6 Signs You’re Putting up with Association Technology That Deserves to Go
“Two years of digital transformation happened in just the first two months of the pandemic,”
said Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. That sounds about right with the switch to remote work, virtual governance, and online education and events.
Your association’s change muscles are probably still sore after the workout they received in 2020, but you have to keep flexing them. The intensity may abate a bit, but your association will continue to encounter change in the year ahead.
Change is unavoidable if you want to remain relevant and become indispensable. You can’t return to how things were before. Your members’ and customers’ habits and expectations have changed. The question is: can your association’s technology support your association’s goals in 2021 and beyond?
What a Difference a Year Makes
In 2020, you relied on technology to quickly shift direction so you could continue to deliver value to members and attendees. The results weren’t always ideal, but people were more forgiving back then. They accepted “good enough.”
But expectations are different now. The bar is higher. Members and customers stuck by you then out of a sense of loyalty and community. But it’s been nearly a year—a year to adjust to new conditions. Now they compare your efforts to every other online product and service in their lives. They’re not as forgiving when they encounter technology shortcomings.
Now is the time to assess your technology stack and partners. How well do these different tools and companies support your organization’s strategy? To what extent do they help your organization achieve its goals?
Perhaps your existing technology and partners were good enough at supporting the goals and strategies you had at the start of 2020. But your goals and strategies may look different now than this time last year. And is “good enough” the standard you want to set for mission-critical technology?
Missed Opportunities and Pain Points
Sit back and reflect upon 2020 for a moment or two. Think about the opportunities your association missed. Why couldn’t you take advantage of them? Was it because of your technology? Or another reason?
Identify the technology pain points your association encountered. Figure out the reason behind them. What was the real problem: technology, processes, or people (culture)? To make sure you’re getting at the root cause of these missed opportunities and pain points, don’t just ask “Why” once. Ask five times to reveal the issues that people don’t want to talk about. Yes, go there.
6 Problems with “Good Enough” Technology
No one likes change. Change is uncomfortable and ridden with uncertainty. It disrupts routines and upends competencies. But you and your association can’t grow without change. These days, you can’t even maintain your ground without change.
If you tolerate technology that’s merely “good enough,” you’ll continue to miss opportunities to understand what your members, customers, and attendees need, and to deliver that value to them.
Here are six signs you’re putting up with association technology that deserves to go.
#1: Limited integration. Integrated software allows you to have a full understanding of member and customer behavior. Without integration, you end up with siloed, duplicate data, and laborious data entry and reporting practices. Members and customers have a disjointed user experience.
#2: Customization. Customization, as opposed to configuration, is costly in several ways. It’s an expensive project that limits your future capabilities because it takes you off the software upgrade path. Instead, you’re stuck on a version that came out six years ago. Customized software can’t grow with your association’s changing needs.
#3: Limited functionality. Older or barebone systems transport you back to 2011, not 2021. You keep thinking your AMS should be able to do something because shouldn’t they all be able to do that? Nope, not yours.
#4: Lack of support. If you feel like no one at your AMS company is looking out for your needs, it’s time to shop around. Your technology partner should be just that—a partner supporting your success. For a start, look for a partner who assigns a Customer Success Manager to your association.
#5: Lack of vision and innovation. Will the software evolve as your organization and market evolve? See what their product roadmap says.
#6: Impact on members and staff. What would members say about your association’s digital transformation? If you’re afraid to ask, that’s a problem.
Technology also has an enormous impact on staff morale and productivity. Is your existing technology making your association an enjoyable and productive place to work—or just the opposite? Does your technology help or hinder your ideas and plans to increase revenue? Does it support your efforts to achieve your goals?
Make a Plan to Take Your Association Where It Needs to Go
Every association needs a technology plan. A technology plan is a roadmap describing how your association will use technology to achieve its goals. It prioritizes projects and ensures resources (time and money) are available to support those projects.
When developing your technology plan, first assess your existing technology stack to determine whether it’s up to the job. If not, identify what technology (and other resources) you’ll need to accomplish the work ahead. This is the time to also evaluate processes and organizational culture to see how well they support these goals.
What changes do you need to make to technology and related processes to support your association’s goals and keep up with member and market expectations? What needs to get fixed first? Which system has the biggest impact on understanding and delivering value to members?
If your AMS is holding your association back, don’t wait too long to do something about it. By the time you’ve implemented a new system, your members and customers may have lost their patience and loyalty. Prepare your business case for getting a new AMS by reading our paper on the high cost of doing nothing about your old AMS.