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Overcoming changes to build member trust and organizational value
Key
Highlights
Highlights
Quick and flexible deployment serves members in need and strengthens connections
Original research powers thought leadership, increased brand value, advocacy
Member feedback drives more meaningful events
The Story
The challenge
AWB needed to step up to serve the needs of member businesses during the pandemic
As the oldest and largest statewide business association in Washington, the Association of Washington Business has a clear and powerful mission statement: AWB is the catalytic leader and unifying voice for economic prosperity throughout Washington state.
While the details of this mission have inevitably evolved since AWB’s founding in 1904, the organization faced some of its most significant challenges with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many businesses struggled to figure out how to adapt, AWB was fielding a barrage of questions from members. Where could they find PPE and other health and safety supplies? How could small businesses access PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans?
The AWB team knew they needed to step up as a resource for members.
With so many phone calls and emails pouring in, they realized they’d need a strategic approach to keep communication open, and their thoughts turned to surveys.
While AWB was already a Sogolytics client, the immediacy of this new need forced them to reexamine their communication and feedback strategies – and to ramp up their survey skills.
The solution
Prior to the pandemic, AWB had collected occasional member feedback, but the urgency of members’ needs at the start of COVID required a more systematic approach to outreach.
Using the Sogolytics platform, the communications team was able to quickly roll out surveys that both asked for member feedback and provided members with important information.
“Members really responded to our efforts to be a trusted source of information, and that’s one of our core priorities,” said Hagey. “It really opened our eyes to the value of all we could be doing with Sogo.”
Even as the pace of incoming questions slowed, the communications team decided to keep the conversation going. Rather than focusing on solving specific challenges, they began to pivot toward asking questions about members’ perceptions of the state of business in Washington, with the belief that this data would help AWB in its advocacy work.
At its core, the new survey asked baseline questions like member perception of the Washington and US economies as well as big issues that they’d like legislators to work on in the upcoming session.
Now, the Washington Employer Survey goes out on a quarterly basis to all AWB members. The communications team puts the Sogolytics platform to work analyzing results and showcasing important trends and shifts in the statewide economic landscape.
Once a year, the team also adds in a few questions about how well AWB is serving members. Learning about how members access information, what social media channels they use, and how they prefer to connect means that the communication team is set up for success in future planning.
“I was worried about survey fatigue, but features like Intelligent Reminders mean that only people who don’t participate get the nudge, and that’s made a big difference in response rates,” said Hagey.
Beyond the platform itself, support from the Sogolytics team has also had a positive impact on AWB’s success. The pandemic push and pivots led to a need to ramp up quickly as requirements changed, so refreshers and best practices on how to build questions correctly, manage lists, and track trends were all important to the AWB team.
“I like that I have the freedom and ability to reach out and ask for help when I needed,” shared Hagey, noting that he’s been impressed with the support he’s received. “I’m not just saying this to be nice, but the Sogo team knows the product inside and out. I’ve come across other products where the person doesn’t even know how to help you, and that’s not the case here at all.”
The result
Results from the Washington Employer Survey have given AWB powerful data to use when connecting to legislators. Rather than relying on anecdotal feedback, the team can now present compelling evidence about the statewide business community’s needs and concerns and advocate for meaningful action.
“This project has definitely solidified our position and reinforced our brand as an organization that stands up for its members,” Hagey said.
“It helps us all to be smarter about how we go about doing our jobs. We can focus our efforts and resources on the issues that matter most to our members, and it gives us talking points for OpEds, speeches, and other presentations.”
With the success of this major signature study, along with the return to in-person events, AWB has also rolled out expanded event feedback surveys. Carly Michael, Director of Member Experience and Events, shared that the surveys offer important data points on member needs.
“I’m a big data person,” she said. “Sogo was new to me, but I really like the software. Some event software has survey plug-ins or modules but they’re not up to snuff with the level of drill-down and analysis I want.”
Results from the event surveys highlight topics that members are interested in learning more about, speakers that they’d like to hear from, and the kinds of sessions they find most valuable. “Since the pandemic, we find that a lot of people are really focused on the networking opportunities,” Michael noted, adding, “But for me, content is my number one driver. I want to make sure what we’re delivering is useful for our members.”
In the future, AWB plans to continue to explore new opportunities to collect and learn from member feedback, both on the communication and event fronts. As the Sogolytics platform continues to evolve, they also look forward to taking advantage of new and advanced functionality, especially on the analytics front, to ensure they’re learning as much as possible every step of the way to improve the experience of their members.
The Sogo team knows the product inside and out. I’ve come across other products where the person doesn’t even know how to help you, and that’s not the case here at all.
About AWB
Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes nearly 7,000 members representing 700,000 employees.
AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. AWB also has a longstanding record of working on behalf of companies in many other industries such as retail, wholesale, communications, services, agriculture, transportation, hospitality and construction.
While its membership includes major employers like Boeing and Microsoft, more than 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10.
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