The word itself — integration — can put some association managers on edge. It seems like anytime some of us try to keep up with technology and streamline our systems, things go wrong and we wind up back at square one, trying to clean up the mess and get things back on track. This really shouldn’t be the case, provided association LMS is supported by the right platform, capable of helping you discover the value and reap the benefits of a successful AMS / LMS integration.
With any luck, this post will help your association understand the value of these integrations, particularly for their potential to streamline project management and boost your bottom line.
Ditch the heartache and find your learning management system match.
AMS / LMS Integration: An Introduction
Let’s start with the basics. An AMS or association management system typically houses the basic contact information of your association’s members, along with data like when membership began and renewal date. Your association more than likely relies on more than one type of software system. Integrating your AMS and LMS allows the information you’ve stored to be shared between platforms, which eliminates issues like duplicate or inaccurate records tied to your members.
While this certainly cleans up data and streamlines processes for your association, the real win resulting from an AMS / LMS integration comes from putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.
Support Customer Convenience with Single Sign-On (SSO)
Most of us would agree that we have too many accounts and logins to keep up with — from online banking to multiple email accounts, rewards programs and retailers. It’s easy to forget passwords and feel frustrated when trying to simply access whatever information you need.
So, from a consumer perspective, an AMS / LMS integration removes some of these headaches by ensuring that all pertinent information is accessible via a single sign on or SSO. Whether a learner is trying to access your website, content catalog or online courses, they can do so with a LMS like Freestone, which seamlessly syncs with the user data in your AMS.
Simplify E-commerce and Registration by Syncing Member Orders
You’ve taken the time to create a compelling catalog of courses and educational opportunities available for download or purchase. Now, you need to ensure that purchases made through your LMS are communicated with your AMS so that you have updated and accurate records about your members, like the types of courses purchased and the credits they have earned to date. By managing your association’s e-commerce and registration information with a single system, you can establish whichever storefront supports your learners and your association LMS. The best storefront, depending on your association’s goals, might be your AMS, a CMS, or Freestone’s award-winning platform.
Give Credit Where it’s Due
This is particularly important for learners pursuing various continuing education credits, accreditations, certifications or licensing. Integrating your association LMS and AMS allows both your association and individual learners to track progress and ensure credit is recorded for courses completed. This integration can also share more detailed information captured by the LMS, like scores, duration devoted to completing certain tasks or modules, which is useful data to include in the AMS member record. By tracking learner progress, including performance on assessments like quizzes and even more basic information, such as attendance, your LMS can communicate with your AMS on larger points like required course completion for credits.
Automatically Update Your Content Catalog
Given that your association makes money through content creation and the sale of that content, it’s imperative that the content is updated consistently in order to offer optimal value to your learners. For this reason, your AMS and LMS should be integrated so that course updates made in your AMS are automatically realized in your LMS, which saves time associated with data entry.
Keeping these benefits in mind, let’s look at some additional ways that an effective AMS / LMS integration can serve your organization and its learners.
Increase Efficiency and Convenience for Your Consumers
By integrating your AMS with a LMS like Freestone, you will save time and deliver a better experience for your consumers, certainly, but also your association’s team. What’s more, by streamlining your systems, accessing member information, content, downloads, and purchases will be much more convenient for your consumers, which will make your association shine.
“Speedy and accommodating turnaround on contract updates so we could meet the needs of our members. Pleasant, knowledgeable, professional, and on-the-ball support for our live programs.”
Inspire Engagement
A seamless integration can increase the value of your memberships and make connections easier in support of stronger networks.
“Helpful for launching a new online conference.”
Communicate Clearly and Quickly
Once your AMS and LMS are integrated, your association’s team will be able to reach out members easily, which will help with your marketing efforts. For example, you can create custom email contact lists in order to connect more meaningfully with specific members about suggested or requested content. Ultimately, this can lead to more content purchases.
“I like the simple authoring tools. It makes it easy to create surveys, add materials and create learning.”
Grow Faster
By reviewing the insights inherent in your AMS / LMS integration, you will have the knowledge to make better decisions on behalf of your organization, which should support faster, strategic growth.
“Really I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate the team and the Freestone product. It’s a great feeling to know I’m in good hands with them in every aspect of our LMS use.”
Industries that Benefit from an AMS / LMS Integration
It’s hard to imagine an industry that wouldn’t benefit from an association LMS integration integrated with its AMS. However, at Freestone, our expertise includes a diverse portfolio of clients from the nonprofit, engineering, food and beverage, insurance, real estate, and software and technology sectors.
Consider leveraging the benefits of an expert AMS / LMS integration by contacting Freestone to schedule a free demonstration or simply visit our website to request a product demonstration at your convenience!