Does your university need alumni management software? 5 signs

Not every institution needs alumni management software from day one. But there are unmistakable signs that the moment has come.

If you recognise your situation in several of these five, managing your community with generic tools is already costing you opportunities.

The 5 signs that you need alumni management software

There are five clear signs that an institution needs alumni management software.

1. Graduate data is scattered across spreadsheets, forms and emails, and nobody keeps it up to date.

2. Engagement fades: alumni stop opening emails and the community cools down shortly after graduation.

3. There is no way to measure impact, so it is impossible to justify the alumni team's budget with data.

4. Everything depends on one or two people and their spreadsheet: if that person is away, management stops.

5. The community generates no economic value, because there is no way to manage fees, paid events or sponsorships.

Quick self-diagnosis

Answer yes or no to these questions.

Does it take you more than a day to pull a segmented list of graduates?

Do you know how many alumni took part in your last event and how many opened your last message? Could you prove your community's value to your leadership with data?

Does your alumni information live in more than three different tools?

If you answer no to most of them, a specialised platform stops being a luxury and becomes a necessity.

When is it worth taking the step?

It is worth it when the cost of carrying on as you are outweighs the cost of changing. That point usually arrives when the community grows beyond a few hundred members, when events are organised regularly, or when the institution wants to turn its alumni into a strategic asset (mentoring, employability, recruitment or donations).

For example, in the UCAM Alumni success story you can see how things changed when their information lived scattered across forms and newsletters; after centralising it, they made segmenting their communications five times faster.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my institution needs alumni software?

If the data is scattered, engagement drops, you cannot measure impact, everything depends on one person or you cannot monetise the community, you need it.

From how many alumni does it pay off?

There is no fixed number, but it usually pays off from a few hundred members or when events are organised regularly.

Can I start with a spreadsheet and migrate later?

Yes, but the sooner you centralise, the less data you will lose along the way. Migrating a spreadsheet to a specialised platform is usually straightforward.

Reactivate your alumni community

Feending is alumni management software for universities and associations. Request a free demo!