Last updated: November 10, 2023

Membership management systems play a major key role in associations, chambers of commerce, and other membership-based organizations. But it's difficult to find one that brings the right features to the table.

There's more demand than ever for new features, integration requests, and other technical requirements so let's discuss what the ideal membership management software might include.

Key Takeaways

• Membership management software helps organizations manage memberships, events, payments, and more in one centralized platform.
• It streamlines administrative tasks, automates renewals, provides insights through reporting, and creates an engaging member experience.
• Top features of SaaS membership management software include membership forms, tiered memberships, auto-renewal, event management, reporting, member tracking, member profiles, custom fields, landing pages, online applications/payments, databases, portals, integrations, security, mobile access, segmentation, and targeting.
• Glue Up is an example of a robust membership management software with all the key features organizations need.

Identifying Your Needs and Pain Points

As an organization or business that relies on memberships to thrive, it can be tough to choose a membership management system for you that:

• Registers members
• Manages members and contact lists
• Automates renewal reminders
• Promotes news, updates, or events
• Processes payments
• Creates customizable forms
• Integrates with other tools

And it gets even more difficult when one membership management system lacks even one of these features. That means you'll need to find a solution that not only helps with your requirements but now it also needs to integrate with the rest of your tools.

You'll find it's become more commonplace among software solutions out there, any solution, either charging you extra for integrations or locking them behind paywalls and more expensive packages.

Hubspot lists nearly 1000 apps on its integration marketing place, but many of them require a subscription. Leaving the rest of the integrations in much more expensive package levels.

Now you not only have to pay for both platforms but now you'll have to pay just to integrate them as well.

But don't worry. A reliable membership management software has everything under one hood. It's a collection of all the necessary tools and features an organization would want in a singular platform.

All the tools are natively integrated with each other at no extra cost, which is the key money saver. The value, however, is how well these tools communicate and share data between themselves which no third-party integration could ever truly do.

So, to make it easier for you to understand what these tools and features are when they're put into one of these all-in-one platforms, we made this list of 24 critical features your membership management system needs to be successful.

20 Critical Features That Make Membership Management Software Reliable

1. CRM

CRMs are typically the bare minimum when it comes to taking organizations digital. Also colloquially spoken as member databases, member lists, and so on, CRMs are the industry catch-all term for the ability to manage contacts and keep their information up to date in as simple a manner as possible.

This goes without saying that if you find a membership management solution that does not have this feature, then it should be avoided.

Without a proper member CRM, you cannot personalize, customize, or automate any engagement activities you take with contacts.

Furthermore, you'll find it difficult to build your lists if you use other tools that engage contacts that are separated from the CRM. If they are not integrated, you simply cannot add contacts to the list automatically.

You'll find the process very manual, and you might as well go back to using spreadsheets.

The all-in-one platform approach solves this issue by simply having it at the core of the system. All modules you'll find down this list will at some level feed information and contacts to the CRM as well as take data from it to personalize and/or automate that module's role.

2. Mobile Apps

When it comes to membership-based organizations, engagement is the #1 defining role the management needs to take on.

Technology persists at every level of people's lives nowadays, and that typically comes in the form of a smartphone in the pockets of every one of your members. This is where it's crucial to introduce your organization's own app so that members can stay engaged on the go.

While most membership management software providers do provide some form of mobile app solution as part of their platform, it often becomes an add-on or additional cost.

Usually, because it's either a headache for them to implement cleanly as a reflection of the client's website, or just simply building it from scratch as a service.

This is the biggest feature gap that a solution can have, so when you're shopping for a provider, make sure that mobile apps are included. Sometimes you can find platforms that are mobile-friendly, but that leaves a lot left over to be desired for members.

An app is a huge step up in engagement quality than a mobile-friendly platform, as it gives the organization complete control over the visibility, information, and notifications that get delivered to members.

Furthermore, there are features on mobile apps that don't work on a desktop format like a web app does. The next feature shows a really great example of a mobile-only feature.

3. Digital Membership Cards

Digital membership cards are a great way to leverage mobile apps to your organization's or even the planet's benefit. Digital membership cards function exactly like most physical membership cards do, but exist on your organization's mobile app.

Physical membership cards act as a form of identification and a key of sorts. It's common that membership cards unlock doors to facilities for members only, check-in members at events, and even use them as a way to confirm discounts for members on certain purchases.

Read more: How To Create Your Association Membership Cards Using Free Online Tools? [A Four-Step Guide With Free Downloadable Templates]

Digital membership cards can do all these things by leveraging a smartphone's myriad of sensors, GPS, camera, and so on, the digital card becomes far more actionable, customizable, and of course more green, as there's no longer a need to print wasteful plastics. Digital cards are delivered and redacted digitally and instantly, making it far more seamless to manage memberships.

Activities that the member uses via their digital membership cards feed into the CRM of the platform. Every check-in, ticket purchase, and so on gets recorded in their history or updates their contact details automatically, and accordingly.

This makes your membership list a living, breathing source of accurate data.

4. Community & Member Directory

Another great feature that doesn't have to live on mobile apps, but instead both, are membership directories and communities for organizations.

