Integrated Membership Software Versus Custom Integration

If your business is already using an integrated membership software solution, then you already know why it’s usually the best route for a business to follow. But if you’re still trying to "bolt" multiple pieces of software together to create a membership business system, then you definitely need to keep reading all the way to the bottom.

Membership business benefits are well known by online businesses and even some traditional "offline" businesses. The ability to generate a recurring revenue stream through an automated membership site has quickly become the modern day business holy grail.

Rather than cover all the known benefits of an online membership site, today we’ll cover the differences in the membership software options. While there are many "brands" of membership software, as the first paragraph alluded to already, the first thing to decide is whether you want to build a system from the ground up and customize it to your specific needs or whether you’re going to start with integrated membership software.

Only when you know what "system approach" you want to take can you finally make an educated decision about the brand of software you’ll use to execute the strategy.

Let’s review the pros and cons of each of these options.

Membership System Built with Discrete Software

Pros:

• Not tied to 1-software vendor – You can pick and choose suppliers and products as desired.
• Greater customization – Take the best features from each supplier.
• Limited scope – Only pay for what you use in your system.

Cons:

• API Maintenance – With 4 different browsers updating regularly and software applications on a perpetual upgrade cycle, the API connection is always going to need maintenance to ensure there is still an adequate connection.
• Cost – Purchasing multiple applications usually means that you will have to pay more up front or pay more on a recurring basis.
• Extended Learning Curve – Instead of learning 1 software system, you’re forced to learn multiple systems and multiple interfaces.
• Data Sharing – Often the data will not get shared from one application to another application, which compromises the ability to utilize the data across systems.
• Interoperability – Even when data can be shared, it’s rare that 2 separate pieces of software will truly "speak" to each other in a way that allows them both to work in an optimum fashion. Add in a 3rd application (or more) and the odds drop exponentially.

Integrated Membership Software

Pros

• System Integration – Everything works as one and communicates within 1 system.
• Single Cost – Since it’s already included within the system, the membership software is essentially free.
• Short Learning Curve – Learning one system and "logic" is much easier than learning multiple systems with different interfaces and menus. When the integrated membership system operates with the same look, feel and logic as the rest of the software, it’s simply much easier to learn and operate.
• Data Sharing – All your data and customer information resides within one cohesive system.
• Superior Integration – Because the systems are made by the same company to operate together, there is a far greater degree of integration that can never occur with multiple stand-alone applications.
• Immediate Gratification – Everything works on day 1.

Cons

• Lower Flexibility – Because everything is all set up and ready to go, there are fewer ways to modify the system for unusual business needs.
• Fewer Suppliers – It’s easy to produce a stand-alone membership site software application but really difficult to create an entire business system with integrated membership software.

Conclusion

It’s important to think about how you purchase other products when purchasing Membership software. For example, when you buy a car, there’s an expectation that everything will be included and all the pieces will fit nicely and "play" nicely together.

You would not consider it reasonable to buy a car and then need to take it to a Goodyear dealer for tires, then to BestBuy for a stereo, then to the body shop for paint and then to the upholstery shop for carpeting and a headliner.

Building a car this way will certainly provide you with a 1 of a kind vehicle but it’s obvious that it will take more time to build, cost more and force you to deal with multiple different suppliers whenever something is needed.

About the author: As a web marketing coach and consultant for over a decade, Andrew have decided to share his experience and insights with online business people so that they can know more about smarter business automation system available in the market and save hell lot of money, time and energy.

As a web marketing coach and consultant for over a decade, Andrew has decided to share his experience and insights to help online business people become about business automation systems available in the market to save money, time and energy.