As your association grows, so do your requirements for your membership software. To escape the cycle of outgrowing and implementing new software again and again, you need to find association management software that can handle your organization’s specific needs and scale with you.
There’s no shortage of systems to choose from, and parsing through all your available options can quickly become overwhelming. In this guide, we’ll review membership management software basics and our top recommendations to give you a clear starting point.
To begin, let’s explore what membership management software is and how it can benefit your organization.
What is membership management software?
Membership management software is a specialized customer relationship management (CRM) system that association leaders use to organize and oversee their association’s membership program.
These software systems store crucial information about association members, such as member profiles, continuing education history, and preferred communication methods. Association management solutions also streamline administrative processes, improve communication with members, and boost member engagement.
For example, the member information you gather through your software system can help you create courses, events, and communications tailored to members’ preferences. Additionally, communication features allow you to automate association-wide updates with a simplified notification process.
How can membership software benefit your association?
Comprehensive membership software helps you keep tabs on your members, optimize their experiences, and boost engagement and retention. The right solution will allow your organization to:
- Accurately map connections. Members can update their profiles with additional details, allowing them to find connections to other similar profiles automatically updated in the centralized, searchable database.
- Easily manage chapters and join committees. Invite members to join virtual user committees to participate in special projects. Manage permissions, events, and mission statements within those committees.
- Streamline management of fees and forms. Centralize payment and reminders for fees, dues, and donations, plus any necessary forms, with easy desktop and mobile access for members.
- Give members more independence. With a self-service portal, members can completely own their association experience. They can search member directories to make connections and register for events through the software.
These benefits culminate in a better understanding of your members, which you can use to tailor the opportunities and benefits you offer. Additionally, you can proactively identify members who may be at risk of lapsing and start making efforts to preserve the relationship.
What are some essential features your membership management system needs?
No matter what kind of membership program you operate, there are several essential features you should look for in new membership management software, including:
Robust member profiles
All membership software should store necessary member information such as members’ names and contact details. But more sophisticated solutions will automatically populate specific information, such as:
- Event attendance: When your members attend an event, your membership CRM should record the type of ticket they bought as well as any add-ons they opted into.
- Connections: Your membership CRM should reflect relationships between members, like membership in the same chapter or employment at the same workplace.
- Membership level: Your CRM should apply badges, special permissions, or discounts based on membership level when members make online purchases.
For example, Fonteva’s member profile platform allows members to input basic information such as job titles and contact information, link their social media profiles to connect with members on other platforms, and keep track of their subscriptions:
When your association can build and maintain robust member profiles, you can segment your populations by membership level, events attended, and interests to strengthen your communication strategies (e.g., sending personalized recommendations of sessions they might enjoy during your upcoming conference).
Additionally, encourage members to keep their profiles up to date to foster engagement in the member community. For example, if a member updates their profile to show that they recently attended a conference, another member who attended might initiate a conversation about the keynote speaker.
Automatic member renewals
Your members want to reap the benefits of joining a strong network of like-minded professionals. These connections are symbiotic—members offer each other career advancement opportunities and share advice.
To maintain the strength of these networks as a member benefit, member retention is essential. Automating the renewal process can drastically increase the likelihood of members renewing. Automation simplifies renewal for your members and staff members tasked with notifying them.
Look for software that can identify individuals whose membership is up for renewal, and then send them automated renewal reminders. These reminders should be:
- Timely, giving your members plenty of time to pay their dues before their membership expires.
- Recurring, to keep renewal on your members’ minds without annoying them.
- Personalized, with your members’ name and a link directly to a renewal form.
Ideally, your membership software should also offer the option to automate other communications like welcome messages for new members and expiration notices for members who don’t renew in time.
Event management
Choosing a solution with event management capabilities is the best way to streamline the planning process and give members a smooth experience from start to finish. Your event planning team will be able to:
- Eliminate manual data transfer from a third-party platform, saving time and promoting accuracy.
- Avoid implementation and integration costs from a second software solution.
- Upsell memberships at registration, then apply member benefits to the same purchase.
- Empower local chapters to plan events.
And those are just the benefits to your planning team. Your members could get automatic discounts, priority registration, and access to exclusive opportunities or resources when they register.
Payment processing
eCommerce and payment processing solutions are crucial for managing member dues and driving non-dues revenue for your organization.
Once you find the best payment processor for your association, ensure that your membership CRM will integrate seamlessly with it. For example, Fonteva’s payments solution is built on Stripe which integrates with the core Salesforce CRM.
This solution should track and manage:
- Membership purchases.
- Member dues, including recurring payments.
- Registration and ticket purchases.
- Refunds and deferred invoices.
- Prices for online purchases.
Your membership software should also produce reports with this data, giving your administrative team a birds-eye view of your finances.
