Associations Thrive or Die Through their Web Site
The Berndt Group Provides Expert Web Services to Associations
January 29, 2010
BALTIMORE, MD—Over the past five years, The Berndt Group's longstanding work with large non-profit organizations has expanded into a new, very successful specialization in the area of professional association web sites. We've found that among the many different types of sites we design, web association sites are particularly interesting because they combine a very large number of aspects of web development: aggressive marketing, managing large amounts of content, social networking, community and collaboration, e-advocacy, and eCommerce.
Further, web sites are increasingly the primary way that associations interact with their members and provide services, so this is an area where organizations really live and breathe by their sites. We love a challenge, and the chance to create strategies that pull together all these aspects of the web into a high usability site is especially exciting.
As a result, in recent years, The Berndt Group has developed some association sites that are best-of-breed achievements. There is the award-winning work we've done for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which has combined strong marketing and services with back-end collaboration, that among other features, allows zoos and aquariums around the world to track and safely exchange their animals. There is the work we are doing for The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American Montessori Society (AMS), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA)—all of which involve not only full, soup-to-nuts web site development, but also complex community and collaboration features. Along with older, previously successful sites for the American Trauma Society and The Alliance of Specialty Medicine, this work has given us an excellent vantage point on best practices for association sites.
There are a number of crucial points that we think define the success or failure of association sites and go beyond the general considerations of large, content-managed, market-driven web sites:
- First, is the balance of marketing to new members vs. servicing existing members—activities that should ideally be integrated as much as possible, ensuring that returning members are not turned off by low usability and too much flashy marketing. Finding the best trade-offs, and the best strategies to meet these very different goals, requires careful strategic thought.
- Second, is the importance of a thoughtful strategy for member communities. This includes how members will experience personalized content, engage in various types of self-service options, and how they will communicate and collaborate among themselves. Each aspect of this is fraught with both potential problems and great opportunities—and there are many decisions that straddle user experience and legal and policy considerations.
- Third, there is typically the technical aspect of the integration between an organization's association management software (AMS) and any content management (CMS) or portal environment. Often these systems share user credentials, user profiles, and other content; in some cases, the AMS may technically provide some of the self-service functions in the web site as well. There are a range of issues around the security, sync, and architecture of AMS data. Each AMS and CMS combination offers different opportunities and challenges.
It’s the thoughtful, thorough expert approach to all these issues—as well as the regular challenges of making pleasurable, high-usability, high content sites—that gets an organization to a great site. Paying attention to best practices, and thinking about how the site will be used by both end users and its editors, is crucially important. As The Berndt Group continues to expand our association practice, this is exactly the kind of experience that we bring to the table. As a full-service web developer, as well as one of the top web design firms in the country, we bring together all the pieces with strategy to make fantastic association sites.
There will be much more coming from The Berndt Group in relation to association sites. Next up, we'll be showing at the ASAE Technology Conference February 10 - 12, 2010 in Washington, DC. This is one of the most significant events for associations in the U.S. and a great place to find out about technology choices for associations. Come check out our booth!
About The Berndt Group
The Berndt Group has been a leading Web design, development and brand communications firm since 1991. The firm provides an integrated set of creative services, including strategic consulting, brand and application development, software implementation, web site design, and internet marketing. Based in Baltimore, MD, the firm services a diverse international and regional base of over fifty active clients, including: The National Aquarium, Johns Hopkins Institutions, SafeNet, Inc., Raytheon, U.S. Immigration, The Federal Aviation Administration, The U.S. Forest Service, The Abell Foundation, and many others. For more information, visit www.berndtgroup.net.
Media Contact
Inquiries? Please contact:
Michelle Géczy
Vice President
phone: 410.889.5854 x 12
email: michelle.geczy@berndtgroup.net