This basically allows your members to 'log in' to your website or mobile and use widgets from the platform on the website that gives members access to a database of members.

However, in best practice, it's best to formulate communities that basically separate your database into particular subjects that might appeal to certain sects of your membership or audience.

This lets members network digitally and remotely and fosters a sense of connectedness in your organization.

This is arguably one of the least required features, but it's an easy enough one that we feel should be a part of any platform, and removing the ability for members to log in is just one more degree of separation from an organization that members might be wanting.

5. Email Campaigns

Email campaigns are a big feature. One that is also plagued by third-party schemes, so if it's not already a part of an all-in-one platform, then it's best to continue shopping around.

Member engagement comes in a lot of forms, but it's with an email campaign strategy that direct messaging and marketing can be pivotal.

Members want to be kept in the loop, and emails are the most direct way to do so (aside from pushing notifications on your mobile app),

The greatest aspect of email campaigns is that they can automate and personalize each email for members based on the CRM, which is ideally the very same CRM we talked about at the beginning, where all contact data is kept up to date simply by the member's activities being tracked by each module.

6. Automated Membership Reminders

Automated membership reminders are simply a base requirement for any membership-based organization.

If you're looking for membership management systems that help you kick your feet up while growing your member base and ROI, then you're going to need automated membership reminders.

How these reminders are delivered is up to the platform, but generally, emails and push notifications are the standard methods.

When members get close to the end of their membership, it's important that the membership management system you adopt actually knows when this is and notifies the member of their upcoming membership termination.

Without this automation, members will be blind to their membership's end date.

Most people don't memorize the end date of their memberships, so it's quite easy to slip into a situation where members are unaware of memberships ending and then constant confusion and explaining the situation to those who rightfully get frustrated at this moment.

It's best to nip this situation in the bud and just remind members to renew their memberships. This brings you to ROI faster and keeps your membership numbers higher.

No manual intervention, just let the system take over.

7. Event Management

Events are a huge part of engagement in a membership organization. Without events, members would be hard-pressed to actually meet and mingle together.

Depending on the role that your organization plays in your community or industry, it's important to host events as it's a great way to get members involved, draw in new members, and establish yourself as an important figure in your industry or community.

Events, if you haven't already guessed it, are leveraging tech now. Probably more than ever before.

QR code check-ins, live streaming, and even VR have been injected into events in the past few decades, but the most common denominator is the need to go paperless at the door.

Your very same mobile app could be adopted by attendees and each account would have a QR code. That means scanning the QR code at the door, checking in the registered guest, and then that information is tracked on the CRM.

Now, for future events, you can make certain email campaigns for members who have attended events in the past by creating a smart list. See how these tools come full circle?

8. Payment Processing

Payment processing is important for those organizations who transact often for tickets and membership fees. If it's not part of a membership management system, then it's probably not for you.

Payments online are commonplace now, and manually tackling this ordeal only makes engagement and ROI goals harder to reach.

Without payment gateways, members are stuck manually paying, and you'll be stuck manually processing. It's time-consuming, and if you should ever expect to grow your organization meaningfully, it's only smart to give your members the ability to purchase digitally and process the payment with a gateway.

It brings up the quality of the membership experience and puts the payments in the palm of member's hands, which makes them feel more in control.

This also opens up more opportunities for converting new members by giving multiple methods of payment, accepting differing credit card companies, and so on. Now, you may wonder why you can't just do this separately from the platform. Well, you could.

Why not just have it included? This reduces the need to hard-integrate this function on your website, and it comes ready-to-go with the platform you choose from Day 1.

On top of that, you'd need to integrate each payment gateway one by one. By using a platform for this, the integrations come pre-installed, essentially.

9. Full-Scale Analytics

Analytics is likely the easiest module for a membership management system.

Any good SaaS model out there offers some level of analytics, and it's important to know that the membership management system you choose to go with does indeed include this feature.

It's highly unlikely that it's missing, but if you come across a product that lacks this feature, treat it as a red flag.

The key component of analytics is not only taking in web traffic, and event traffic, but how you're able to combine this data and make sense of it.

There are online user actions and offline member actions. Knowing the member journey from entering your website to becoming a member, to checking in to events is a great way to not just benchmark yourself as an organization, but pin-point your most valuable members for promotions, and rewards, and keep your loyal members engaged.

Analytics are also key in identifying bottlenecks in your organization so that you can take action and can address what makes users drop off the membership sign-up process, or skip renewals.

10. Membership Forms

Membership forms offer the ability to collect vital information at the point of signup.

These forms are customizable, allowing you to gather not just contact details, but also interests, demographics, and any other data that's relevant to your organization.

The beauty of these forms is that they can be seamlessly integrated into your website, making the signup process smooth and efficient. They come with features like conditional logic, which smartly skips over fields that are irrelevant based on previous responses.

But that's not all. These forms also have the capability to integrate with payment gateways, enabling you to collect membership dues right at the point of signup.

Well-crafted forms not only enhance the quality of data collected but also significantly reduce the need for manual entry. If you come across a membership management system that doesn't offer this feature, consider it a warning sign.

