A recent article from by Meredith MacMillan from Association Media & Publishing entitled "Managing Web Content with a Small Staff"
hit on a number of great points about the online presence of smaller
associations, but I thought her tip about website redesigns was a
particularly important one to consider. Here's a quote she presents
from an association leader (italics mine):
"Members expect their
association websites to offer the same convenience, speed, and
functionality they find on other websites. They probably don't think it
will be Amazon.com, but they want to manage their association
relationship online just as they handle other parts of their lives.
When they can't register for events, renew membership, or change their
preferences or their profile, they are dissatisfied. That
dissatisfaction may be enough on its own to drive them somewhere else" -
Rebecca Rolfes, executive vice president of Imagination Publishing
and executive director of Association Growth Partners
Rolfes makes a terrific point -- people are no longer satisfied with
static websites that merely provide information. They expect to be able
to DO things, to interact with your association in meaningful ways.
Unfortunately, many small association leaders are under the
impression that they need to hire web designers, computer programmers
and database specialists to create even a mildly sophisticated web
site. While that might have been true a few years ago, it is simply NOT
the case in 2010! In fact, even if you have the resources to create a
custom system, it's still not the best idea. If you're building or
maintaining a custom membership software solution these days, you are probably:
- Wasting money paying for expensive consultants to make changes
- Wasting time fighting with software that is not as user-friendly as it could be
- Missing opportunities offered by modern software, with it's ability to automate many tasks
Or as Wes Trochlil very aptly puts it, "working in a homegrown system is malpractice."
Are YOU committing malpractice for your association? If so, compare the association management software (AMS) systems that are available.
Originally posted by Jay Moonah