participate in everything your association has to offer.
3. Do offer continuing learning opportunities for your members.
As you research and select the best LMS to suit your members’ needs, you’ll want to look for a system that engages learners with features including:
- Gamification. Scoreboards and other gamification tools help your association overcome one of the biggest learning challenges by keeping your members motivated to complete courses.
- Social learning elements. Look for an LMS that offers social learning features such as discussion boards and live chats.
You can check out Web Courseworks’ guide to association LMS features to learn more about what to look for as you select software.
4. Don’t allow event management to become stressful.
When you plan your event using association management software, you’ll be able to save your members time and gather valuable information to better communicate with them in the future. Use your AMS to:
- Facilitate registration. Your member database will be updated with the registration information your members provide.
- Offer event merchandise. You’ll be able to create and sell wearable and usable merchandise such as custom t-shirts to build excitement surrounding your event.
Events are valuable learning experiences for your members, and your AMS can help ensure that you get as many of them as possible excited about registering and attending.
Use your AMS and other software systems to facilitate experiences for your members that are sure to keep them involved.
Fonteva delivers highly configurable membership, events, and eCommerce applications on an innovative platform that can easily scale and quickly integrate with other business solutions.
Join Association TRENDS at AMS Fest in Washington, DC on November 6th-7th. This conference exists for association executives to discuss these systems with one another, AMS vendors, and AMS consultants. You’ll listen to sessions, join in discussions, preview eighteen AMS demos, and meet with seven industry partners and eight consultants who can help you determine which AMS is best for you and your organization. Click here to learn more!
