Resources for Community Success

Milwaukee & Madison, WI – January 4, 2023 – Forj, a purpose-built experience platform for communities of practice, announced its completion of a Series A funding round...

The "customer first" mentality has long been at the heart of many organizations' strategies. But as consumers' habits, behaviors, and expectations evolve, it's become clear that the old ways of thinking about customer service have made many of those strategies obsolete.

Members are seeking places to connect with their peers and doing so on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. But those public platforms aren’t necessarily fit for asking questions, having respectful dialog, and engaging in social learning. Your professional associations is uniquely equipped to build community that fosters safer and more meaningful connections.  

“If you can drive people to your community, that’s where the magic happens,” said Terri. “Most of our members are looking to learn from each other, so we’ve built a community where social learning is at the core.”

Associations today are seeing a gap between member groups, driven by everything from career stage to values and beliefs. Meetings members where they are involves understanding expectations, evolving journeys, and enabling contributions from all.

Challenge the status quo, recognize the importance of leadership buy-in, and infuse an MX mindset into your association’s DNA.

As an association leader, you likely understand how member experience (MX) impacts everything that keeps you up at night, from member acquisition, retention, and engagement to effective partnerships and revenue growth.

Forj convened an exclusive Member Experience Think Tank at the ASAE Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference. During the roundtable session, leaders came together to explore:

• Current MX trends driven by evolving member expectations
• How MX influences their marketing, communications, and membership strategies
• The barriers they commonly encounter when it comes to evolving MX
• Innovative ideas that have helped them drive an MX mindset association-wide

At their core, communities have always been about bringing together like-minded people for a common purpose. And because of that, it’s clear to see why professional associations are primed for building active, flourishing communities that members want to flock to.

Associations can drive sustainable success by connecting with members through hands, head, and heart.

When it comes to your online professional community, “if you build it, they will come” may not be the best mantra.

It comes as no surprise that attention spans - and content consumption habits - have changed. And through this shift, association leaders have struggled to maximize members' engagement with and the monetization of their rich libraries of content.