Case Study: Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ)

The Association Specialists (TAS) supports Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ) with the management of their association. With the implementation of the Membes system, in one year, LCANZ has the highest membership numbers ever experienced and have hit new records for attendance at national webinars.

What were the reasons you were originally looking for an Association Management System (AMS)?

LCANZ were using a very basic website system, which was not an association management database. All the features were clunky and there weren’t any reporting tools. It was very manual from an administration perspective, and we did not feel that it was producing accurate information. Members were also complaining about the system as it was not user friendly. 

How has the Membes system helped you solve the problems you identified? 

Membes provided a user friendly, one stop shop for members and the back-end administration team. The system enabled us to be confident that the data stored was accurate and reliable. Reporting was clear and easily accessible, which allowed the administration team and the Board good oversight into membership figures and trends, as well as reporting on events, shop purchases and so much other data which was not previously available for LCANZ.

By utilising extra features offered by Membes such as the jobs board, FALC directory, reporting tools, CPD areas etc.; LCANZ has increased its membership benefits and is offering a more reliable and professional service, plus, membership numbers have increased as a result. Members have noticed the difference and improvements, providing positive feedback to LCANZ.

What are some of the change, growth or operational objectives that Membes has now helped you achieve?

The administration team behind LCANZ has been able to reduce time on basic association management/event management tasks that were previously very manual which allows more time to be spent on strategic initiatives and improvements for the association. The LCANZ Board has also been able to use the additional Membes features and strong reporting data to focus on strategic initiatives and improvements, one example being the polling/survey function through the CMS area which is utilised following each national webinar.

In just one year of using the database, LCANZ has the highest membership numbers they have ever experienced and has hit new records for attendance at national webinars which utilise the event management system in Membes.

LCANZ has just launched its second annual membership renewal using Membes so in the coming months there will be clear data on membership retention which Membes reports well on, and it looks to be improving already. Due to the simplicity of updating the website, the LCANZ Board have also added many new pages and documents for access by the members which are active immediately.

Why would you recommend the Membes Association Management System to other organisations?

Membes is always looking to improve and takes on feedback and suggestions which has seen many changes over the last few years to further grow and improve the system. I look forward to continuing to use Membes and recommending it to other associations who are looking for a professional, easy to use system which covers all of your needs.

“Membes is a one stop affordable shop for associations of all sizes. It is user friendly for both members and the back-end administration team. The Membes staff are also very helpful should assistance with the system be required.” Thalia Child, Director of Productivity, TAS

Membes features utilised by TAS:

• Membership Management (especially membership renewals)

• Communications

• Reporting

• Event Management

• Integrated CMS (website)

• CPD Tracking & Auditing

• Members only area/access

• Shop area

• Donations

• FALC (Find a Lactation Consultant) Directory of members on website