Advisory board planners in every industry are realizing the value of moving their board’s activities online.
Here are three ways other industries have benefited from moving their advisory boards and working groups online.
1. Sustained Momentum
For the most part, advisory boards in the pharmaceutical industry consist of one to two meetings a year where ideas are thrown up on the wall, everyone leaves excited and then nothing happens. All the momentum created at the meeting dissipates until the next meeting when the same thing happens all over again.
Online advisory boards solve this problem by keeping the momentum going. They’re set up as continuous conversations. Think of it like a never-ending meeting.
Now think of the online portal (ours is called the Impetus InSite Platform®) as a meeting room that never closes. Members can jump in and out as they see fit, connect with other members individually to hash out ideas together, and pin their ideas on the back wall for everyone to see and comment on.
As for the hosts and chairs of boards and groups in other industries, they have so much more control over sustaining momentum because they’re not limited by time or access. Over a one-year period, they build out a full agenda and a content calendar that keeps members consistently engaged (we call it a Longitudinal Expert Engagement Plan™). And they can reach out to members collectively or individually, whenever they want with anything of value.
2. More Participation
In a live meeting, there will always be people who don’t speak up. Maybe they’re shy? Maybe they’re tired? Maybe they’ve been silenced by other members who inadvertently monopolized the conversation. Either way, they’re not contributing.
The asynchronous communication structure of online boards and groups takes care of this. Members can log in and contribute on their own time in their own ways. If they have ideas, they can share them right away to get feedback from other members. And they never have to worry about being drowned out.
As a result, boards and groups in other industries are getting more opinions from more members more often.
3. More Savings
Other industries are spending roughly two-thirds less on their advisory boards and working groups by eliminating live meetings. Travel. Accommodations. Venue. Food. It all comes off the books.
And they know if they still see the value in face-to-face communication, Web-chats are easy to organize, and way easier for your members to attend.
There are so many more reasons to consider an online-only advisory board or working group, and so many ways an Impetus solution can help you do it. Drop Natalie Yeadon a note and she’ll tell you all about them.