In this Blog article we investigate how associations and membership organisations are using their websites to drive membership value and growth more effectively.

This topic follows our last LinkedIn article, Optimising Online Member Value? Could Try Harder!, which established that members expect an interactive, engaging and value driven online experience.

Let’s start with a worrying fact:

51% of organisations are still not tracking online conversions (non-member to member), so unless new members are explicitly asked if they joined following a visit to the organisation’s website where they came from will remain an unnecessary mystery.

Content Management – One of the most important and integral parts of a website is its Content Management System (CMS). Its function is to manage the site structure, content, images, text, social media integration, links and other data. It used to be perceived as ‘the glue that binds everything together’, but now new functionality is taking its role much further.

FACT: Approximately half (48%) of organisations have a CMS under 3 years old and use open-source solutions. The most popular is Drupal.

Web Analytics & Personalisation – Enabling the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data linked to website usage and visitor behaviour is essential. It provides great insight when conducting reviews, making changes, improvements and/or future developments.

Over the past year the number of organisations generating and actively using web analytics has increased significantly from 70% to 87% (+17%). Those organisations that are proactively using analytics to affect online change and growth:

  • 57% track member visits within their members-only areas
  • 55% make changes linked to popular content
  • 49% report analytics to senior management teams/boards
  • 46% review analytics at operational meetings
  • 40% make changes linked to unpopular content
  • 12% can use analytics to personalise web content

It is interesting to note that 87% of organisations do not use their CMS to securely store (or link to) member details (and/or render content linked to member profiles), however 55% would consider doing so in the future to enable a more personalised and engaging online member experience.

All too often the development of the website and CRM system is carried out separately and sometimes justified as a good thing. This detailed survey shows over 50% have not been able to integrate their CRM and websites in 2013. But let’s not lose sight of the most important aspect of both systems, which is the ‘member experience’. Right now websites provide an overwhelming abundance of generalist type data, notwithstanding the fact that there are important policy documents that do have to be formally published.

In practice the association or membership organisation has to manage, educate and pay for two different suppliers and ultimately carry all the risks and the potentially increasing annual costs.

Today’s members expect more. You can exceed their expectations by avoiding risks, avoid increasing operating costs, and suffer from the inability to be agile, by using dynamic information for live interactions with your members and your staff.