Best-of-Breed vs All-in-One: Is Your Association Ready for a Dedicated Community Platform?
- Nov 19
- 8 min read
When your board questions why member engagement is declining, the simple response might be "we need better technology." However, investing $75,000+ in a top-tier community platform might not address engagement issues if the underlying problems are strategic misalignment, insufficient staffing, or an unclear value proposition.
Having consulted with hundreds of associations on software selection since 2002, I've identified six strategic indicators that determine whether your organization truly requires a dedicated community platform—before you spend any money on demos or RFPs.
The Three-Tier Reality of Community Platform
Enterprise Best-of-Breed: Dynamic community platforms such as Higher Logic or Hivebrite Enterprise offer advanced analytics, AI & AI moderation, and various specialized modules such as Marketing Communication, Events, Mentor Matching, along with native mobile applications, etc.
Foundational Dedicated: Niche community software such as Breezio, TradeWing, or Sengii, offer robust core features and serve as an excellent foundation for essential needs.
Integrated AMS: Community modules developed within AMS systems such as YourMembership or Personify Pro (also known as Memberclicks) are typically included at no additional cost as part of comprehensive All-In-One AMS systems.
From anecdotal experience, approximately 40% of associations evaluating best-of-breed platforms would be better served by integrated features inside an AMS. The challenge is determining which category fits your organizational reality. So, here are six key items to consider, outlined below.
Six Strategic Indicators Predicting Best-of-Breed Community Platform Success
1. Mission-Critical Strategic Importance
Organizations that rate community as 9-10 out of 10 show a true need when their strategic plans list community as one of the top three priorities, and the value of membership is focused on peer connection. A national medical society we worked with in the past found that 73% of its members identified "connecting with peers" as their main value, which supports their annual investment in Higher Logic.
2. Quantifiable Revenue Impact ($100,000+ Threshold)
Revenue impact manifests through dues protection (members engaging in community renewal 15-20 points higher), sponsorship revenue (one trade association generated $180,000 annually), premium tiers ($25-$500 per member), event attendance (34% higher among participants), and retention economics (4% improvement protects $60,000 for 5,000-member associations). If the community influences less than $100,000 annually, perhaps an integrated AMS community built into the system as a feature may suffice.
3. Dedicated Staff Resources (1+ FTE)
Typically, a best-of-breed implementation requires an estimated 65 to 100 hours; ongoing management demands 20-40 weekly hours for moderation, support, and analytics. A state bar association tried Hivebrite for 10 hours weekly. After 18 months of minimal engagement, they migrated to a basic AMS forums, matching technology to realistic capacity.
We want to emphasize that an online community is not a "set it and forget it" type of system. It requires ongoing guidance, direction, and the introduction of questions to engage the community. While AI and automation can automate some tasks, a solid strategy and continuous nurturing are still necessary. Expecting a return in three months may not be realistic, and it requires effective leadership with a balanced understanding of achievable goals.
4. Executive Priority (Top 3 Goals)
Executives must include community metrics in board reports, allocate optimization budget, and understand ROI compounds over 2-3 years, not 90 days.
When considering Community Management Software platforms like Higher Logic or Hivebrite, association executives must understand that successful implementation demands active leadership involvement, realistic timeline expectations, and data-driven accountability. Community building is fundamentally "a marathon, not a sprint," requiring executives to set expectations early and repeatedly with stakeholders who may be accustomed to the faster turnaround of traditional marketing tactics.
Your board must see community metrics as core business indicators included in every governance report, not supplementary data. Budget for community managers, content creators, and ongoing platform optimization—these aren't optional expenses but essential investments that enable the "increased member engagement and retention (typically 30-40% higher than with basic tools)" and "streamlined operations that save staff time (averaging 15-20 hours per week)" that research demonstrates.
The most damaging misconception is expecting immediate returns when industry experts caution that "there are no quick wins in community,". ROI compounds over 2-3 years through a predictable member journey: initial platform adoption (months 1-6), behavior pattern establishment (months 7-12), community-driven engagement acceleration (year 2), and measurable retention impact (year 3).
