Your association strives to bring great value to its members-news and information resources, community management, social networking, opinion research, fundraising, public relations, and so much more. But, if your association is like most, it is delivering its value via email and website at best. While businesses and government organizations are increasingly turning to the power and convenience of mobile technology, only about five percent of associations now offer their members a mobile application.
That seriously needs to change. Mobile technology has grown rapidly and nearly everyone now uses a smartphone to access information. Nothing can connect members to associations more personally or more conveniently than a well-designed smartphone application.
If you are not offering your association members an app, here are seven reasons why you should:
1. Provide Ultra-fast, Easy Access with Mobile App
Mobile applications will enable your members to access news, information, documents, and other resources anytime and anywhere. An app not only increases your accessibility to members, your app can beautifully streamline that access, making information and resources instantaneously available, without cumbersome downloads or web navigation. Even when we are home, we often use our smartphones to stay connected to the people and organizations important to us. Many people don’t want to have to sit in front of a desktop computer to connect. They want to do it quickly and easily in the palm of their hand.
With an app, your association can make it convenient for members to access information while travelling on public transportation, taking a lunch break, or any other time when they can’t access a desktop. Mobility will bring easier access, and easier access brings increased member satisfaction. Increased member satisfaction will ultimately lead to more members for your association.
2. Make Payment of Dues and Donations Easier with a Mobile App
As you know, timing is critically important when it comes to donations and membership purchases. Whenever a member is ready to donate or buy a membership, your app will be handily there, to accept it quickly, easily and securely. Providing a donation button in your smartphone app can help you exponentially grow your fundraising, memberships and sponsorships. We cannot overemphasize the importance of payment convenience. This, alone, is well worth the cost of an app. Using apps, associations can also leverage Apple Pay and Google Pay, making it fast and easy for even small associations to start accepting online payments.
3. Use push notifications to engage members
Members want to be kept informed by their Associations. They want to know the latest news, resources, events or other information that is relevant to them. Mobile application do this very smartly with push notifications. Apps can learn what type of updates a user prefers, then automatically send the user that relevant data when it becomes available. Push notifications allows associations to actively but effortlessly engage members directly and keep them actively interested. Using push notification, you can also prevent members from having to waste time and energy looking for the key information they want and need.
4. Survey your Membership Quickly, Easily and Effectively
These apps are excellent tools for conducting membership surveys. Associations can easily send out surveys in the these apps to capture member comments on important topics of discussions. Because they arrive quickly and is easy and convenient to complete, members will be much more likely to take part in surveys. You won’t have to worry about surveys sitting, undone and forgotten, in members’ email in boxes. They enable you to survey more often and to enjoy greater participation from members.
5. Learn More About Your Membership with a Mobile App
They can give exceptionally detailed information about your members preferences. Although websites can capture limited information about user behavior, These can easily capture analytics such as user time spent on the app, favorite topics and functions, ineffective content, and much more. This data can then be used to tell strategic decisions about association services, marketing, and content.
6. Build a social Network for Members in your Mobile App
An app can give secure, convenient access to all of your association’s members. For many associations, this invaluable resource alone is worth the cost of an app. In addition to enabling members to easily message each other, a built-in social network will provide your association with powerful organizing, sponsorship, advertising and promotional opportunities.
7. Provide Display Ads for Sponsors
Most of the associations prefers an advertisement free app. But if your association needs to quickly monetize a mobile app to afford it, sponsorship display ads are extremely effective. With a little creative thought, you can even sell advertising sponsorships for each section or specific content within your app.
They offer a world of possibilities for associations looking to give value to members. The best part of today’s application development is its ability to build in phases that intelligently control costs. Then, as your membership or resources permit, your association can add new functions and capabilities to its app. As each of these new capabilities are announced, your association’s mobile app will be signalling to members that their association is dynamically moving forward and increasing value.
If your association wants to be seen as an advanced, forward-thinking, effective organization providing invaluable benefits to members, you need to start creating a mobile app strategy.