March 7, 2013

How does a membership organization survive in the era of social media, when the community aspects of association are so easy to replicate for free? Help Desk Institute (HDI) evolved its membership model for the online space not just by providing digital content and Web-based certification for IT support and help desk professionals — it also launched successful in-person events and 63 local chapter meetings, providing a benefit social media can’t. Managing Director Craig Baxter spoke to us about how these local volunteer chapters extend account lifetimes, and how events, trainings and subscriptions all cross-sell one another.