Organizations must "develop measurement strategies that capture both short-term wins and long-term value creation" understanding that while "the amount of money that we make from the community pays for much more than just the platform", this revenue realization requires patience, persistent optimization, and executive commitment to viewing community platforms as strategic investments in member relationships—not tactical marketing expenses expecting 90-day returns.
5. Advanced Feature Requirements (10+)
Certain needs require top-tier solutions: predictive analytics, AI moderation for over 5,000 monthly users, native mobile apps for when more than 60% access via mobile, complex management for over 50 chapters, and advanced gamification. In enterprise community platforms, the feature list can be extensive, often overlapping with other systems in your tech ecosystem. If only 3-4 advanced features are crucial, you might consider an integrated AMS.
6. Growth Trajectory
A professional society with 2,000 members contemplating a five-year growth plan to reach 10,000 members faces a critical technology infrastructure decision that extends far beyond current operational needs. According to ASAE research, 86 percent of association executives believe organizations would benefit from including community as an explicit component in strategic plans, positioning it as a core driver of organizational strategy.
When evaluating community platforms, associations must consider scalability as technology should support both current needs and future growth, with features like automated workflows and integrated tools that reduce administrative burden while improving member service. For associations on aggressive growth trajectories, implementing an enterprise-grade community platform like Higher Logic represents an investment in infrastructure capacity before the membership base demands it.
Industry research reveals that up to 70 percent of community platform users never even log in when platforms are launched without scalability planning, making the selection of technology that can "work for 500 members but may fall apart at 5,000" a costly mistake both financially and in community trust. Associations with vibrant online communities report up to 30% higher renewal intent, making the community platform a strategic driver of growth. Enterprise foundations must precede scale, not follow it.
Budget Reality and Organizational Philosophy
Investment Alignment:
Investment in community platforms must align with organizational commitment, not just feature checklists. Enterprise-grade dedicated community platforms can be a very big investment. And, foundational dedicated community software solutions range from approximately $17,400 annually for advanced multi-integration configurations to $5,200 annually for pre-configured essentials packages with standard AMS integration, with mid-tier options at $11,400 annually offering expanded configuration flexibility.
Certainly, these dedicated platforms justify their investment when the community directly influences strategic outcomes and adequate staffing resources exist for platform optimization. Integrated AMS community modules often come bundled with existing systems at minimal incremental cost and prove sufficient when organizations prioritize actual operational needs over aspirational feature sets.
Estimated Range For Budget Alignment:
$30,000-$150,000+: Enterprise Best of Breed Community platforms (90-100% features) when community influences $1M+ revenue
$6,000-$30,000: Foundational Dedicated Community platforms (70-89% features) for solid strategies with adequate resourcing
$0-$10,000: Integrated AMS Community modules, often included, sufficient for actual needs versus aspirational wants
Pricing Disclaimer:
Software licensing costs vary significantly by vendor, organizational size, feature requirements, and contract terms. SmartThoughts does not set vendor pricing and maintains strict independence by accepting no vendor commissions. The figures referenced serve as general market guidelines only—associations must obtain current, customized quotes directly from vendors during evaluation. Pricing structures change frequently and may include implementation fees, user-based tiers, storage limits, and support level variations not reflected in base subscription costs.
The Commitment Gap:
When your requirements suggest enterprise capabilities but your available resources indicate foundational solutions, four paths exist: reduce scope to match reality, transparently manage stakeholder expectations about limitations, secure additional budget reflecting true strategic priority, or adjust platform tier to integrated options that align with genuine capacity.
The Real Investment:
Platform costs represent only one dimension—successful community building requires ongoing investment in community managers, content creators, strategic optimization, and member cultivation that determine whether ROI materializes. Technology enables community; commitment sustains it. The most damaging decision isn't selecting a less sophisticated platform—it's investing in enterprise infrastructure without enterprise-level commitment to the staffing, content strategy, and multi-year patience required for success, ultimately creating expensive shelfware that erodes organizational credibility and makes future technology investments harder to justify.
