Defining Service Excellence in the Digital Age
DigitalNow 2006
Orlando, Florida
April 21, 2006
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Panel
Rick Johnston, CAE
Senior Web Strategist & Association Practice Lead
Ironworks Consulting
Amy Parker
Strategy and Development Director
Virginia Society of CPAs
Rob Birgfeld
Director, Online Marketing & Communications
National Restaurant Association
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Ironworks Association Practice
Web site usability
Content taxonomy
Enterprise
Online community Content
E-communications Management
Meetings registration Application
Web Design Development
Exhibits management
Membership
Online publications Strategy
Media resources
Member & staff directories Application
Enterprise
Interactive media Portal Management
E-commerce
Business
Foundation fund-raising Intelligence
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Association Clients
American Cancer Society
American Institute of Architects
National Association of Convenience Stores
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
International Mission Board
American Heart Association
Smithsonian Institution
American College of Physicians
Clearpoint Financial Counseling
American Health Care Association
Edison Electric Institute
92nd St Y
Christian Children’s Fund
Carnegie Hall
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Defining Service Excellence in the Digital Age
“Understanding the needs of your association’s constituents
relative to your mission and exceeding their expectations.”
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The Business of Associations
Providing authoritative information resources and education
Facilitating knowledge exchange among our constituents
Advocating for ideals supported by our constituents
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The Business of Associations
Providing authoritative information resources and education
Publishing
Educational programs
Facilitating knowledge exchange among our constituents
Meetings
Advocating for ideals supported by our constituents
Raising money to support causes
Organizing grassroots campaigns
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So what has changed in the “Digital Age”?
For many associations, the Web has become the most important
channel to consistently and effectively engage their constituents
Some current trends to consider…
• Segmenting audiences to better meet their needs
• Online Community (blogs, podcasts, wikis, etc.)
• Pushing out content (customized e-newsletters, RSS feeds)
• eKnowledge initiatives
• Integrating applications and data through portals
• Business Intelligence (decision dashboards)
• Distance Learning
• Mobile Computing
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Segmenting audiences to better meet their needs
An alternative to personalization and customization that is easier
to implement and potentially more effective
Segment key audiences who will appreciate your better serving
their unique needs
Consider mini-sites with their own navigation, highlighted
content, and targeted promotions
Your suggestions and experiences…
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Building online communities
Takes more than just building the capability
Don’t count on enthusiasm from the masses in the beginning
Consider as an add-on to a meeting, grassroots advocacy effort,
education program or special event
The pros and cons of
Listservs
Message Boards
Live Online Events
Blogs
Wikis
Your suggestions and experiences…
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Pushing out content
Fewer and better email communications
Consider generating customized versions based on segments or
user-selected interests
Allow constituents to subscribe to content updates via RSS
Your suggestions and experiences…
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eKnowledge initiatives
Moving from information-based resources to knowledge-based
resources
Most of the knowledge that exists on any given topic is still in
people’s heads; give your constituents the opportunity to share
what they know
Include access to outside knowledge resources; don’t think that
your organization is the only source of credible information
Recognize knowledge contributions on the Web so they achieve
a similar status to presenting at a meeting
Your suggestions and experiences…
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eKnowledge Initiatives
Knowledge
Management
Intellectual assets linked to strategic direction
Information
Management Subject-matter experts
Tacit knowledge and insight
Policies, guidelines, authoritative
sources Collaborative environment and culture
Physical data stores Extended to members and partners
Efficient information access Source: Gartner Group
Good Better
Expertise
Insight
Explicit Information Context Tacit Knowledge
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Integrating applications and information through portals
Portals can provide an easy-to-maintain, collaborative
environment for groups of people to access and contribute
knowledge
Often used for Intranets and Extranets
Can be customized by the organization and/or the end user
Include directories, community tools, polls, mini-applications
(portlets), and links to others resources (such as RSS feeds)
Microsoft’s SharePoint and BEA’s Plumtree portal are two
examples
Your suggestions and experiences…
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Business Intellegence
Much of the data we collect is never used to make decisions
It may reside in non-integrated applications
There may be no easy way to analyze the data in ways that would
be meaningful to decision-makers
When reports are prepared, they may not be current enough to
make critical decisions
You may be measuring the wrong things
“In the social sectors, money is only an input, and not a measure of
success.” – Jim Collins
Lead versus lag measures
Balanced Scorecard and Digital Dashboards
Your suggestions and experiences…
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Distance Learning
The cost of travel continues to be a barrier to accessing
traditional classroom education
Developing good eLearning programs can also be expensive
but the potential reach is much greater, especially for a national
audience
Some resources may already exist as meeting summaries,
audiotapes, or CD-ROMs; could they be offered as podcasts as
well?
Your suggestions and experiences…
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So what has changed in the “Digital Age”?
Mobile computing is here to stay
Podcasts are becoming popular
The impact of the “Long Tail” concept
Fund-raising on the Web is becoming more sophisticated and
effective
Chapter support can be enhanced
Embrace innovation and surprise your constituents by
exceeding their expectations
Your suggestions and experiences…
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Contact Information
Rick Johnston, CAE
Ironworks Consulting, LLC
rjohnston@ironworks.com
Blog: www.rjohnston.org
Amy Parker
Virginia Society of CPAs
aparker@vscpa.com
Rob Birgfeld
National Restaurant Association
rbirgfeld@dineout.org
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