culture.gov.au
Connecting you with Australian culture online
Membership management systems
Many cultural organisations rely heavily on the development of a membership body that provides a sound support base for their activities. Keeping in touch with these members can be a time-consuming and labour-intensive business, which can be greatly assisted by using the internet.
For example, you can establish a membership database on your website that records members’ contact details, their artistic preferences and their preferred method for communicating with you. Such online systems enable you to communicate quickly with your members using email (for example, distributing an e-newsletter) to bring to their attention sales, events or issues they indicated might interest them. A membership database also enables you to manage a ‘members only’ section, accessible via password, to provide additional value for members and reward them for their continued support.
A membership management system would encompass not just the membership database but everything to do with your interaction with members – and their interaction with you. Whenever a member accesses the website, changes their details, books tickets or buys something, an effective membership management system would ensure this interaction was recorded and included in reports. The information-gathering and reporting capacity of a ‘members only’ section can be used to personalise communication with your members, and enables you to alert them to things like new events and activities, subscription renewals or general news.
The golden ebusiness rule of any such system is one input, many outputs. This means that you have only the one database which everyone in your organisation uses to record and update membership information. If one part of your organisation needs to change any information, the whole organisation benefits. You provide a better service to your members and at the same time eliminate duplication and reduce costs.
In other industry sectors, a membership management system would be thought of as a customer relationship management (CRM) system. These systems tend to be expensive but the good ones really help manage everything to do with communicating with customers (audiences, visitors and the like). For organisations that have many members, sell tickets or items and have a number of staff interacting with members and customers, a CRM or membership management system may be appropriate.
What to do
Different types of cultural organisations will have different requirements of their membership management system. Obviously, research is required into what system best suits your organisation. Here are some links to sources of information and to websites of Australian companies that offer membership management systems.
To find out more read an explanation of Customer Relationship Management systems on the NOIE ebusiness guide website.
CENTAMAN Systems Pty Ltd is a fully owned Australian based company that specialises in the development, installation and support of computer based systems for the leisure, venue and tourism marketplace.
Member Manager is an online tool designed for Australian membership organisations. This system automates membership and events management, allows members to 'self serve' (including making payments online) and streamlines database management.
Stratum is a web-enabled contact management system specifically designed for not-for-profit organisations. Stratum makes it easy for non-profits to record and manage membership data, collect payments, communicate with members and analyse their behaviour.
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