Jan 1014
This afternoon, the MatrixMaxx team at Matrix Group held a Town Hall meeting with clients to get feedback on about a half dozen features slated to go into the 10.1 version (scheduled for release in early February). We could have surveyed clients via e-mail or a Web survey; we could have conducted a focus group; we could have called a select group of clients and consultants; or we could have gone with our gut and made decisions about credit card processing, meeting wait lists, individual relationships, etc.
Instead, we decided to crowdsource the specifications. Crowdsource? What does this mean? Wikipedia defines “crowdsourcing” as the “act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) and asking for contributions.” Wikipedia also uses this definition: “the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals.”
In the past, Tanya (the Director of MatrixMaxx) and I would sit down, discuss requirements, maybe make a few calls, and then decide on the specifications for each release. This time around, we decided to get immediate feedback from as big a group of clients as possible to validate our ideas and generate new ones.
The Mechanics of the Town Hall Meeting
- We sent an e-mail invitation to all MatrixMaxx clients, inviting them to an hour-long, online Town Hall meeting. The e-mail provided details on the half dozen topics under consideration, with a general discussion of the options available.
- Clients were invited to provide feedback in real-time during the meeting, before the meeting via phone and email, and after the meeting via phone and e-mail.
- About 60% of the clients registered at least one person to the Town Hall meeting, which was conducted via conference call and Webex.
- Tanya ran the meeting, leading the discussion and taking notes, which were shared out via Webex to all participants.
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Aug 0918
Matrix Group collaborated with Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) for a Web site redesign and a MatrixMaxx Implementation.
Our work included:
- A fresh, and engaging Web site design, promoting AOPL as the expert in fuel transportation, and an environmentally aware organization.
- Implementation of a Content Management System (CMS), allowing staff to make Web site updates with no programming background.
- A color-coded, interactive map, where visitors can scroll over each state to see the location and the type of major pipelines in the US.
- Web site integration with MatrixMaxx, Association Management System (AMS). A comprehensive web-based solution, allowing AOPL to seamlessly link their Web site to their membership databases.
- Hosting and Maintenance
Visit the Association of Oil Pipelines
Jun 0916
I hear it all the time from clients and prospects. “My boss isn’t ready to make a decision and I don’t know why.” “We are delaying our decision-making.” “We are not ready to move forward and don’t have a timeframe.” “We’re just gathering information, we don’t have a timetable.”
At first blush, it just doesn’t make any sense: organizations expend time and effort needed to put out an RFP (request for proposal), participate in meetings and demos, review proposals, check references, yada, yada — and then sit and don’t make a decision.
So why doesn’t the CEO just make the decision? After many years of selling to organizations of all sizes, in all industries, here’s why I think CEOs don’t/won’t make a decision their staff is dying for them to make.
The initiative doesn’t have support from the top. Sometimes, the initiative to redesign a Web site or put in a new back office has a lot of middle management support, but not top support. Middle management has the okay to research and evaluate but no commitment from the top that resources will ultimately be made available. So if you’re asking your boss if it’s okay to research new phone systems, you need to know that your boss believes a new phone system is needed, has money in the budget and will make a decision. Otherwise, he’s just humoring you when he blesses the research effort.
The CEO doesn’t think he needs to make the decision right now. This is a tricky one. Your CEO might believe with all her heart that you need a new membership database, but she isn’t convinced that the issue is urgent, which means she can delay a decision. You need to make the case that a decision is urgent and necessary. Prepare a cost-benefit analysis, point to pain points, and illuminate the work arounds you’re living with.
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May 0914
All day long, I sit in meetings where my staff, clients and I try to intuit what customers and members want. We look at usage reports, search logs, customer feedback forms, guestbook entries, and survey results. All of these sources give us insight into what customers do, seek and want. But after conducting a focus group for a client this evening, I’m reminded that we need regular face time with our customers and we need to just ask them what they want.
Tonight’s focus group was amazing. Nearly two dozen people gave up two hours of their day to discuss why they are members of an organization, what they like about the Web site, and what would make their jobs easier. Some of the ideas were mind-blowingly simple, while others were flat out brilliant. If half of the product ideas prove economically feasible, this organization has a product road map for the next year.
Speaking of product road maps, I am in the habit of calling a couple of customers after each release of our association management software, MatrixMaxx. I call to check-in, get feedback on new features, and, most importantly, ask them for the one thing they would like to see in a future release. For the 9.1 release, the suggestions were all spot on, some were so easy to implement we wondered why we hadn’t done the work earlier, and some proved to be blockbusters.
But what do you do when you have zillions of customers and you get a flood of customer requests on a regular basis? Google Moderator allows communities to post suggestions/questions and then vote on all ideas submitted. President Obama used Google Moderator to accept questions for an electronic town hall meeting; citizens submitted and then ranked questions; the President answered the most popular questions. Read the rest of this entry
Jan 0927
I had the pleasure of speaking at the ASAE Technology Conference, taking place until tomorrow at the DC Convention Center. My topic? Dealing With Big Trends in a Small Staff Organization. Here are the 5 big trends I discussed:
- Your Browser as the New Operating System. The Web browser is increasingly the platform for mission critical applications, like association management systems, intranets, document management systems and e-mail.
- Conversation is King. We used to talk about creating a communications strategy. Today, we need to create a conversation strategy because customers are interested in engagement, in two-way conversations.
- Unified, Integrated Data. I call this the Amazon Effect. Our customers expect us to know who they are, communicate with them in a personalized way, and give them personalized offerings. We can’t do this unless we have a unified view of their activities and interactions.
- Zen Tech Warrior. These warriors want information on specific topics, when they want it, on the device(s) of their choice. Take me, for example. I might want my magazine in print, news via e-mail, and alerts via text. Can your database handle these preferences and can you execute on this information?
- Green Computing. We all know that we need to do our part to reduce energy consumption and save the planet. Data centers represent 1.5% of the electricity demand in the US. Think green when you buy computers and peripherals.
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