It’s time to embrace automation. Here’s how you can start today.
Get ready to work more efficiently and have more time to deliver a great member experience.
The idea of “automation” can seem a bit scary. Even in today’s tech-driven world, it can have people asking: “Is a computer going to take over my job?”
But to deliver a great member experience, there’s always more to do. Automation reduces the burden of manual tasks – saving association staff time and effort that can be directed toward higher value work.
Here are five things your association can automate now:
1. Email communications to members
Automate email communications based on members’ actions, such as registering for an event or paying membership dues. For example, when members join your organization and pay their annual dues, they can receive an automated email confirmation for joining that includes a receipt of payment.
Another example: Your organization can create a welcome campaign that’s automatically triggered when a new member joins. The campaign can familiarize the new member with your organization and encourage the new member to immediately take advantage of benefits offered by your association.
TECH TIP: Nimble Create is a visual template builder included with Nimble AMS that allows you to easily build templates (no coding required) for branded, personalized, and information-rich content. Use it to automatically pull member data and other details straight from your Nimble AMS system into your email content to provide a more personalized member experience.
2. Membership renewals
The Community Brands Member Loyalty Study found that 13 percent of lapsed members simply forgot to renew. A simple yet powerful way to address this issue is to offer an option to automatically renew membership, with the membership fee charged to the member’s credit card.
TECH TIP: Nimble AMS allows you to set up this option, with corresponding automated emails that notify members when their membership has been renewed.
3. Member guidance
Your members’ needs and expectations evolve as they move through their careers and their membership with your organization. Support their needs throughout the member journey by guiding the member experience through intelligent chatbots, suggested next steps, and products.
For example, much like the familiar Amazon-like shopping experience, you can recommend new product purchases based on past behaviors and “what other members like you purchased”. This has the added benefit of increasing your non-dues revenues.
TECH TIP: Nimble AMS uses Salesforce Einstein artificial intelligence (AI) technology, enabling point-and-click AI. Using this technology, you can easily make predictions and provide automated, intelligent member guidance.
4. Member service
Chatbots have started to catch the attention of associations as a way to provide member service more efficiently. You’ve probably come across chatbots multiple times on websites when a box pops up and asks if you need help.
Using chatbots, you can automate aspects of member service, such as answering/assisting with common questions to provide immediate response 24/7 and free up staff time. With chatbots intercepting and answering more straightforward questions, the more complex inquiries can be passed to a live agent, who can take time to assist the member and ensure an exceptional experience.
TECH TIP: Using Nimble AMS, you can easily set up AI-based chatbots with no coding required.
Another way to provide great member service more efficiently is by automating other routine, manual tasks. With workflow automation technology, you set up business rules in software that automatically route data and files between people and systems. Your staff can work more efficiently and spend more time creating a great experience throughout the member journey.
TECH TIP: Nimble AMS leverages Salesforce Process Builder to allow your staff to save valuable time by automating complex business processes. Without code, your staff can specify process criteria to do things like automatically update or create new records, emails, and tasks or submit approval requests – all in a few simple steps.
5. Tax processing
Tax processing might not seem exciting when it comes to providing a great member experience. But automating it allows you to more easily process taxes, reducing manual burden, taking human error out of the equation, and saving association staff time and effort that can be directed elsewhere toward serving members.
TECH TIP: Nimble AMS supports automated complex tax processing, allowing associations to easily process taxes nationally and internationally.
Take the next step
There are many ways automation can help your association. With the right technology, your organization can become more efficient and deliver a better member experience.
