Building Business,
Connecting Members
How do you stay ahead of the curve when
information moves at the speed of light?
The leadership of the Association for Corporate Growth pondered this question
during a 2007 strategic planning session,
the result of which was a new social networking Web site designed to be at once
high-tech and high-value. With almost
13,000 members, ACG’s mission is to
help members increase deal flow, grow
their businesses and ultimately provide a
network in which they can connect capital
with opportunity. To achieve these goals
in the digital age, ACG leaders knew they
had to provide members with new tools
for communicating and networking.
Deciding to go digital was the first of
many steps toward building an exclusive
ACG social network. Next, the association conducted a member research survey,
reviewed popular social networking Web
sites and conferred with organizational
leaders. Upon assessing its needs, ACG
chose American Eagle as its Web development partner. Soon after, a Web site
blueprint was developed in order to help
the association build its system, which was
designed to connect members, deliver new
services and drive non-dues revenue. Members helped develop this blueprint because
it focused on new tools that would drive
business for them. Chapter leaders and
staff also played a major role in the development to ensure it met their needs.
Development of the site took six months
with an additional three months of testing
and refining. Training for chapter staff and
volunteers on the content management
tool included a daylong live training session, numerous webinars, several online
video tutorials and hours of one-on-one
help. The site, including 54 chapter sub-sites, launched March 2.
BY LESLIE WHITTET AND DALE WEST
THE BENEFITS OF A CLOSED SYSTEM
Many have asked why ACG chose to build
its own closed social networking Web site
instead of using an existing, open platform like LinkedIn. The answer is simple:
member value. Knowing member needs
— the new system had to provide mem-
bers with tools to drive their business —
ACG had to create a system that provided
more than the typical social networking
site offered.
To meet members’ needs, ACG added
a proprietary database with key industry
data to help them find capital partners
and dealmakers in their industries. While
ACG previously had provided an online
member directory that allowed members
to search for other members in a particular field or specialty, the new database
goes much further. Members are now
able to search a database that provides
much deeper information on members
and firms, such as deal size, market preferences and even the personal interests
of members. Now, whether members are
looking for an attorney in Des Moines or
an investment banker in Boston, they are
connected 24/7.
The site also allows members to be
active participants in the ACG community.
Members are able to form and join online
interest groups on topics important to their
businesses. Once a member joins a group,
he or she can participate in the group’s
dialog or post an article on the topic. In
addition, ACG’s global and chapter leadership now has an electronic workspace that
allows boards and chapters to easily communicate, post relevant documents like
minutes and bylaws, collaborate on working
documents and advertise events.
Another key feature of the site is its
ability to bring all ACG members together
within a single system. ACG gets much of
its strength from its vibrant network of 54
global chapters. For 55 years, those chapters have provided members with local
networking events; the new site allows
all members to connect based on shared
interests — regardless of geography. Now,
the right capital provider or the right
buyer for a company is a few clicks away.
So is professional development, as the
system also allows members to easily find
and register for events in their local area,
in the next state or across the ocean.
A final reason ACG wanted its own
closed social network is to have greater
control over its brand, messaging and content. In 2007, ACG groups began emerging
on LinkedIn and Facebook. While many
were started and controlled by ACG chapters, several were managed by nonmembers. Because the new Web site is tied to
the member database, control is firmly
in ACG’s hands. Additionally, the new
content management system allows the
association to make changes easily, share
content between the global organization
and local chapters, and engage in target
marketing by sending e-mails to select
groups of members. All of this is done
within ACG brand standards.
THE RESULTS
Within five months of its launch, 46 percent of members developed an online
profile on ACG’s social networking site.
Those members formed 70 special interest
groups on topics ranging from cleantech
development to business and asset valuation to wine, and they launched more
than 500 chapter events.
ACG attributes the initial success of its
site to the collaboration among its leadership and its staff during development, as
both were committed to providing ACG
members with dynamic new business
tools. Plans to add new features that drive
member value and non-dues revenue have
already begun.
Leslie Whittet is vice president of chapter relations
and Dale West is director of membership and
chapters for the Association for Corporate Growth.
Whittet may be reached at lwhittet@acg.org and
West at dwest@acg.org.