The All-in-One Factor: Associations lacking IT staff, preferring a single vendor, and having limited tolerance for integration might struggle with best-of-breed solutions, regardless of their features. A professional association might choose an AMS due to its community features, which, although less advanced, avoid integration issues and allow them to progress confidently.
Online community development offers a single opportunity to succeed.
Strategic Assessment Before Vendor Demos
Association executives waste months evaluating community platforms backwards—starting with vendor demos before understanding organizational readiness. Choosing a community platform is a strategic decision, not a software decision, and too often organizations approach it backwards by starting with features instead of fundamentals.
Traditional methods, such as demoing each vendor and creating detailed requirements, take at least 40-60 hours to evaluate a single dedicated system. If you don't assess readiness beforehand, you might end up comparing platforms that your association isn't ready to implement or that are excessive.
There's a more efficient approach. The most time-efficient selection methodology follows four sequential gates:
The Efficient Selection Approach:
Strategic Readiness Assessment
Determination of Fit Level
Requirements Refinement
Vendor Shortlist
Focused Evaluation
Strategic Readiness Assessment examines whether your association possesses the foundational prerequisites for community platform success: dedicated staffing capacity, content creation resources, executive commitment to multi-year investment, and clarity on what problem the community solves. Organizations lacking these fundamentals should pause technology evaluation entirely until strategic gaps close.
Determination of Fit Level aligns growth trajectory, budget reality, and organizational capacity to identify your appropriate platform tier—enterprise community platform, dedicated community software, or integrated AMS module—before examining any specific vendors. This single decision eliminates 70% of irrelevant options immediately.
Requirements Refinement translates strategic objectives into must-have versus nice-to-have technical capabilities within your established tier, creating evaluation criteria grounded in actual operational needs rather than feature envy from competitor platforms.
Vendor Shortlist and Focused Evaluation narrows to 2-3 viable options within your tier for deep assessment—testing actual admin workflows, member journeys, and integration capabilities rather than watching scripted demonstrations. This disciplined sequence compresses 6-month evaluation cycles into focused 6-8 week decisions by eliminating premature vendor engagement and feature-driven distraction.
Take the Community Platform Readiness Assessment
SmartThoughts' 15-question discovery assessment evaluates all six indicators plus feature priorities, integration requirements, budget realities, and organizational constraints.
You'll receive:
Suggestion with objective scoring
Quality level calibration (5-point, 4-point, or 3-point need)
Budget alignment analysis with gap mitigation options
Vendor shortlist guidance for your specific situation
The 15-minute quick community platform selection tool provides clarity for confident decision-making.
Common Patterns We Identify:
High aspirations with limited resources (community rated 9-10 but 0.5 FTE and $15K budget)
Revenue disconnect (claims retention impact, but can't quantify)
Chapter complexity underestimated (75 chapters requiring enterprise capabilities)
Mobile reality check (assumes app needs but 65% desktop usage)
Executive misalignment (staff priority doesn't match leadership commitment)
Why Vendor-Neutral Guidance Matters
SmartThoughts neither sells software nor represents vendors, and it doesn't earn referral fees. Our primary goal is to assist association executives in making informed decisions that align with their organization's needs, rather than prioritizing vendor revenue goals. This independence is crucial because the best solution isn't always the priciest platform—sometimes, it's the integrated AMS features you already have.
Strategy Before Software
Community platform technology is highly effective when aligned with an organization's preparedness. However, technology enhances strategy; it does not replace it. Prior to assessing platforms, determine if your organization possesses the strategic commitment, resource capacity, budget allocation, and executive alignment necessary for top-tier success.
Complete the assessment to obtain objective data regarding your readiness. Make informed choices about community technology investments that truly benefit your members and mission.
If you're thinking about a thorough technology review or are uncertain about your next steps in your software evaluation project, feel free to reach out to us for a free consultation. We can promptly help determine whether "adding" a community tool or considering another option is more suitable for you at this time. Until we speak again, remember SmartThoughts.
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