Manage Groups

The ‘Manage Groups’ feature in the Contacts module of Retention CRM allows Associations, Chambers and Nonprofits to organize contacts into categorized groups for better contact management and communication. It provides a central hub for creating, editing, and managing all your groups.

General Functionality of ‘Manage Groups’ Feature

• Create Groups: Organize contacts based on shared characteristics, like committees, membership types, locations, or interests.
• Smart Groups: Build dynamic groups based on specific criteria (e.g., all nurses who graduated after 2020). These automatically update as your data changes.
• Manage Members: Add, remove, or view members within each group.
• Group Properties: Define settings like visibility (who can see/join), mailing list status (for sending emails), and access control (who can manage the group).

Using ‘Manage Groups’ in Association Management

Scenario: A nursing association wants to manage communication and events for different member segments.

‘Manage Groups’ Options in Action:

• Find Groups: Search for existing groups quickly using keywords.
• Group Name: View the list of all groups you’ve created (e.g., Steering Committee, New Graduate Nurses, Oncology Nurses).
• Created By (Name): See who created each group for reference.
• Visibility:
  • Public Pages: Allow members to join/leave groups themselves through signup forms. (e.g., New Graduate Nurses group)
  • User and User Admin Only: Restrict group management to authorized users (e.g., Steering Committee).
• Type:
  • Static Group: Manually add/remove members. (e.g., Steering Committee)
  • Smart Group: Dynamically populated based on criteria. (e.g., Oncology Nurses)
• Access Control: Define who can edit/delete the group (e.g., committee chairs for their groups).
• Mailing List:
  • Enabled: Use the group for email campaigns. (e.g., New Graduate Nurses group for orientation info)
  • Disabled: Group is for organizational purposes only.
• Status:
  • Enabled: Group is active and members can be added.
  • Disabled: Group is inactive and cannot be used for new members.

View Results As:

• Name: View groups by name.
• Count: See the number of members in each group.
• Created By: Identify who created the group.
• Description: Add a brief description of the group’s purpose.
• Group Type: See if it’s static or smart.
• Visibility: Check its access settings.
• Organization: (Optional) Assign groups to specific organizational units within the association.
• Settings: Access options to edit or delete the group.

‘Show entries’ allows you to control how many groups appear per page.

By utilizing these options, the nursing association can effectively manage communication and events:

• Target specific member groups for relevant information (e.g., upcoming oncology conference for the Oncology Nurses group).
• Automate communication with smart groups based on criteria (e.g., send welcome emails to new graduates joining the New Graduate Nurses group).
• Control who can see/join specific groups based on membership levels or roles.

More Use Cases for Associations

Targeted Communication

• Create groups based on specific criteria, such as membership type (student, professional, senior), interests (advocacy, networking), or event attendance.
• Use these groups to send targeted email campaigns, newsletters, or event invitations relevant to their interests.
• This helps ensure your communication is more personalized and engaging for your members.

Volunteer Management

• Create groups for different volunteer roles (e.g., fundraising committee, event volunteers, website maintenance).
• Use these groups to manage volunteer assignments, share resources and updates, and track volunteer activity.
• This streamlines volunteer communication and coordination within your association.

Member Segmentation

• Create groups based on factors like donation history, geographic location, or membership level.
• Analyze these groups to identify trends and gain insights into your member base.
• Use this information to develop targeted campaigns, membership renewal strategies, and other initiatives tailored to specific member segments.

Additional functionalities within “Manage Groups”

• Subgroups: Create hierarchical group structures by assigning subgroups to parent groups. This allows for more granular organization within your member base.
• Smart Groups: Define dynamic groups based on specific criteria. Contacts automatically become members or are removed from the group based on changes in their contact information. This ensures your groups stay up-to-date.
• Visibility and Permissions: Control who can see and manage specific groups. This ensures sensitive information is only accessible to authorized users.

This feature provides a single location for all group-related activities, making it easier for Associations, Chambers of Commerce and Nonprofit Organizations to maintain accurate and up-to-date contact information. With organized groups, these organizations can tailor their communication strategies to specific segments of their contact base, enhancing their overall member/donor/stakeholder relationships and engagement.