Analytics and reporting
There’s nothing more valuable to an association’s long-term goals than comprehensive analytics.
The best membership CRM makes it easy to create custom reports for different departments, special committees, and projects with:
- Reporting on standard as well as custom fields.
- Simple customization interfaces (no coding required).
- Easy export to common file types.
Keeping track of everything from fundraising metrics to non-dues revenue helps your organization grow by allowing you to set data-driven goals that move the needle. Plus, you won’t have to learn how to use complicated reporting software that’s separate from your central system.
Online self-service member portals
Beyond the member profiles we mentioned before, you need to be able to empower your members to take charge of their engagement with options such as:
- Full control over their membership tiers.
- Easy online event registration and check-in.
- Online networking and communication outlets.
- Continuing education, certification, and accreditation options.
Members will want to continue or expand their engagement with your association when you offer them a smart membership CRM that improves their interactions with your organization and helps them further their careers.
Member communities
When you invest in an association membership software solution that allows your members to actively interact with other members, you empower your members to build and expand their own communities and networks. Similar to member profiles, these communities give members a way to connect and network with their peers.
For example, your association might set up discussion forums where members can talk about the latest industry trends or ask questions.
The benefits of offering member communities include:
- Increased online collaboration.
- Increased participation in accreditation and continuing education courses.
- More effective in-person events.
When members can own their experiences with your association, they’re more likely to stay involved year after year.
Full database customization
Your members rely on your association’s ability to meet their expectations, so you should have a software solution that fits yours!
When looking for membership software, choose a system that allows you to customize your database. Depending on your association, this could look like:
- Customizable member fields, so you get all the information you need and none you don’t.
- Member segmentation options, so you can analyze your members and conduct targeted communication efforts.
- Customizable views, so your staffers can always see the most relevant information for their daily tasks.
Additionally, look for a cloud-based solution over one that is locally hosted. These systems are more scalable, offer considerable storage and flexibility, and have more processing power. Plus, there is no software installation process or hardware implementation, and you’ll automatically receive maintenance and updates from the provider.
What should your association consider when choosing membership software?
As there are so many membership management solutions to choose from, it’s essential to keep your association’s unique needs in mind when evaluating your options. Consider these factors during your search:
- Budget: Determine how much of your budget your organization can allocate toward its association management technology. Keep in mind that custom-built solutions tend to require larger investments of time and money.
- Core priorities: Decide which factors are most important to your association. These may include positive customer reviews, quality tech support, ease of use, reliability, or security. Consider creating a scale with these priorities and rank the tools you are considering against each priority.
- Customization: Purchasing a highly specialized, niche solution might pay off in the short term but can limit your association’s long-term growth. The best membership management systems offer stellar baseline services and access to specific point solutions to address new needs as they arise.
- User reviews: Browse review sites like Capterra and ask other associations about their experiences with the software. One of the best ways to learn about a software solution is to talk to the people who use it.
- Scalability: Enterprise-level associations can’t afford to run into limits on storage space, member profiles, event pages, or administrative or user profiles. Before investing in membership database software, project the number of administrative and user profiles your association will need, and choose the solution that offers room for realistic growth.
- Integrations: When choosing a new membership management software solution, you need to ensure that it will integrate with the other programs your association relies on. For example, would it connect with your CRM, email marketing tool, and payment processor?
- Data migration: Where is your association hosting its current member database? Is your data in a centralized location or spread throughout several point solutions? As you move to a new solution, you’ll need to ensure that your data arrives clean and intact.
Once you’ve considered each of these factors, start narrowing your search. Remember to check out video tours, case studies, and any other resources the provider offers. Always book a demo to see the software in action and schedule sufficient time to ask questions.
What are some top membership management software options?
Fonteva: The Best All-In-One Membership Management Software
Overview of this Membership Management System
Fonteva Membership is a cloud-based association membership software native to Salesforce, the world’s top CRM system.
Fonteva has more than a decade of experience working with associations, professional societies, association management companies, and local governments. These organizations use Fonteva’s scalable platform to enhance membership management and engagement strategies.
Using Fonteva, organization leaders can complete these necessary functions with ease:
- Give members easy access to the member directory, event sign-ups, and continuing education opportunities.
- Manage ticketing, speakers, sponsors, and basic event information all within their membership CRM.
- Integrate payment processing and automatic discounts for members who shop using their member profiles.
- Access automatically generated reports.
- Create customized databases to fit specific needs.
With Fonteva Membership, organizations also receive implementation and data migration support as well as ongoing training on best practices for using the software. Transitioning member data to a new system can be a major undertaking, but Fonteva provides a helping hand throughout the entire process.
Why Fonteva Membership Stands Out
One of Fonteva Membership’s greatest assets that sets it apart from other options is that it’s built on top of Salesforce. Salesforce is the world’s leading CRM provider for a reason: It offers a highly scalable, customizable platform. To do so, Salesforce employs an army of developers and partners to support customers and continually devise innovative products.
