We, at HighRoad, are proud of our Spark integration software. After years of practice across multiple Association Management Systems, digital marketing platforms, and associations/nonprofits, we're confident that our software is making an imprint on the association industry.

Spark is the most effective way for association professionals and marketers to democratize their data and get the most out of their tech stack. And when combined with HubSpot, it's the best way for organizations to reach their goals, strategically and operationally.

But, even as a standout integration, the waters can get muddy with all of the other options out there, so let's unpack what integrations do what, what type of integrations fall short, and specifically, what makes Spark stand out from its counterparts when it comes to marketing and segmentation.

Data can be a lot of things. It can drive stability. It can weed out ambiguity. At its best, it can lay the foundation for smart decision-making, elevated performance, and growth. 

Associations and nonprofits are no exception to these rules. They rely on data to properly engage members and prospects, create membership programs, optimize content, provide services, and manage many other functions throughout the day-to-day. 

The challenge is ensuring that the data used is reliable. 

Association leaders have long been recognizing the power of data. They know that data-driven insights allow them to make crucial business decisions.

Whether it helps to inform go-to-market plans, discover new ways to diversify revenue or create entirely new membership models in line with incoming markets, leveraging data through a single source of truth catalyzes business intelligence. 

So when there's data "anarchy" through misaligned objectives and processes, organizations struggle with data activation. Culturally aligning your entire org with a unified data engine just makes sense for smart decisions.     

You buy a mystery jigsaw puzzle with 1000 pieces. About 200 are hidden in the couch. 500 are "somewhere" in the basement. And 300 have been chewed to annihilation by your puppy. 

This is pretty much how it goes when associations run off of disparate data and martech stacks. All clues remain a mystery. All insights into their members, their prospects, and their futures are lost. They have disjointed pictures and unintelligible stories about their audiences.

Consolidating data and finding that single source of truth can be tricky. Luckily Spark has a solid and evolving solution to mapping your data across your entire stack.

As you, your fellow executives and board members gaze into the future, you may be throwing around or even “test driving” ideas of new models to diversify your revenue streams and change how you monetize your content. This could be due to revenue declines, or just the need to adapt to new market drivers. 

Whatever the reason, you're not alone. Over the last few years, a majority of associations have reported difficulties in membership engagement and growth, and have turned to innovation before degradation.