Expanding member engagement using Nimble Communities

Since 2018, The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) has used Nimble AMS as their association management system. When members of a small division of the society asked for a place to interact and share ideas online, ACerS saw the benefits of offering an online member community for the entire organization.

After researching leading online community solutions, the organization partnered with the Nimble AMS team to pilot Nimble Communities, which allows Nimble AMS customers to set up and host an online member community built on the Salesforce Community Cloud platform. This community functionality proved to be especially valuable when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, allowing ACerS members to connect virtually when in-person meetings were not possible.

“With Nimble Communities, our members are able to easily connect with other members that they didn’t even know were out there. That’s the whole point of being in a professional society.”

Yolanda Natividad, Member Engagement Manager, ACerS

Challenges

ACerS wanted to provide an online space for members to network, share ideas, and communicate with each other. The team sought an alternative to the dedicated online community solutions available on the market.

Solution

ACerS partnered with Nimble AMS to be the first customer on Nimble Communities, a Nimble AMS-integrated solution built on the Salesforce Community Cloud Platform.

“This is the reason you go to Nimble AMS – because you can do these kinds of things. The Nimble AMS team says, ‘Here’s a challenge; let’s figure it out together.’ They’re looking for ways for associations to do better, and they’re willing to let us work with them to make things better for their other customers.”

Mark Kibble, Director of Technology, ACerS

Results

ACerS members now easily connects with each other, which was particularly valuable when the pandemic hit and members could not connect in person. In addition, staff participates in conversations to gain insights for their member programs.

“Working with the Nimble AMS team, we surpassed all of our goals for online community participation. We feel very fortunate that we had Nimble Communities in place when the pandemic hit and members needed a way to connect virtually more than ever before.”

Mark Kibble, Director of Technology, ACerS

ACerS plans to take the online community beyond just a place for online conversations. The team plans to add more content to make the community the go-to place for information and networking in the industry.

“We can see what Nimble Communities will allow us to do in terms of strategically thinking about our members. We’re aiming to make the community part of our members’ daily habits for their profession.”

Yolanda Natividad, Member Engagement Manager, ACerS