The Importance of Integrating Membership Software with Back End Office Systems

Membership organisations that rely on the acquisition and retention of members are currently turning to technology to help manage their members and provide a higher quality service. Membership applications can provide vast cost and time savings, however it is crucial that it can be integrated into back end systems such as the finance system, CRM and the corporate internet site. This article examines the benefits of membership software and the specific benefits provided when it is integrated into key back end office applications.

Lots of membership companies are taking advantage of the benefits of technology by implementing membership software. Membership software allows member managers to organise, manage and control their membership base with improved levels of proficiency and visibility. It can help to increase member enrolments and help reduce the amount of members who fail to renew their membership. More often than not it pays for itself through the growth in membership acquisition and retention.

Membership software comes in all shapes and sizes, but for businesses who rely on their membership base, it’s crucial that they have a solution that caters to all their requirements. Businesses such as associations, charities, schools and universities, trade unions, institutions and societies all rely on the attainment and renewal of their members, therefore must provide value to their membership base. This could be accomplished via the use of membership software.



A well rounded membership solution must include:

Membership Management: Handle membership subscriptions and renewals, whilst adding and processing new members with ease. Capture member data including actions taken, training course attendance and accreditations, event attendance etc.

Membership Communication: Create intimate and personalised relationships with members by communicating with them via a range of integrated tools - email, social media, web site etc.

Membership Events: Host and manage successful events with an integrated event management module. Send targeted e-invites, let members to sign up on the company web site, manage invoicing and payments automatically, and organise all event resources from one central software solution.

Flexible Invoicing and Finance Management: Integrate with the back end finance platform enabling the company to completely automate subscriptions, the sending of renewal invoices, and deactivation of subscriptions following non-payment. Membership software ought to also support multi-currency and integration with key financial systems.

Membership Analysis and Reporting: A comprehensive and extendable suite of management and business intelligence reports giving all the information necessary to examine historical performance and plan for the future.

So we can understand that membership software has the capability to manage a wide selection of member activities. Giving membership managers access to these tools gives them an increased level of control and visibility and will also free their time up to spend on more strategic tasks. Giving a more effective service to members also will help to improve membership fulfilment.

The key benefits can be summed up into main points:

1. Increase membership acquisition and retention
2. Increase financial control over membership subscriptions and activities
3. Engage with members in a more suitable way
4. Communicate in a more efficient way
5. Manage events more efficiently
6. Offer more value to members
7. Improve membership loyalty
8. Cut costs
9. Increase control and visibility
10. Gather membership intelligence

Most of these benefits are reliant on the capability to integrate the membership software with back end office systems and the corporate website.

Connecting the corporate web site together with the membership software improves the level of service to both the organisation and to members. It means that members can interact with the member organisation without knowing they are being processed through an external solution - this minimises confusion and raises the level of trust the member has. All company branding and messaging will stay the same without any involvement from the IT department.

Membership software will also be able to integrate seamlessly with finance platforms. One of the major benefits is the facility to take payments on line via the integration with the web site. This might be for new member subscriptions, membership renewals or the payment for events or member goods. Taking the member manager out of this equation can save the organisation vast amounts of time and money. Linking the membership solution to the finance platform means that any member transactions are recorded in the finance system automatically. This can activate pre-set workflows, for example the creation and distribution of invoices, receipts or additional financial documents or communication. The finance system will also be updated to prove payments have been made - meaning that a single, up to date view of the member record can be made at any time. This complex level of integration not only saves time and money, but is considerably a more efficient way of handling financial transactions and reduces the chance of mistakes - giving the member with an improved level of service.

Membership solutions will also be integrated in the same way to the company CRM (customer relationship management) software solution. This means that new members will have records built automatically and all member behaviour or changes will be logged automatically. This is a enormous time saver for the member manager, and means that everyone in the company can access a member record at any time, aware that it is 100% up to date. Membership software solutions frequently offer members their own member profile; so they are able to actively manage their own record, ensuring all contact information, membership level and preferences are correct at all times.

About the Author
Sally Bakhuizen is Marketing Manager for Silverbear Membership Management at Silverbear Ltd. Employed within societies and membership organisations, Silverbear help organisations build, define, examine, inform and communicate with existing and potential members. For more information, visit www.silverbearmembership.co.uk or email hello@silverbear.com