How Smart Technology Can Boost Engagement Without Overwhelming Your Staff
As the owner of a web development company that supports associations and nonprofit membership organizations, one of the most common concerns I hear is:
“We want to communicate better with members, but we don’t have the time.”
The truth is, your staff shouldn’t have to manually send reminders, welcome messages, or content updates one by one. With the right tools in place, you can automate a huge portion of your communications—without losing the human touch.
Smart automation isn’t about replacing personal relationships. It’s about making sure no member falls through the cracks, and that your team has more time to focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks.
Here’s a roundup of the top tools we recommend to our clients—along with the strategies we use to implement them successfully.
1. CRM + Email Automation: HubSpot, Salesforce, or Keela
At the core of any communications automation strategy is your CRM (Customer Relationship Management system). This is where your member data lives—and where your automations should begin.
If you’re using platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, or Keela, you already have powerful tools for:
- Welcome email sequences
- Renewal reminders
- Behavior-based email follow-ups
- Interest-tagged content suggestions
- Lapsed member re-engagement campaigns
We help clients set up automated journeys that trigger based on join date, event attendance, login activity, or membership level. These workflows can be as simple or complex as you need, and they run in the background 24/7.
Bonus: These platforms also support list segmentation, which means you can personalize messaging without rewriting the same email 20 different ways.
2. Website Integrations: WordPress + Groundhogg, MailPoet, or Gravity Forms
For organizations with WordPress-based websites, we often implement automation directly into the site using plugins like:
- Groundhogg – A CRM + marketing automation plugin built specifically for WordPress
- MailPoet – Allows you to send newsletters and automated emails right from the WordPress dashboard
- Gravity Forms + Zapier – Capture member data and trigger email responses, CRM updates, or Slack notifications
For example, a member who fills out a form for volunteer interest can immediately receive a personalized email with next steps—without any manual follow-up from staff.
Integrating automation into your website ensures that communication is triggered by actual behavior—not just static lists.
3. Event Tools: Eventbrite, Zoom, and Bevy
If events are a big part of your engagement strategy, there are several tools that offer built-in automation to make communication easier:
- Eventbrite – Automatically sends confirmation, reminder, and follow-up emails
- Zoom + Zapier – Add attendees to segmented email lists based on which webinars they attend
- Bevy – A community event platform that allows for scalable, branded chapter or regional event management with automated messages built in
We often connect these platforms directly to your membership database so attendees are tagged, thanked, and invited to relevant future events—all automatically.
4. Text and Mobile Alerts: Twilio, SimpleTexting, or MemberHub
Sometimes email isn’t enough—especially when you want to reach younger members, last-minute registrants, or on-the-go professionals.
That’s where SMS automation comes in. We help clients implement:
- Twilio – A developer-friendly platform that integrates directly with your CRM
- SimpleTexting – A user-friendly platform that allows for keyword-based text engagement and scheduled sends
- MemberHub – Combines email and SMS with member management in one place
These tools can be used for quick reminders (“Your membership expires in 3 days”) or event nudges (“Starts in 1 hour—click here to join”).
Just make sure your members opt in first—and keep messages concise and relevant.
5. AI Assistants and Chatbots: Intercom, Tidio, or Custom Bots
For organizations that field a lot of member questions, we’ve started implementing chatbots and AI assistants to lighten the load on staff.
Tools like:
- Tidio – Offers a free tier and allows you to set up FAQ-driven bots easily
- Intercom – More robust and integrates with CRM and support tickets
- Custom AI Bots – Built on platforms like ChatGPT or Dialogflow, tailored to your member data
These bots can answer common questions about login, renewals, event schedules, or even route users to the right staff member when needed. The result? Better service and faster answers—even outside office hours.
Final Thoughts: Automate the Repetitive, Personalize the Strategic
The key to great automation is knowing what to automate and what to keep personal. Let software handle the routine stuff—reminders, confirmations, and behavior-based follow-ups—so your team can focus on what truly matters: building relationships, creating value, and strengthening your community.
As a web development partner, we specialize in helping associations build communication systems that are reliable, efficient, and member-friendly. From selecting the right tools to integrating them into your existing tech stack, we’re here to make sure you never miss a message—or a member.
If your team is spending too much time chasing communications manually, it might be time for an upgrade. Let’s automate smarter—together.
Need help setting up communications automation that saves time and boosts engagement? We offer audits, tool selection, and implementation packages tailored to associations and nonprofit organizations.