West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce
Fonteva delivered the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce the modern, Salesforce®-based association management software – and the wealth of technology integrations available in the Salesforce® ecosystem – it needed to understand all the available data about its members, create full 360-degree views of their journeys, and engage them better than it had been able to under its old legacy system, iMIS.
The West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce (WNYCC) provides a range of high-quality professional services to support local business in the counties of West and North Yorkshire, England. WNYCC offers assistance ranging from discounted marketing and advertising promotion to free legal help, all designed to grow local businesses and attract new ones.
The Challenge
The West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is building stronger local communities by helping businesses get access to the tools they need to grow the economy in the area.
But one tool WNYCC could do without was its legacy CRM. WNYCC couldn’t integrate the data from its website and its forms, couldn’t process direct debits from members, couldn’t innovate or personalise, and – ultimately – couldn’t engage with their members.
“Frustrated” by the lack of direction to innovate or modernise from its legacy CRM, iMIS, and looking for a solution more in line with its own digital transformation goals that would better keep pace with modern technology, WNYCC turned to Salesforce® and Fonteva for a solution that was an investment in the chamber’s future.
The Solution
Having already made the decision to move to Salesforce®, the next step was to understand the unique member experience, e-commerce and direct debit, and communication requirements WNYCC had for its CRM system. To accomplish this, Fonteva worked extremely closely with WNYCC to configure its ideal membership software platform.
“We knew financially, we needed to save money while doing even more,” says Ruth Shann, Head of Operations for WNYCC and the driving force behind its digital transformation. “We also needed all of our data to remain GDPR compliant, and we wanted all of our chambers to be able to access it and use it with ease. On the member side, we wanted them to be able to book more things online, change their own details – essentially, engage with us more.”
With these specific goals in mind, Fonteva delivered WNYCC the easy-to-use, robust membership management functionality it demanded, combining the power and, intuitive nature of Salesforce® with the unique membership-specific workflows and fields Shann’s team needed to hit their specific cost, data compliance, revenue, and member engagement goals.
“We knew about Salesforce®’s reputation, that you can innovate with it,” says Shann. “It’s going to grow with you, and continue providing the latest, most innovative technology that we can use to serve our members along the way. We also know it’s going to work for both commercial businesses as well as non-profits. Once we had decided on Salesforce®, it was Fonteva all the way, no one else competes.”
“With Fonteva, we can continue to offer our members new value and features as we move forward into the future. We’re that confident in the system.”
With Fonteva, WNYCC will be able to gain real insights from all the data it gathers from member interactions – no matter where they occur. Now, whether its direct debit set-up, account information updates, or form submissions from WYNCC’s websites, Shann and her team will finally have a full 360-degree view of the entire customer journey for each and every one of their members. WYNCC’s members will gain easier access to the services that provide value to their membership, including having a live direct debit system that allows members to sign up for events, register for classes and renew their membership with ease.
And if there’s something WNYCC wants to do, it knows Fonteva will be right there working alongside it to innovate and continue to provide new functionality to improve the member experience.
“We tried to get better engagement for 2-3 years. It was frustrating.” says Shann. “With Fonteva, we can continue to offer our members new value and features as we move forward into the future. We’re that confident in the system.”
The Bottom Line
WNYCC is excited to enter a new era in their association, one of increased productivity, cost savings and greater innovation in digital and meaningful member engagements. The Fonteva Platform will effectively manage risk and maintain compliance while improving user adoption and member engagement across the board.
“Our members will more clearly see the benefits of membership,” says Shann. “That’s critical.”
Using smarter tools to support local business? That’s better association management, delivered by Fonteva.