Does your membership system need an upgrade?
A membership system is useful for storing details of members of organisations, clubs and societies, but how do you know whether your system is fulfilling your requirements? Here are some tell-tale signs that could indicate your system needs an upgrade.
Doesn’t meet growth needs
Membership management systems should be able to adapt to your needs as your membership database grows. If you find that your system was perfectly adequate once you started out, but isn’t meeting your needs as your numbers expand, it could be time to consider upgrading to a new system with the capacity to grow as you do. A new system should also be responsive to meet the needs of users who increasingly view information online via mobile devices.
Losing members
There are lots of reasons why you might suddenly find your membership numbers are dwindling and one of these could be that the system your members use to communicate with you and interact with others is not efficient enough. This may certainly be the case where members have to pay a subscription fee. If you have received negative comments from members about your membership system, this could further highlight that it is not living up to expectations.
Always ask members why they want to leave or choose not to renew their subscription so that you can improve your services, regardless of whether this relates to membership management systems.
Wasting time on routine tasks
If you seem to be spending more time on routine or manual tasks than normal, rather than relying on your membership management system to complete these tasks for you, it could be that you need a system upgrade. A modern membership system will have multiple functions that you can adapt to suit your changing needs, which means less time wasted on having to do these tasks manually.
Security issues
Online data has never been more vulnerable to cyber-attacks and it is the duty of every business with a membership system to ensure that all member details are kept as safe and secure as possible. If data is stolen by hackers, this can have a detrimental effect on your reputation and you can be certain that many members will promptly choose to leave. If your system does not offer you security features you can be confident about, it may be time to consider an upgrade.
