Technology Within the Website

RCS Influencer Carla B. Sims says that as an association, their most powerful technology tool is their website and yours can be too.

Carolinas Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractor’s Association, Inc. (CRSMCA) is a trade organization for the roofing and sheet metal industry within the Carolinas.  As an association, we track and manage data in all forms from your basic operations of finances to membership information and some of the minor details in between such as education, registrations of meetings, mailing details, etc.  It is not that different from a roofing contractor tracking customers, jobs, referrals and warranties.  Whether it is an association or a roofing company, tracking data is essential.

CRSMCA’s most helpful technology tool is our website management provider through StarChapter.  It allows CRSMCA staff the opportunity to update and manage the website as needed with user-friendly navigation.  Website programming knowledge and “html” codes are not a required skill in order to make the website look professional and clean, just your content with a few “insert” and “cut/paste” shortcuts. 

StarChapter gives CRSMCA the ability to track the CRSMCA memberships from potentials to current to past through the membership portal.  Each member is provided with their own identification and password to maintain their membership credentials.  This is also a great opportunity to retrieve interest through online feedback.  Potential members can complete a submission form to ask questions regarding membership and apply for membership online.  The CRSMCA staff uses the information to its benefit to provide them additional information of the organization as well as maintain the contact information to reach them in the future.  

Once a CRSMCA event has taken place, whether an educational session or a conference, CRSMCA updates the StarChapter portal with the information to be able to maintain the records of attendance; and being able to view this at any time, which is highly useful when reflecting on a previous year to compare attendance.  It makes it easy to use the reports whether to export to excel for other uses such as badge printing or even for accounting purposes.

For our roofing members, there are a number of software combinations out there that will provide the same tracking and ease of use.  In fact, many programs offer portals for your customers that track activity and provide feedback options just like what we use in StarChapter.  The important note is to look for software that collects the data, allows for an easier user experience both internally and for your customers.

For an association, “tracking” is your number one theme… tracking attendance, tracking membership, tracking data in all aspects is what drives the planning for the next event.  The technology built within the StarChapter website management, gives CRSMCA the ability to do all these things to help make the next CRSMCA event better for its members and the roofing industry. 

You can find the same functionality for your customers by working closely with your trade associations and meeting the technology providers who are members.  They will help you find the right solutions to enable technology to grow your business.  Touch base with your local or regional roofing association.  Find out what technologies they are using and which technology providers are members.  

Carla B. Sims is executive director of the Carolinas Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors Association, Inc. See her full bio here.