Question 1 · Member value
The first 90 days decide renewal.
Early engagement shapes renewal more than anything that comes later.
Free Board paper · 10 pages
Everyone's talking about AI — but where could it actually make a difference to your membership organisation?
Five questions your Board should answer before investing in AI — so you can focus on opportunities that matter to your members and your organisation.
AI is everywhere. But with so many technologies, suppliers and promises, how do you decide where it could genuinely improve your organisation's performance?
No registration required. Independent commercial guidance, not a technology sales pitch.
- No registration
- Five Board questions
- Fillable worksheet
2027 AI
Board PaperFormalus · Membership
Board PaperFormalus · Membership
Built by Michael Williamson, who ran customer revenue at O2, Vodafone, Symantec, Staples and Equifax · Current client: Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
Five questions to help your Board make better AI decisions
Our free 2027 AI Board Paper helps your leadership team explore:
- 01
Member value: Where could we make the greatest difference to our members?
- 02
Commercial opportunity: Where could better processes and AI materially improve income, productivity or service quality?
- 03
Financial case: What could those improvements be worth — and what would we need to invest?
- 04
Practical readiness: What would need to change in our systems, data, processes and ways of working?
- 05
Accountability: How would we measure success and know whether the investment had been worthwhile?
The paper includes a practical worksheet to help your Board identify priorities, challenge assumptions and agree where to investigate further.
What we see in membership organisations
Question 3 · Financial case
Renewal arrives as an invoice.
Members rarely see evidence of value before they are asked to pay again.
Question 4 · Practical readiness
Staff time goes on workarounds.
Disconnected systems turn simple jobs into manual copying and checking.
Question 5 · Accountability
One contact per member business is a hidden risk.
When your only contact at a member organisation leaves, the relationship often leaves with them.
Why this matters
Start with outcomes, not technology
Every conference has a session about AI. Every technology supplier has an AI solution. And every leadership team is being encouraged to consider what AI could do for their organisation.
But amid all the excitement, there's a question worth asking.
Where would AI actually make a difference to us?
And perhaps most importantly, which opportunities would justify the investment?
Because the best place to start isn't with the technology.
It's with the commercial and member outcomes you want to achieve.
Automating a broken process only gives you a faster broken process.
2027 AI
Board PaperFormalus · Membership
Board PaperFormalus · Membership
Everything your Board needs to begin
Five questions with guidance
Guidance on member value, renewal and readiness
Five worksheet pages
Prompts on the first 90 days, renewal and member data
One-page Board summary
Status, next action and owner for each question
Trusted to find the commercial opportunity
The work identified and prioritised the biggest commercial opportunities, helping us focus on the areas with the greatest potential business impact. Michael then helped us shape the high-level commercial design for the future operating model, working back from the business outcomes we wanted to achieve so the commercial requirements were defined before technology decisions were made.
Michael is a strong, seasoned leader with excellent customer vision – and able to turn that into tangible commercial plans. Transformed Vodafone's thinking about prepay mobile in a very short timeframe. Made a major impact across Vodafone's operations across EMEA. One of the very best.
Michael has one of the strongest strategic minds that I have come across in business. He demonstrated a great ability to analyse and understand customer needs and experience particularly in a complex multichannel environment. Michael is also a great listener to not only customers but his teams and colleagues which made him a trusted colleague.
Who built this
Michael Williamson
Founder, Formalus
- running customer-facing change at GM and C-suite level
- 25 years
- customer revenue under direct accountability
- £24bn
- customers added
- 15M
Formalus sells no software, no licences and no implementation. The advice is independent.
Before you begin
Is it really free?
Yes. You do not need to register or give an email address to see or download your results.
What is the Membership AI Opportunity Assessment?
A free 60-minute conversation with Michael Williamson, followed by a short written summary, to test whether an improvement is achievable in your organisation.
Who is Formalus?
An independent commercial advisory firm for membership organisations. It sells no software, licences or implementation.
Can I fill in the worksheet on screen?
Yes. The worksheet pages are fillable in most PDF readers, or you can print them.
Book a free 60-minute Membership AI Opportunity Assessment
Choose a time that suits you. The calendar is provided by Calendly and loads when you open it.
Get your free 2027 AI Board Paper
No registration required. Independent commercial guidance, not a technology sales pitch.
- 01Release time — Existing people
- 02Grow income — Existing members
- 03Invest wisely — Future decisionsYou are here
Create more member value. Grow membership income. Make AI work commercially.
Could your membership organisation achieve more with what it already has?
Membership organisations are under pressure to deliver more value, grow income and make better use of limited resources.
The answer isn't always more staff, more members or more technology.
Sometimes the biggest opportunities begin with what you already have.
Your people. What could they achieve if routine administration took less of their time?
Your members. What could happen if more members stayed, engaged and made greater use of the services they value?
Your investment. What if you knew where better processes and AI could make the greatest commercial difference before committing money?
These are the questions Formalus helps membership leaders answer.
We start with the value you want to create, establish the commercial case and identify the changes needed to deliver it.
Improving Business Performance Through AI Transformation