Dear reader,
Choosing the tools to run your membership program is one of the hardest decisions you’ll face in the process of launching, growing, and sustaining your membership. The dozens of options, the technical terms, and the high stakes make the process a daunting one, and making the wrong choice can limit your options in the future.
However, arming yourself with the right information can make it a lot less overwhelming. Today’s lesson, “Building a membership tech stack,” will walk you through the process of evaluating vendors, with plenty of tips on how to get what you really need out of those conversations.
Use this section for: Making informed decisions about your membership tech stack and evaluating vendors and tools you need to support your membership program.
In this section we: Walk you through the must-have and nice-to-have features for each of the following components of your membership tech stack:
- Content Management System (CMS)
- Email Service Provider (ESP)
- Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
- Social media management
- Payment platform
- Audience analytics
- Registration wall/paywall
- All-in-one membership platforms
- Commenting Platforms/Listening Tools + Services
|
|
|
We also compiled pricing information for the products where available online. If you are a nonprofit, many of these tools and services will offer special discounts for your newsroom.
What this section doesn’t include: Tech needs for other parts of your news business, such as domain hosting or HR management tools. While important, they fall outside the scope of the Membership Guide. It also does not recommend specific products or companies because the “right” choice depends on too many factors, including where you are located and what is available in your market.
"Building a membership tech stack" also will not replace technological expertise, which is likely needed to implement many of the tools and strategies discussed here. It does, however, include suggestions for times you might want to bring on a technological consultant, and how to evaluate them.
THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT
Evaluating vendors when building your membership tech stack can be daunting, especially if you don’t have a technical background. Vendors, understandably, are trying to sell you something, and they’ll make a lot of claims that you might know how to vet.
This week’s assignment is to get out there and evaluate a new vendor, whether or not you’re shopping around yet. The more you have these conversations, the more empowered you’ll feel when it’s time to make the big decision.
Step 1: Do some competitive research
Utilize Google — search “Vendor name + competitors” — to see if there are any guides or resources to the tools you’re considering. Head to places such as the LION Publishers Slack, Splice Telegram group, or Gather Slack and ask your newsroom peers what tools they’re using.
Next, pick one tool to dig into further, and ask someone from a newsroom using it if they could hop on a quick call with you to tell you what they like and don’t like about it.
Step 2: Ask for a demo
Reach out to the company to set up a full demonstration of features.
Before the demo, make a list of all the things you want to see the tool do, and make sure the vendor demonstrates each one. A good vendor will give you a free trial or a development environment to play with settings and try out features. You should be given a chance to pressure test the software or system before you buy, and you should not be shy about pushing hard here.
Be sure to record the demo so you can refer back to it later and share it with your teammates.
Step 3: Read the service level agreement
A service level agreement states how long the vendor has to respond to your requests for support. Read closely to understand the different levels of support requests — from a basic issue on a weekday, to a full outage overnight or on the weekend. You should also find out if you would have dedicated support resources via a direct contact, or whether you’d go through a service portal like Zendesk.
Step 4: Ask for an intro
If you like what you see so far, next you should ask for references. Most vendors will direct you to happy clients they’re already serving — if they don’t, that’s a red flag.
Step 5: Get the full picture
If you’re feeling good about this vendor, now it’s time to really dig in. Schedule another call, and be sure to ask about the following:
- Pricing: It’s not just enough to know how much the tool/system/software costs to purchase and implement. You need to see a full cost analysis for the entire length of the contract, including customization, upgrades, ongoing support, maintenance, and any other costs that change over time.
- Product roadmap: If you’re going to be a client for a year or more, you should know what features they might add and how that will affect you.
- Security: Make sure that the product supports two-factor authentication for every user. If the tool captures or stores personally identifiable information, you want to make sure access to the data is limited, and that the vendor’s practices are in line with privacy regulations in your jurisdiction, such as GDPR. You’ll also want to understand how the vendor handles security patches and breaches.
Something to keep in mind: Technical mistakes can be difficult and costly to reverse. Bringing on a consultant who can help vet vendors and proposals can be a worthwhile up-front investment if you don’t have much in-house technical expertise. They'll also help you detect when a vendor is promising something they're unlikely to be able to deliver on. The Guide offers advice on hiring a technical consultant.
|
|
|
IF YOU'RE NEW HERE THIS WEEK
|
|
|
Read the previous lessons:
|
|
Now that all the foundational work is out of the way, we'll get to the actual designing of your membership program.
This isn't something you do just once, before you launch. It's an ongoing process. We’ll highlight some strategies for keeping your membership program responsive to members interests and feasible to support on your team.
|
|
Think someone else would find this useful? They can sign up to get all future lessons, and you can share this one with them by forwarding this email or sharing this link with them.
See you next week.
|
|
Ariel Zirulnick, Membership Guide Managing Editor
Joseph Lichterman, Membership Guide Researcher
|
|
|
|
|
