“We took a 'leap of faith' when we migrated our loyal ABA
Marketing Network members from a two-way Listserv to a new
Groupsite. Within a few weeks, we knew we had made the right
decision.”
Maggie Kelly, Vice
President, Marketing
ABA Professional Development
"The ABA Marketing Network is a well established
national membership of around 1,000 bank marketing professionals. Members of
the Network openly share insights and ideas, and up until recently, a two-way
listserv had been the main way for members to communicate.
Several members had asked us to look into a web-based
solution to make communications easier and more efficient. We looked into
several alternatives, but had the following concerns:
- How
many current members would actually make the switch to a new platform?
- What
do we do with all of the existing conversations?
- Would
a new platform require more staff resources?
After completing our due diligence, we determined that a
Groupsite not only accomplished everything we wanted from a standard listserv,
but also added a level of social collaboration that you do not see in listservs
that primarily ‘live in the inbox.' We wanted to continue the dialogue between
members, while increasing the level of engagement and trust within the group.
We didn't import a single legacy conversation from the old
listserv into our new Groupsite. We decided to keep the listserv live for at
least one month after launching the Groupsite while people migrated to the new
system. Interestingly, not only did members quickly make the transition, but
also sent emails through the listserv telling people to move off the old system.
Peer pressure prevailed!
We have had very positive feedback on the Groupsite. People
have easily adapted to this new platform, and taken the time to upload their
photos and create Member Profiles. Within a couple of weeks, we had over 500
very active participants in our new Groupsite, and staff are also finding this
a very useful vehicle to communicate with members and add value.
We are just beginning to tap into the full
power of our Groupsite, and looking to launch several others for different
audiences. My advice to any listserve managers out there who are contemplating
taking things to the next level – just do it. You’ll be glad you
did."