Ambition
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) wanted a website that was member-centric, rather than organization-centric. Specifically, it wanted to:- Focus the website on what its members wanted most, rather than try to be everything to everyone.
- Identify filler content that was not working and remove it.
- Develop greater web-writing skills within the organization. Help people to understand that web content is not the same as print content.
- Develop a clear, value-driven website strategy and set of management principles. The website has developed in an ad-hoc way and requires greater cohesion.
Enter Gerry McGovern's team
Working with the Academy over an 18-month period, the following was undertaken:- Advice and training for the development of a strategic roadmap and set of five web management principles. Central to the roadmap was a task-based, member-focused methodology.
- An evangelism process that facilitated buy-in for these principles at all levels of management.
- A Customer Carewords project that involved assembling the most important members' tasks, getting members to vote on these tasks, and analyzing the results using a unique process.
Value delivered
The following was delivered for the AAO:- A Customer Carewords project that identified the most important customer tasks. The project gave management precise data to make clear decisions on what to prioritize on the website, and what to remove.
- A set of five management principles: 1) Customer-centric, not organization-centric; 2) Keep it simple; 3) Testing-based decision making; 4) Focus on core tasks; 5) Manage, not administer.
- A review process of the website that resulted in an initial 30% reduction in content. This produced a much more manageable website. There was not a single member complaint about any of the content removed.
- A professional publishing process that included such things as a publishing schedule, review policies, and web writing guidelines.
About The American Academy of Ophthalmology
The mission of the American Academy of Ophthalmology is to advance the lifelong learning and professional interests of ophthalmologists (Eye M.Ds) to ensure that the public can obtain the best possible eye care.The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the largest national membership association of Eye M.Ds. Eye M.Ds provide comprehensive eye care, including medical, surgical and optical care. More than 90 percent of practising US Eye M.Ds are Academy members, and the Academy has more than 7,000 international members.
Academy members are committed to responding compassionately to their patients' individual needs and to advancing the highest standards of comprehensive eye care.
"The whole Customer Carewords process was extremely useful for us. It has helped us to focus more on the things our members care about and are interested in. Having some hard statistics in relation to what our members did and didn't want to do on our website helps cuts through the assumptions and opinions that may be around. We've made decisions based on these figures."
Bill Taggart, Director of Web and Member Communications, American Academy of Ophthalmology
Visit the American Academy of Ophthalmology website
Customer Careword approach in greater detail
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