Bit Group creates strategic Web roadmap to improve member satisfaction for the Massachusetts Dental Society
The mission of the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS), the largest dental society in Massachusetts, is to improve the oral health of the public and professional development of its member dentists through initiatives in education, advocacy, and promotion of the highest professional standards. The original MDS Web site was not an effective communication channel to the target audience of professionals, various national, state and local groups and to the general public. MDS partnered with Bit Group to better understand the core needs of its user community and the effectiveness of the original Web site to meet those needs. Bit Group conducted a series of activities to effectively outline the strategic needs, create an implementation roadmap of key initiatives and design a site to meet that would meet those needs.
The Results
- A full life-cycle plan of action outlining a prioritized list of quick wins and longer term strategic initiatives.
- High-level implementation roadmap with projected benefits, timelines and approximate costs allowing MDS to make appropriate investment decisions.
- Redesigned Web site that was intuitive, crisp and easy to navigate. The redesigned Web site appropriately positions the MDS brand, and resulted in an overall increase in member utilization and number of visitors.
The Challenge
Understanding and aligning the needs of the various user constituents
With over 5,000 active members, the MDS is one of the largest dental organizations in the country. MDS’s professional constituents include members (general dentists, specialists, dental assistants, dental hygienists) and administrators (including district officers, trustees and society staff). The public constituents included the general community, students, children, educators, researchers and others. MDS wanted to understand the information and functionality requirements of the diverse constituents in order to effectively serve their needs.
The MDS viewed the Web channel as a strategic medium to communicate with their constituents. Not only was the Web channel an important aspect to improve member satisfaction and utilization, but it was also an important resource for information about dental health and a platform for national, state and local groups to collaborate. The existing Web infrastructure also needed significant infrastructure improvements in order to effectively scale and be robust enough to meet these different needs.
The Solution
A comprehensive strategic review and implementation roadmap
To effectively understand the complete needs of the various constituents, Bit Group conducted extensive workshops with both internal and external stakeholders. In addition to meeting with MDS staff, Bit Group also facilitated discussions with the Council of Membership, composed of volunteer dentists involved in monitoring membership trends and encouraging membership involvement through promotion and recruitment.
Armed with comprehensive feedback from the varied stakeholders, Bit Group consultants then conducted competitive reviews of other state dental association Web sites to identify prevalent industry best practices. In addition, a thorough technical evaluation of the existing content management system and review of the site Web logs provided insight into the capabilities of the existing infrastructure.
About Massachusetts Dental Society
The Massachusetts Dental Society is the recognized leader for the enhancement of oral health and the profession. The Massachusetts Dental Society is dedicated to improving the oral health of the public and professional development of its member dentists through initiatives in education, advocacy, and promotion of the highest professional standards.
