Whether you’re new to the association universe or not, you might know the sticker price of your membership software. But what does your association management software cost — how does it truly impact your association? That’s a different question entirely.
Price and cost. There’s an important distinction between the two. Especially when it comes to a business-critical association tool like AMS.
Let’s look at a definition found on Google for price: “The amount of money expected, required or given in payment for something.”
Now here’s a definition for cost: “The effort, loss or sacrifice necessary to achieve or obtain something.”
See the distinction? Now, let’s consider why it matters.
So, What Does Association Management Software Cost?
The price for your AMS software? That can be boiled down to a few key points:
- Needs
- Users
- Implementation
Those are the nuts and bolts. There’s a lot more that goes into it, but you get the gist.
The price typically — but not always — lines up with the quality of product you’re receiving. Lower quality, lower price. Higher quality, higher price. Makes sense, right?
The cost? That’s what you’re losing by selecting a lower quality platform.
Maximize Your ROI
As member engagement grows challenging by the day (you can thank Netflix and Facebook for that), so many associations must look to non-dues revenue and other means to keep finances in tip-top shape.
One way to do it? Select proven tools meant to save your organization money in the long-term.
What’s an example? Microsoft Dynamics 365 — the platform upon which the Alliance by Protech association management system is built.
According to a study by Nucleus Research, organizations realized an average of $16.97 in returns for every dollar spent on Microsoft Dynamics 365 deployments. That’s more than double the standard return for enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management.
“Nucleus found that companies taking advantage of Microsoft’s investments in cloud and usability, as well as integration and analytics, were able to achieve significant returns by increasing productivity and revenues and reducing costs,” according to the report.
Final Thoughts
When searching for your next AMS, make sure your look at the cost, not the price. What kind of return on investment could you miss if you pick a platform with paltry functionality?
That’s the true association management software cost. Not what you’re paying in actual dollars. But what you’ll miss from lost productivity.
Want to learn more about AMS built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform? Check out a demo from the Protech team!