I’m a technologist – but I can’t fix your computer for you. Instead, I work with organisations to solve business problems, and more importantly, to make sure that the outcome is an increase in your business – whether that’s revenue or productivity – or both.

What are the real problems facing organisations? Why do these problems exist, and what is it about current technology and systems that is preventing them from achieving their goals?

In many cases the technology is not the problem – it’s the processes that are being followed that cause the pain. At some point in the past someone made a decision and said ‘this is the way we do something’, and so it stuck. This is not to say that technology can’t get in the way, but it is something that can either be changed or adapted to suit.

Poor business processes are going to affect some key areas of your organisation, and this may mean that you miss the opportunity to get a new member, or lose members you already have.

Growing membership

So how does technology help you grow your membership?

One thing you no doubt have in your organisation is a database that typically holds basic membership details and a few other bits and pieces. The easiest way to grow your membership is to start looking at ways that you can leverage that data. Think about the people in your database that aren’t members, for example, anyone who attended a course or bought a book.

The challenge: Your current process for membership acquisition no doubt involves broadcasting your marketing messages to a wide audience and hoping for some response. It’s time to throw away the old ‘broadcast’ model and implement laser targeted communications. It means more effort but it also means more members.

The key: Smart use of this information is critical. As an example, you should be able to identify savings that non-members would have made in twelve months, had they been a member. You may find that some non-members would have already recouped your membership fee.

Member retention

The same database can also allow you to prove value in membership, and, trying hard not to sound cliché, providing value in membership ensures retention. Your business systems should be recording each and every interaction you have with a member. You should question:

• How many times have they logged onto your website?
• How many ‘advice’ phone calls have they made?
• How close are they to achieving a certification (that you may not even know about)?

The challenge: Your current renewal process might involve a well crafted letter with an attached invoice; or worse, you might be forcing your existing members to do something like provide all their information again, each and every year, on a form that they can only hand write and send back to you. This approach doesn’t show value or respect for your existing members; perhaps some want to pay online, perhaps some are questioning why they are still members.

The key: One of the best ways to combat attrition is to show value in membership at renewal time. Using your business systems you should be able to add charts, graphics and summaries to your renewal notices that identify the services your members are really getting from your organisation.

Engagement

Today, engagement can mean so many things, including social media, communities, networking events and committee involvement – the list goes on. The introduction of technology into everyday life has led to people doing business on their own terms and in their own time.

The challenge: You have limited resources and a limited budget – however, in today’s world members are trying to deal with you in so many different ways. Unfortunately, if you stop one type of engagement (like a printed newsletter) and replace it with another (like a facebook group), then you are potentially ignoring a large group of members. New forms of media in many cases are not designed to replace what you are also doing, but to broaden your ability to engage.

The key: The key is providing efficient methods of meeting the demands of new media.

Your business systems should make you more productive, not make you work harder. They should enable you to support many forms of member interaction, and further, they should extend to the web to allow members to solve problems themselves or through online communities allowing other members to help solve problems.

Challenge your processes

Every association is in a position to question why they do something and how they do it. If nothing else, I would say that best practice means continually challenging your processes and looking for continual improvement.