A joke I always liked from pre-satnav days was of a city motorist lost in the countryside asking a local for directions. “If I was going where you want to go, I wouldn’t start from here,” came the reply. This advice has often crossed my mind when it comes to choosing the core software that will be running a business. For example, most membership solutions these days will have a wide range of modules for CRM, events, website, email, forums, donations, and so on. As you go through the selection process you will undoubtably be told by each vendor that their solution can do all of these things – and it’s probably true.

But the key question is, which of these things does it do well, and which capabilities are more limited. Almost by definition, none of the solutions is likely to be the best in all of these areas (or if it is, it may well be out of your price range!). Taking that on board, the next key question is which of these capabilities is the most fundamental in your own organization? Do you need a flexible website under in-house control? Do you have a sales/recruitment team that needs to be managed and coordinated? Are your events complex and financially critical? Do you need support for donor telemarketing? Is your key focus creating and sustaining a vibrant community? Or is the first and foremost requirement robust and capable membership management and straightforward hands-off renewals? 

Which brings me back to the city motorist. Most software solutions in this area didn’t set out to be the multi-purpose tools that they are now. They may have started as a core membership product, or membership may have been added to a CRM system, or to a community forum product, or to an events management system, or to a website builder. Many open source web CMS products have add-on membership offerings, and some email marketing systems have sophisticated list management. Of course, once you see the sexy features offered from one of these “specialist” products, they become a must-have for your chosen solution, even if core membership isn’t so good, or website management involves an integration exercise.  

So, much like that motorist, if you know where you want to go, and what the core need for your business is, then aligning with a solution that started in that same place is the most likely to give you a successful solution. Adding the additional capabilities may involve compromises, but at least your core needs will be solved in a rock solid way.