With Fonteva, organizations receive updates, code-free customization, and 24/7 customer support from Salesforce. With the backing of Salesforce, users also rest assured that their membership system is protected with high-level security measures.
Fonteva has many other advantages — for one, it’s an easy-to-use system that doesn’t require an in-house IT department to get up and running. Since Fonteva is cloud-based, organizational leaders can access the system from any location, with any device.
Fonteva offers the flexibility and extensive yet user-friendly features to simplify management practices, save association leaders time, and strengthen communities through personalized member experiences.
Protech
Leveraging Microsoft’s intuitive Dynamics 365 software, Protech provides a rich membership management solution that can streamline your association’s processes from event planning to member engagement.
Take a look at some of the many tools available with Protech’s powerful solution, such as:
- Access to robust, enterprise-level e-commerce features, streamlining the online shopping and event registration process for both members and staff.
- Seamless integration with AppSource tools, Microsoft applications, and various third-party platforms.
- Automated, personalized marketing and communication features that allow associations to both simplify their outreach and maximize engagement across multiple channels.
Additionally, Protech provides event software, professional development tools, and a variety of other built-in or integrated features to round out your association’s membership management toolkit.
Regpack
Regpack combines association management and membership renewals into an all-in-one solution. It offers flexible and integrated payment processes, automated communications, and reporting systems.
In addition to expected features such as event registration, member databases and portals, and automated dues, organizations can use Regpack to:
- Embed member application processes into their websites.
- Offer donation opportunities through their websites.
- Save money through optimized registration processes.
Regpack doesn’t just offer membership software. It also has systems designed for camps, schools and other educational programs, travel groups, and more. Therefore, a wide range of organizations turn to Regpack for management assistance.
MemberClicks
MemberClicks works with associations, chambers, universities, and association management companies to provide comprehensive software solutions that increase engagement and generate revenue.
Beyond providing just a membership management system, the integrated platform offers a suite of software tools, including:
- A learning management system to store and distribute educational content and track members’ learning progress.
- Job board software that connects job seekers to new opportunities, providing additional value to members.
- Membership website and CMS to create a modern, responsive site that engages and informs visitors.
MemberClicks also provides training resources for organization management and member retention.
Glue Up
Glue Up provides a sophisticated yet easy-to-use CRM platform for associations, business networks, and chambers.
Glue Up’s membership software solution contains features like:
- An event management suite that allows organizations to set up branded event pages, ticketing, and event promotions.
- A training management suite to create engaging, monetized webinars, manage certificates, and promote courses.
- A community engagement suite to facilitate discussion and networking.
With Glue Up, organizations also receive access to two mobile apps: one for community members and one for association management teams.
Hivebrite
Hivebrite is a community management platform used by professional networks, school and university alumni groups, and nonprofits.
With Hivebrite, organizations customize the platform to fit their specific needs and requirements. Associations appreciate Hivebrite for its:
- CRM and member management tools that allow users to apply filters and conduct targeted member communications.
- Content management to maintain an updated website.
- Communication tools such as in-app messages and mobile notifications.
Like Glue Up, Hivebrite also offers the ability to create a branded mobile app. Hivebrite’s “Who’s around me” app feature allows members to use a map to discover other members nearby.
Doubleknot
Doubleknot is an industry leader in membership management software designed just for museums, zoos, and aquariums.
These more niche organizations rely on their membership programs for steady revenue and annual funding. Doubleknot’s customers rely on the solution’s comprehensive and effective features and tools, including:
- Full member directory and profiles. Access all your important member data in one easy-to-navigate interface.
- Automated hierarchy and benefits tools. Efficiently manage your program’s tiered membership levels and permissions.
- Easy gift membership and renewal. Make it simple for members to continue supporting your work.
Organized management and tidy membership databases are what help culture- and nature-oriented institutions or organizations thrive. Doubleknot’s tools and features make it an ideal partner to help your museum or zoo retain more members than ever!
Additional Resources
From member recruitment to retention, your association management system is the most efficient tool in your association’s toolbox. Engaging your members in a strong member community starts with the best software available.
You may still have lingering concerns or questions about membership management software options or how to get the best return on investment. If that’s the case, check out these resources:
- Salesforce for Associations: A Comprehensive Guide. Does your organization already use Salesforce? If so, check out this guide on how to use Salesforce effectively for association management.
- Membership Directories | Complete Guide & Best Practices. If your association’s goal is to foster tight-knit member communities, read on to see how membership directories can help you do it.
- Harnessing AI for Associations: Tools & Trends to Watch. Learn more about how associations can use AI ethically and safely to enhance operations and provide better member experiences.
