89% Increase in Association Event Activity: Lessons from CANASA

Outdated association systems and manual tasks are major obstacles for associations. Tedious administrative processes take up staff time, members have trouble getting information and registering for events, and the association has trouble growing.

The Canadian Security Association (CANASA), a national association representing the Canadian security industry, faced these exact challenges. But they transformed their association with automation, a new self-service member portal, and centralized membership management. CANASA saw incredible results:

• 76% increase in returning website users

• 95% increase in engaged sessions per user

• 89% increase in event-related activity

• 56 second increase in average website session duration

About CANASA: The Canadian Security Association (CANASA) is a national, company-based association representing the Canadian security industry, including alarm installers, integrators, distributors, and vendors. It supports provincial councils, hosts trade shows and golf tournaments, and provides governance documents and member resources through its website. CANASA represents just under 1,000 member companies, serving approximately 30,000 security professionals. 

Here’s how they did it, and how your association can achieve similar results.

❌ The Problem: Manual processes for both members and staff

CANASA operated on an outdated system that required manual intervention for invoices, payments, and member requests.

Members had to call the accounting department to obtain invoices or account details, increasing staff workload and slowing response times.

The website and database were not fully integrated, limiting member self-service and real-time access to information. Custom modifications within the legacy system added complexity and reduced long-term sustainability.

These inefficiencies made it difficult to scale operations for a national, company-based association.

Website and database not fully integrated

Limited access to information

Heavy customizations in a legacy system

Many phone calls to request invoices

✅ Solution: Better Internal Processes and Easier Member Experience

CANASA created a better experience for both staff and members by improving their internal processes and member tools. Here’s what they did:

1. Centralized member management

CANASA was able to fully integrate its website, member database, invoicing, and event management into one centralized system.

The platform also supports CANASA’s corporate-based membership structure, allowing individual users to be managed under each company account.

Want to consolidate your member data?

We hope so! Here are the three main steps, but you can get more details in our guide, It’s Not You, It’s Your Data Silos.

1. Choose the right membership management platform as your core. It needs three main components: membership management (of course), accounting and finance features that can handle complex billing structures, and website management.
2. Add the departmental modules you need. These could be embedded functionality native to your system, or tightly integrated solutions. Examples are event management, advertising and sponsorships, email marketing, automation, and engagement scoring.
3. Extend with the best integration tools. Your membership management platform should be extensible and able to integrate with the latest solutions. Ideally, you build no-code integrations to simplify things for your staff.

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2. New member portal for self-service

The new member portal enables companies to log in, access invoices, view statements, update profiles, and register for events without contacting staff. A result that stood out is the elimination of manual invoice requests as members can access statements and payment history themselves.

Log in

Access invoices

View statements

Update profiles

Register for events

Payments are now processed directly through the system, reducing manual intervention and administrative workload.

3. Redesigned website fully integrated with the membership management platform

Since launch, the redesigned site has driven measurable engagement gains, including a 76% increase in returning users and an 89% increase in event activity.

CANASA also boosted average session duration by 56 seconds, indicating deeper interaction with resources and events.

Not convinced you need to integrate your website and membership management system? Check out our guide, Delivering an Unforgettable Web Experience.  In part 2 of our 3-part Performance Improvement Series, this educational guide highlights how delivering a highly personalized online environment draws members in and is a key element of your member recruitment and retention strategy.

What Can Your Association Do Next?

CANASA's success shows how better internal systems benefit both staff and members. Streamlining operations helps your team focus on what matters most: serving your members and advancing your mission. 

 To get started: 

1. Identify your bottlenecks. Are renewals, registrations, or reporting consuming too much time?
2. Unify your data. A Single Source of Truth helps you uncover insights and improve decision-making.
   
3. Prioritize the member experience. Single sign-on and self-service portals make it easier for members to engage with your organization.

📘 Read the full CANASA success story.

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