Best Membership Management Software

What Is Member Management Software?

Membership management software is a modern marketing solution that’s intended to help you streamline how you communicate with your members, as well as collect and disseminate data to advertise to specific membership groups.

Consider membership management software to be a database that allows you to keep all of the data you’ve gathered about anyone who has ever been a member of your organization.

Membership management software is quite similar to donor management software; in fact, you can link the two types of software to ensure that your data is integrated effortlessly.

It also helps in the gathering and collation of customer data in order to make marketing more targeted and relevant to specific groups. Members will be able to contact your company via an interface provided by a quality membership management system.

What Does Membership Management Software Do? 

You can establish a pyramid database system using membership management software in which members are classified according to the sort of membership status they have. Typically, memberships are divided into groups based on how actively they would like to join and support your brand, such as bronze, silver, gold, or platinum. The higher the membership level, the bigger the membership fee (or payment) to your organization.

Higher membership levels usually provide the member with more benefits. A bronze-level member would get exclusive emails and messages, while a platinum-level member might get VIP invitations to fundraising events. Your membership management software’s tiered grouping will help you send out bulk emails, newsletters, donation requests, and event invitations.

This system also allows you to compile historical data so that you can plan future projects depending on the funds you intend to raise from your members. Your program will also enable you to evaluate data, such as your members’ geographic areas, the percentage of members who renew their membership each year against those who do not, and any other information your nonprofit deems relevant.

How We Rank the Best Membership Management Software

Our ranking methodology for the best membership management software includes a comprehensive evaluation of pricing, features, database management capabilities, communication tools, and overall value. See our full rating methodology page to learn how we evaluate the best membership management software solutions.

Main Features of Membership Management Software

You’ll need to know what features are required to ensure that your membership management system can provide you with the tools you need to run your membership site effectively.

Comprehensive Membership Profiles

Whether your membership management system provides access to information, a community, or both, the basis of your system must be structured to support your demands and those of your users. As a result, you’ll be able to provide your members with the online experience they desire.

Secure & Simple Payment Processing

Your memberships are almost certainly going to have a price or at least a range of prices. You might even provide extra options for purchasing items or event tickets. In any case, your members will need a secure method of paying for their subscriptions and other membership benefits.

Event Management Tools

Users can attend both online-only events (such as webinars) and in-person gatherings on most membership management sites. If your website fits this description, you’ll need a way to keep track of who will be attending these events, as well as a way for users to sign up for them.

Benefits of Using Membership Software Management

Let’s look at the advantages of membership software solutions to see whether they’re perfect for you.

1. All-in-one Access to Your Organization’s Data

The first and most important advantage of purchasing membership management software is that you’ll be able to create a strong and united system that meets both your organization and member needs.

From an administrative standpoint, having all of your members’ registration and contact information, dues, bills, and event registration in one place makes everything easier to find. Your employees will have access to data, especially if you use a cloud-based solution.

2. Save Time on Administrative Processes

Administrative activities for a membership-based organization can be time-consuming, especially if they demand the use of multiple programs or the performance of repetitive tasks. This is where the software can help your team’s job become a little easier.

As previously said, having a single comprehensive system allows your team to save time by eliminating the need to jump from one software to another to perform tasks. 

However, in addition to providing you with easier access to essential information, membership management software can also provide you with the advantages of automation: The tool enables your system to eliminate some of your responsibilities by performing them for you.

3. Develop Accurate Reports and Analyses

You’re probably always looking for ways to improve your company, whether it’s a non-profit or you’re striving to meet that approaching quarterly target. However, in order to make the necessary changes, you’ll need to examine your organization’s current state over time.

While making data-driven decisions is desirable, creating reports and reviewing them might take a long time. Furthermore, when reports and analyses are done on spreadsheets, there’s a potential that they’ll contain inaccuracies, resulting in poor decisions for your company.

Subscription management, on the other hand, allows your program to generate reports and analyses on your behalf. Furthermore, the information you obtain will be free of errors.

4. Receive a Return on Your Investment

As previously stated, by streamlining the administrative part of running your organization and obtaining better results, your membership management system should assist your staff in saving the time spent running your organization — and, as the saying goes, time is money.

Furthermore, your software should enhance what your organization has to offer, potentially leading to an increase in event registration and membership registration. Increased membership means more money to work with, whether your company is non-profit or for-profit.

With this in mind, the money you spend on your software product will most likely pay off in the form of time saved or improved involvement with your company. In any case, you’ll get a return on your software investment.

Who Should Use Membership Management Software?

What is the best membership management software for small, medium, and large-sized businesses? Find out here:

Large/ Medium-Sized Businesses

Anyone running a member association or a brand-based loyalty program will benefit from a membership database. It doesn’t matter if it’s a foundation, a church community, or a fraternity, or if it’s a for-profit company like a school, yoga studio, or ski club. 

These software solutions are used by groups of like-minded people who love the same activities or people in the same area of work – chambers of commerce – to improve communication and share vital information.

Despite this, some individuals recommend that it is best for medium and large-sized businesses. 

How Much Does Membership Management Software Cost?

Pay-per-member or Contact

As for membership management systems, this is a relatively typical pricing strategy. Depending on how many members or contacts you need to enter into the system, you pay a monthly or annual fee. These services might cost as little as $0.25-$0.50 per month per member. Some systems provide a free version to the first 50 users.

Pay-per-user

This is a pricing model in which you pay a monthly cost based on the number of administrators or users who want system access. These solutions typically cost between $50 and $100 per user/admin each month. A setup cost, which can range from $500 to $2,000, is charged by some solutions.