The Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) is dedicated to helping Virginia’s association executives thrive. As the only organization serving Virginia’s association management industry, VSAE is laser-focused on the professional development needs of its members, providing resources, education, networking opportunities and more. Established in 1949, VSAE is now over 400 members strong and serves association executives across the trade, technical and professional industries.
To keep VSAE and its members flourishing, VSAE Leadership sought a membership management solution that could spark deeper and more consistent engagement with members, automate dues invoicing, customize email communications, track event registration and so much more. The search for an AMS led VSAE leadership to choose MemberClicks, which has resulted in a thriving partnership.
In this case study, we spoke with the Executive Director of VSAE, Terry Monroe, MBA, CAE, to learn more about VSAE’s strategic goals, the must-haves when shopping for an AMS solution, implementation process tips and how MemberClicks has helped VSAE transform operations and member engagement.
AMS fundamentals 
VSAE’s main goal when selecting an AMS was to ensure the system could seamlessly and efficiently handle the fundamentals of membership management, such as communication, member information tracking, billing and invoicing. On a more granular level, VSAE needed an AMS that could store individual member data, including member history, activities each member had participated in event attendance and more. “We wanted everything to be integrated into the same system,” said Terry Monroe.
“Something that helps us with the basics of member management, but at the same time, can help us amplify member engagement by tracking things like who’s opening emails, allowing us to see how members are participating — or not participating — within the association.”
Outside of member management and engagement, VSAE focuses on being relevant and resilient. Terry noted that while “VSAE is in a good place, having successfully gotten through the pandemic fiscally strong and with membership at an all-time high,” it must continue to evolve to meet the needs of current and future association professionals.
A new data hub
VSAE found that MemberClicks was easy to use and could perform all the functions they were seeking in a modern association management platform. MemberClicks also makes it easy to store, track and categorize their member data, like contact information and individual member history including past event participation, interest groups and much more. Having this member information at their fingertips makes increasing member engagement easier for internal teams, while adding more value for their members. VSAE analyzes their member data and activities to better inform their communications, engagement, and events strategies.
Getting more out of email
When it came to creating email newsletters, MemberClicks provided VSAE with a comprehensive communication platform that allowed them to create custom emails and digital newsletters with ease, freeing up staff time to add member value in more direct ways. “Modifying pages is quick and easy, and the controls are user-friendly and intuitive,” said Terry.
Website optimizations
When VSAE sought to provide a more modern website design and intuitive experience for their members, they received a major upgrade as a part of their implementation — and the difference was astounding. After the launch of their new website, VSAE identified additional opportunities to generate non-dues revenue by increasing ad space for sponsors. They collaborated with the MemberClicks Web Team to build more digital sponsorship space — providing additional opportunities for industry partners and advertisers which in turn generates additional revenue to reinvest in member value.
Event registration
Creating event registration forms proved just as easy for VSAE — a must-have for an association that holds 20+ events a year. Thanks to MemberClicks’ single-sign on integration capabilities, users can auto-fill their contact information, allowing them to register for events in just a few clicks. In the backend, VSAE’s internal team can easily view and track which members have signed up for which events, note any overlap between interest groups, and decide to share or boost events in specific channels accordingly. The combination of both capabilities has helped improve attendance as well as hype and overall engagement around VSAE events.
Billing and invoicing
Another important must-have for VSAE’s team was an AMS that could manage a robust billing and invoicing infrastructure. Without dues revenue coming in, VSAE can’t provide its members with the value they signed up for, so ensuring payments come in on time is crucial. MemberClicks allows VSAE to automate the process of sending dues reminders to members, ensuring invoices get out on time and securing the revenue needed to keep things running smoothly.
Conclusion
From automating dues invoicing to simplifying email communications and event registration, MemberClicks has helped the VSAE team transform their administrative processes. By leveraging a comprehensive AMS to support their strategic initiatives, VSAE can better understand and meet the needs of its members, fostering deeper connections and a stronger sense of community within the association.
MemberClicks has also played a pivotal role in helping VSAE maintain its resilience in an ever-changing environment. By enabling the association to track member participation and engagement, VSAE can continually adapt and evolve its offerings to stay connected with both current and prospective members. MemberClicks provides robust capabilities and a strong technology foundation that helps ensure VSAE can focus more time on its members and is not only prepared to face unforeseen challenges — but also positioned to thrive in the long term.
In short, MemberClicks has provided VSAE with the tools and insights necessary to achieve their goals, exceed member expectations and remain a vital and resilient organization in the association management industry. The partnership with MemberClicks has been a success, as VSAE continues to thrive now and is positioned to succeed for years to come.
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