The MemberWise Recognised Supplier Directory showcases a wealth of businesses who have worked within the membership sector in some capacity. Some provide products and services solely to membership bodies, while others have membership organisations within their portfolio of clients.
Each recognised supplier proudly boasts experience and knowledge within the membership sector. But how important is it for a vendor to have experience in the membership sector?
We would say it’s very important. We’ve worked with many membership bodies across different functions and understand first hand many of the major pitfalls they’re faced with and we can apply that knowledge to a new project when working with membership bodies.
The reason why an organisation would be searching for a vendor or supplier is because they have a problem that needs solving. Any vendor needs to understand your challenges before they can meet them. In the membership sector, it can take years to develop the expertise and knowledge required to achieve excellence.
Choosing a supplier who knows the industry already means they can come in and start making a positive impact from day one.
When companies select a vendor for any service or product, we believe there are several criteria that must be met. And the industry knowledge forms an important part of that:
- Reputation: Research the supplier’s reputation in their field. Look for their reviews, case studies and success stories. This will give you a flavour of what they are like to work with.
- Company stability: Evaluate the vendor’s financial stability and log-term viability. You want to work with a vendor you know will be around for the long-term and maintain the level of support you require.
- Security: Cybersecurity should be at the top of your priorities. Both as an organisation and when selecting a vendor. What frameworks or accreditations do they have in place that safeguards your data and systems?
- Cost: The total cost shouldn’t just include the initial fee of the project. Consider their ongoing support and maintenance costs.
- Customer support: Explore the vendor’s commitment to customer care and evaluate the reliability of their support and maintenance.
- Scalability: How do you know your mew technology will scale to meet your future needs? This is an important question your vendor should be able to answer; especially if you’re expecting growth or you want to know your system can be easily updated in future.
Experience and Expertise
Now you have assessed their technical knowledge and experience, their cyber and financial stability, the work they’ve done previously, and you know their total costs; you should look at their industry experience and determine if their experience (or lack of) affects their vendor suitability.
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, industry experience is definitely something you should consider in your selection process:
- Is your organisation complex? You might have members across multiple countries, or offer multiple product or services on different membership ‘tiers’. In this case, industry experience would make a big difference.
- Do you have robust membership best practices in best? If your organisation always uses best practice for engaging, attracting and retaining members, a vendor with industry experience will have a background in delivering solutions that benefit the member experience.
- Are you engaging in a transformation project?
For us, membership is a sector where there are more industry-specific platforms and systems, such Association Management Systems (AMS), events management platforms and member management systems. When it comes to a technology vendor, seeking out a company or individual who already understand these systems means the vendor will already have an idea of the ins and outs of your system before they’ve even stepped foot in the building.
What do you think?
Is it important for a vendor or supplier to have previous experience working in the membership sector? Has there been a time when you’ve worked with someone who hasn’t, and they performed just as well as one that does? Let me know, I’d love to hear.
About PSP
For the past 15 years, PSP has worked with several large, chartered institutes and membership organisations with over half a million members across the globe between them. In that time, we have overseen their digital transformation, delivered IT project management and saved one client £300,000 per year by streamlining their IT infrastructure.
Visit our MemberWise directory profile to book a free IT consultation.
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