Aptean GoMembers: Increasing Efficiencies in Front-/Back-Office Processes and Furthering Business Objectives
Updated November 26, 2013

Aptean GoMembers: Increasing Efficiencies in Front-/Back-Office Processes and Furthering Business Objectives

Jessica McMathis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Aptean GoMembers

Modules Used

  • Membership
  • Subscriptions
  • Service Center
  • eBusiness
  • Accounting
  • Great Plains
  • Meetings

Overall Satisfaction

  • Aptean's customer service is excellent. The process of submitting a ticket is easy - and 90 percent of the time, resolution by their technical staff is swift, thorough and friendly.
  • Aptean has a wealth of knowledge at its disposal and should be extremely proud of its people. Their staff - everyone from our project manager, other management and customer service/support - has been knowledgeable, responsive, and friendly.
  • Aptean's corporate trainers are second to none. Smart, efficient and thorough. They provided a wealth of support and knowledge both prior to and following the implementation of our new CRM.
  • The new customer service portal seems to be missing a lot of the product documentation/training manuals. In order to access them, I had to submit a ticket and receive a file via FTP.
  • The process by which to get a quote or proposal has been sometimes challenging and lengthy. It's certainly been a point of frustration from time to time.
  • The GoMembers (Association Management System) product has changed the way we do business, but some of the functionality seems to be incomplete or missing. Basic functionality of certain processes within the system are cumbersome or just don't make much sense to our technical team, or the end user.
  • The GoMembers product has allowed us to be more efficient and effective in our front- and back-office processes. Fewer steps to making someone a member (12 steps to three), registering a member for a meeting and tracking subscription data. Increased overall employee efficiency while automating many things we formerly did manually. The integration with our website will only further reduce the manual work done within the system, freeing up staff to focus on other areas of importance within our organization.
  • The implementation of the system is helping us to achieve overall business objectives and digital communications initiatives. The CRM is more robust than our former AMS, and the information we're able to track and retrieve more important than ever, allowing us to target interests, communications preferences and member activity in ways we might have never previously thought possible.
  • The system is flexible, allowing us not only to anticipate new data points and change accordingly, but plan for the future.
We know there is no perfect product, but we're familiar with GoMembers and have made modifications specific to our business and its overall objective. Unless there were some compelling reason to change, we have no plans to change products.
The product was purchased four years before implementation. After having been stalled for more than a year, we were tapped to get the software setup and implemented on a tight six-month deadline. And because we hadn't been involved in the selection process and primary setup, we basically had to start from scratch. I can't say what questions were asked, since I wasn't a part of the selection process, but if you are - and beyond anything else - know upfront what your overall business objective goals and end results are before selecting a product. If the product doesn't meet your needs - with or without modification - keep moving. Research, research, research.

Implementation

Support from our project manager and trainers was bar-none. They were there both before and after Go-Live, answering questions and anticipating any snags along the way.
Yes - 
  • Prior to Phase I: Selection process/planning (not involved)
  • Phase I: Database planning, setup and testing. Overhaul/analysis of organizational processes that drive interaction with the database. First data conversion. Identifying power users. Staff training. Creation of manuals for all staff.
  • Phase II: Go-live. Second data conversion and testing. Troubleshooting and continued maintenance.
  • Phase III: Website integration.
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled - Our leadership was onboard. Convincing our staff and end-users was another thing. Several were champions of the implementation and change, some were barriers. Overall, those barriers didn't stand in the way of implementing and using the new system, but it certainly was an issue throughout the three phases of our system implementation.
  • Change management. People don't like change - and with a 14-year-old system, that change is likely even more difficult to swallow.
  • Time. We have full-time jobs in addition to the implementation - and ended up needing to sequester ourselves for six months, away from 90 percent of our normal job duties, to get it done on time and as expected.
  • Knowledge. We aren't database architects or programmers, so a lot of trial and error was required. Regardless, every little bit we figured out was worthy of a high-five.

Usability

Some of the GoMembers CRM is intuitive, some is counter-intuitive. What might seem like common sense to me might not to another user. Having been through the setup of the product, it's easier for me to anticipate the steps needed to complete a task. For the average user, possibly not.
  • Most GoMembers modules are similar in the fact that if you learn one, the others seem to make sense and aren't difficult to master.
  • Though lengthy, setup was relatively easy.
  • Being able to edit end-of-day transactions prior to posting is great. Makes it easier to catch errors before too much effort is required to correct them either on our part or on the part of support.
  • The older modules (Order Entry, Accounting) seem outdated and not at all intuitive.
  • Certain functionality that would be expected is missing or minute.
  • Often the same term is used for different processes, making it confusing for the end user.