Clowder Blog

Associations that have resisted making their membership mobile often echo the same excuses for not doing so. However recent statistics from Facebook’s user demographics and ad revenue shoot holes in these tired old adoption myths.

We have all had to adapt, rather abruptly, to the new way of interacting – with our families, professional communities, and businesses we patronize. We have changed our daily routines and altered our consumption habits, and, in the process, mobile devices have emerged as somewhat of a lifeline keeping us connected with one another and with the goods and services we need and rely on. Here are a few stats on app usage during the pandemic.

Social media feeds are often rife with misinformation or interpretations of information that are designed to influence audiences in a particular way. Two-thirds of Americans get their news from social media (Pew Research) but sifting through opinions and rumors to consume accurate and unbiased news is a massive undertaking in today’s world. Furthermore, the clutter and randomness of social media apps can be a time-suck and a major distraction. What if you instead had one focused mobile hub for sharing with your members? That's where a membership app comes in. You can think of a membership app’s news feed as a Facebook-esque platform specifically for your unique professional community. 

For more than 20 years, Advance Solutions International (ASI) has hosted their annual iNNOVATIONS conference for partners, clients and staff. The conference is a chance to strengthen their community, participate in training on new and evolving technologies and solutions, and recognize and celebrate the innovation and collaboration in the community through their global partner awards and coveted Great Things Awards for clients. It’s a fun conference with high energy and a full agenda.

When you’re in your search for new technology solutions, some companies may claim to do everything desired for half the cost of better trusted solutions. But when you cut corners to shave down costs, you’ll always end up paying for that in the long run. While technology does not have to be outrageously expensive to be good, it is worth an investment in order to avoid wasted time and resources. The technology you put out to your community directly reflects your organization. You should aim to deliver the best experience.

Many organizations have trouble pulling the trigger for large initiatives because they want assurance that the ROI will be worth the manpower and money it will take to launch. They want assurance that their staff won’t be overwhelmed and that their tech team has the bandwidth to provide support. While these are valid concerns, our advice when it comes to contemplating mobile is simple – don’t overthink it. Trust us, your members want an app.

When considering a mobile solution, some organizations have a hard time wrapping their heads around what exactly their members will do with an app. In their attempt to justify the investment, they want to know what functions their members will consider “worthwhile.”

In Fall 2019, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) launched its mobile app, My ABCA, to its 12,000+ members. Their promotion of the app, execution of its launch and commitment to user on-boarding is illustrative of their dedication to their membership value and to exemplary service. Earlier this month, ABCA welcomed 5,000 of its members to Nashville for its annual conference (#ABCA2020) where they discussed coaching strategies, networked and learned from other coaches and companies who love the game of baseball and have built their livelihoods around it.

Proven Design Practices are Key to an App’s Success

No matter what industry you’re in, what demographic you serve, or what initiatives you’re launching, everything you execute should have your audience experience in mind. How do you meet their needs? How can you be of service, how can you delight them and keep them engaged? Creativity and innovation are valuable assets of course, but when it comes to mobile app design, using tried-and-true best practices is what will garner the adoption and retention you're after and will deliver the greatest experience.

Commerce has naturally progressed from a brick-and-mortar model to e-commerce and, more recently, into mobile commerce, a.k.a. m-commerce. M-commerce includes any monetary transaction using a mobile device or tablet, including banking, investing, peer-to-peer payments, donations and shopping for consumer goods and services. M-commerce is a subset of e-commerce and is rapidly outpacing all other kinds of commerce.