Comments on: There ARE "Affordable" AMS Systems https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/ Making data management a revenue generator Tue, 28 Apr 2020 19:43:08 +0000 hourly 1 By: Michael Hechter https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1036 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:24:54 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1036 In 2008, my association (staff of 8) realized the limitations of our Access database & did an exhaustive search based on staff-driven criterion for a new database. We are now using internet4associations (i4a).

FYI: There’s a user group for current i4a clients @:

http://groups.google.com/group/cli4aents?hl=en?hl=en

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By: Wes Trochlil https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1035 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:13:12 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1035 Thanks for the note, David. Good point about considering ALL costs already being incurred by the association.

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By: David Sieg from YourMembership.com https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1034 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:49:59 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1034 Throw in the concept of convergence, and many small-to-mid associations quickly discover they are already spending enough $$ each month on disparate systems to cover the cost of a comprehensive SaaS AMS. Are you hosting a website? Using email marketing? Event registrations/management? Web calendaring? Wiki solutions? Shopping cart/e-storefront? etc. etc… all from different vendors that charge small monthly fees that can add up quickly!

Also, association management and social media needs are converging. Associations need to address 1. gaining operational efficiencies their administrative efforts 2. delivering enhanced value to your members. That’s ‘association management software’ (for you) and ‘social media’ solutions (for members). YourMembership.com happens to provide those solutions in one complete, affordable package!

Love the topic and your blog. Thx.

http://www.yourmembership.com/pricing/

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By: Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1033 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:24:20 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1033 I _definitely_ look forward to reading that. :-) Thanks Wes.

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By: Ron Wille https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1032 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:23:17 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1032 NimbleUser just launch a new AMS built on the Force.com platform and is call called NU Members (NU is pronounced like NEW). We get to leverage the powerful CRM aspects of Salesforce.com which make the application easy to use. We then took our 17 years of association management experience and built association specific features like subscriptions, meetings, orders, payment tracking and grouper for things chapters, region and committee management. We also have a module that allows organizations to document their use of NU Members right within the application for easy reference and training. We call this the Procedures module.

We just lunched our application at the ASAE Annual conference to rave reviews and we were just recognized by Salesforce.com for having one of the Top 40 Applications built on the Force.com platform. Our application comes with things like great reporting, dashboards, mobile and communication templates. The ability to add fields and create workflows are also a part of the application. All of this for $ 65/user /month with an introductory price of $ 40 / user / month for anyone that buys it this year.

We have built the application so that some organizations will be able to implement it themselves, while other could buy packages if they need some help.

We are dedicated to small staff associations with this offering.

We have web modules in beta right now.

To learn more about us: http://www.nimbleuser.com

To learn more about application: http://bit.ly/GRCCn

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By: Wes Trochlil https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1031 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:14:52 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1031 I have a theory about why associations have trouble with these types of issues (i.e., their willingness to accept long-term pain to avoid short-term pain) which I think I’ll blog about in the near future.

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By: Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1030 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:06:32 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1030 Ray and Wes, TOTALLY agree with your points about associations not being able to afford not to have an AMS solution, but Wes as I think you’re saying, it’s the pain of getting started that often stymies organizations from switching from whatever solution they are using, even if it is just paper or Excel sheets. Part of the challenge is convincing them that the pain of switching isn’t as great as the pain of the status quo.

I also thing there’s still a lot of people with the attitude of 4-5 years ago that says if you want a good functional solution that does things like online registration or allows a secure member-only area, you MUST get an expensive custom solution.

I’d LOVE to discuss ideas about how we can help convince association professionals that this is something they need be thinking about. I feel like, as AMS providers and consultants, there’s a lot of opportunity in educating people and giving them the tools they need to pick the right solution for their organization.

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By: Chief Apricot https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1029 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:47:37 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1029 (A clickable link: http://associations.wildapricot.com/)

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By: Chief Apricot https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1028 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:46:29 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1028 Let me also mention Wild Apricot (www.wildapricot.com). From what I know about this space (and what we have researched), I think we actually have the most affordable SaaS solution (flat monthly fee from $25/month) and we already have thousands of associations using it.

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By: Wes Trochlil https://effectivedatabase.com/there-are-affordable-ams-systems/#comment-1027 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:21:43 +0000 http://effectivedatabase.com/?p=652#comment-1027 Agreed, that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make. But “soft” costs (e.g., staff salaries) are easy to ignore or hide and it’s apparently “easier” to suffer than to spend the money.

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