11. Tiered Membership

Many member-based organizations offer a variety of membership types. The capacity to set up multiple membership levels, each with its own unique access, benefits, and pricing, is a powerful tool to attract a diverse member base.

For example, a basic free membership might provide limited access to resources. On the other hand, paid tiers such as silver, gold, and platinum could unlock additional benefits like discounts, early access to content, voting rights, premium publications, and more. Similarly, higher tiers could command higher fees in exchange for greater benefits.

Tiered memberships not only allow for monetization but also provide incentives for members to upgrade over time.

12. Auto-renewal For Memberships

Automated renewal is a feature that simplifies member retention. Memberships can be programmed to auto-renew on an annual, monthly, or custom schedule. As a result, reminder emails are sent out before renewal dates, giving members the opportunity to review their benefits and continue their membership without any hiccups.

Failed renewal payment attempts also trigger notification emails, prompting members to update their billing details. This feature reduces the number of lapsed memberships, providing a more predictable revenue stream.

Just like other strategies for member retention, automated renewal is a key component in maintaining a steady member base and ensuring a consistent revenue flow.

14. Member Tracking

A unified membership platform is like the nerve center of your organization, keeping tabs on interactions across various channels - be it the website, events, community platform, or mobile app.

This gives you a panoramic view of each member's journey and their level of engagement over time.

By tracking activities, you can pinpoint who are your most active members for targeted initiatives, and also identify those who might be drifting away and need to be re-engaged. Insights can also be gained from analyzing trends across different member groups.

This multi-channel tracking and analysis are crucial tools for enhancing the member experience.

15. Comprehensive Member Profiles

Imagine having a detailed report on each member, containing all pertinent information - contact details, membership type and status, preferences, demographic data, interests, social profiles, activity history, and more.

These profiles are dynamic, updating in real-time as members interact across different channels. Such robust profiles pave the way for segmentation, personalization, and highly targeted communications to each member.

Your staff members can also quickly access these profiles to get a snapshot of a member's history during one-on-one interactions.

16. Customizable Fields And Options

Customizable fields and options are a key feature of any good membership management system. They allow you to tailor forms, profiles, events, and other components to align with your organization's specific needs.

You can add additional fields to capture relevant information from members. For instance, an environmental non-profit might want to add a field about recycling activities. Dropdown options can also be customized with choices that are relevant to your organization. For example, the event registration form could list your organization's upcoming events as options.

Therefore, it is crucial to have customized fields and options in your software so that it can be tailored to meet the unique requirements of your company.

17. Organization Landing Page or Portal

A branded portal or landing page is a convenient way for members to engage with your organization.

It can feature your organization's logo, colors, and messaging to reinforce your brand identity. Members can log in to access member-only resources such as documents, videos, discussion forums, and more.

The portal is also where members can register for events, update their profile, renew their membership, and more. Thus, it's important to select software that offers a membership website as one of its solutions.

18. Online Membership Applications and Payments

One of the greatest benefits of a robust membership management system is its ability to streamline online transactions.

With a system like this, members can easily handle their financial engagements—paying dues, registering for events, or even making donations—directly through the platform.

Moreover, it supports integration with reliable payment processors, such as Stripe, so that credit cards and digital payments can be processed swiftly and securely.

Additionally, the incorporation of an online application form significantly eases the process for prospective members to join, enhancing the overall user experience.

19. Security and Compliance

Membership management systems are equipped with multiple layers of security, including role-based access controls, SSL encryption for data protection, and regular data backups.

Role-based access ensures that sensitive member information is only accessible to authorized personnel, while SSL encryption safeguards data both in transit and at rest. Moreover, the routine automated backups are a safety net, ensuring data recovery in case of technical mishaps.

These robust security measures not only secure member data but also ensure adherence to stringent regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

20. Member Segmentation and Targeting

Data-driven membership management systems offer advanced tools for segmenting and targeting members.

By utilizing criteria such as membership levels, interests, and engagement history, these systems enable the creation of distinct member groups. This segmentation forms the foundation for personalized communication strategies, including targeted emails and exclusive offers, ensuring that members receive content that resonates with their preferences and activities.

This tailored approach to member engagement is instrumental in delivering impactful messages at just the right moment, enhancing the overall member experience.

Membership Management Systems are an Engine

A well-oiled engine runs smoothly and the same goes for membership management.

Every module an ideal membership management system has is crucial, and they must work together in order to create an automated, but personalized engagement solution that keeps turnover low and grows your membership.

It needs to be digital, and easy to understand, but most importantly it needs to bridge whatever gap there may be between the organization and the member. When choosing a membership management system, it relies heavily on looking inward toward your organization first. Knowing and pinpointing your needs and pain points are key in helping you choose the right solution for you.

At Glue Up we've taken all these modules we've talked about above, and more, and combined them into an all-in-one platform that eases most pain points for organizations. There are some great benefits that aren't just featured on the platform when you leverage Glue Up, as you'll get dedicated customer success managers whose sole goal is to help your organization succeed.

Curious about how it works? Get a demo and we'll give you a tour of what a true all-in-one membership management system is all about.