The Compete-At Blog

Today we announced a partnership with Veloci USA for membership card printing fulfillment for our customers.

Through this partnership, all Compete-At customers can now order quality printed membership cards for their organization directly from within Membership Manager, a hosted member software solution for clubs, non-profits and associations. After the initial setup and design phase, all orders for new and renewing members will automatically be queued up for printing. Additionally, current members can order a replacement membership card directly from their secure member login and Veloci will ship the replacement directly to them.

“This is a great value added service for our membership customers,” explains David Ross, CEO of Compete-At. “While our platform virtually eliminates the paper shuffling by moving member application and renewal processes online, we realize that many organizations still have a need to distribute physical membership cards. This also gives small organizations, the opportunity to create and distribute high quality membership cards to all members for the same price as a much larger organization.”

Read the entire press release here

Partnership Highlights

Ordering printed member cards is integrated into the Membership Manager interface

Batch ordering of all Compete-At customers result in low prices so smaller clubs and non-profits can now issue high-quality cards to members at discounted rate

Membership Manager users can easily interact with Veloci account representatives through the system

Functional settings can turn on or off card reprints by members

Members can order replacement cards via their own personal secure login

Detailed reporting on each print batch indicating member information in a downloadable CSV file

Membership cards are available with a variety of options and printing surfaces such as paper, laminated, plastic and synthetics

Custom design options to suit the needs of each organization

Additional printing and mailing services such as brochures and certificates are available

Global support and mailing is available through Veloci

Perform this quick test to see if your current member database solution is up to par.

In 30 seconds or less you should be able to:

1. Find your current "active" membership count.
2. Know how many new members have joined in the last 30 days.
3. Be able to find anyone in your database if they call you on the phone - by last name, first name, custom attribute, etc. (My insurance agent is the king of this. Before I even complete my first sentence he has my account pulled up.)
4. View all recently expired members and send them an Email.
5. View and approve all pending memberships.
6. Send an Email to an expired members or group of members with a link to renew
7. Create an automated Email to send to new members thanking them for support and asking for a reference.
8. Send an Email to all donors who have not yet donated this year.
9. Send an Email to soon to be expired members with an message to renew, make a donation and perhaps even up-sell them to a lifetime membership.
10. Export your members to csv. (Why? Just because you know somebody is going to want it that way.)

All of these things are extremely basic functions. If performing any of these with your current member database leave you flustered, you should seriously start thinking about making a switch to a more nimble solution.

What causes this? Why are so many non-profits, associations and clubs using cumbersome antiquated solutions? See if any of these ring a bell.

1. A large expensive and cumbersome system was "installed" for us 5+ years ago and we're stuck with it. (Newsflash: Those days are over. Cut your losses now and go with a SaaS solution. The cost to maintain those installed solutiosn isn't worth it. Trust us on this one. If you need to hire a fulltime person to manage "membership technologies", you have the wrong solution.)

2. We're using Excel. (Seriously? Do your members and donors, know this? I wouldn't feel safe if my personal information was just sitting in a file on someones laptop.)

3. We were sold something that is so complex, only 1 person knows how to use it. In fact we only use a few features – we're not even sure what all this other crap does. (Probably the result of a dozen or so consultants and a slick sales guy. If it came with a manual, then you're in trouble. If it requires more than 20 minutes of "training", you're in trouble. If the company has full-time technical support staff to support you, you're in trouble. Full-time technical support means full-time problems.)

4. We're using a patchwork of different web technologies my "brother" (insert acquaintence here). You know, we set up a blog, hooked it to Paypal, added a couple of plug-ins, some mashups, found a membership widget, etc. Whoaaa. Slow down cowboy. You need to lasso all of that into one single simple solution. Who's going to keep up with updating all those plug-ins, scripts, and mashups, in the long-term?

If your current membership solution passed the litmus test, then congratulations you're way ahead of the curve. But the truth is, most member-based organizations can't even tell you how many active members they have, or how many active members they have at each level.

Keep your member database solution simple. You have more important things to do I'm sure. Check out a short video on our hosted solution here.

- Tom

Five Things to Consider When Choosing a Technology Solution

Note: To download this document and evaluation worksheet, click here.

Membership Software Technology Landscape

There’s an overwhelming array of software options available today for member-based organizations in need of streamlining management of daily operations. These range from simple desktop applications to custom built software requiring robust infrastructures and database back-ends. Luckily for most organizations, the solution lies somewhere in the middle. Below are five things to keep in mind during your technology evaluation.

1. Ease of Use

If you need a team of techies to help you manage the software that’s supposed to be making your organization more efficient, then it’s a step in the wrong direction. After your initial setup, there should be very little need for technical support. Some questions you should ask yourself during the evaluation are as follows; Is it easy to navigate the software? When I look at a screen, do I know what to do next? During your evaluation, it’s a good idea to have more than one key user test drive the software.

2. Don’t be Distracted with “Bells & Whistles”

Many times, bells & whistles included in software could adversely effect the purchase decision. Don’t let the “cool” features deter you from your primary goal – finding a solution that can meet 80-90% of your membership management software needs out of the box. When evaluating software, complete the attached priority worksheet. This will give you a number rating for each evaluation in which the “must have” functionality is weighed more heavily then less important features.

3. Total Cost of Ownership

There’s an ongoing trend in the software industry to migrate to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. The SaaS model essentially eliminates any internal infrastructure costs, hardware costs and upgrade costs. Additionally, most SaaS solutions are turnkey, This means that after a simple setup process and some configuration, you’re ready to go. A hosted software solution eliminates installation costs, and unnecessary in-house technical assistance. When evaluating SaaS solutions, be sure to inquire about any hidden costs, training costs, setup costs, and ongoing maintenance costs.

4. Security

Your members entrust you with their personal data. Small homegrown solutions typically do not meet the stringent requirements necessary for enterprise software. On the other hand, a custom built solution with proper security will often come with a heavy price tag. Be sure to examine the security procedures and policies, both electronic and physical, for all the software solutions you are evaluating.

5. Training & Support

The software solution driving your membership should provide a way for you to answer questions yourself through readily available self-help resources such as forums, blogs, instructional videos, user newsletters, etc. Inquire about each of these and be leery of primary support handled through 1-800 numbers. A heavy emphasis on community driven help resources is a good sign. If it seems difficult to find support on the website, then it should be a red flag. Software training should be brief and free. If training takes more than 30-60 minutes to learn how to perform key interactions with your new membership software solution, it should also be a red flag.

Conclusion

Finding a solution that is simple, easy to “turn-on” and can meet 80-90% of your immediate needs is paramount for success. Every organization has unique needs, so use this as a starting point to narrow down your selection. Additional points to consider are as follows; viability of the company, international support, migrating your existing member data and product scalability. For a free evaluation of your membership needs please contact us at www.Compete-At.com