In brief

Membership organisations face industry-wide challenges of recruiting, and retaining student members - this was one of the most talked about topics at the 2019 Memcom conference.

The Nutrition Society's adoption of Guild has shown a commitment to attracting and younger members through familiar and mobile-optimised communication methods.

The Opportunity

Established in 1941 The Nutrition Society is a respected not-for-profit membership organisation that advances the scientific study of nutrition and its application to human and animal health.

They have a highly engaged student group who received a Summer Studentship Research Grant to carry out research in the field of nutrition.

Prior to the introduction of Guild, the Nutrition Society received multiple requests from student members who were experiencing the same challenges with their research projects. The society felt it needed a forum for the student members to communicate and resolve questions quickly amongst themselves. They felt that a private community could also help avoid duplicated efforts from staff.

Guild's solution

The Nutrition Society didn't want to develop their own platform or app.

Guild met all their requirements as a simple, GDPR compliant privacy-first professional messaging app.

They set up a Guild group for Summer Studentship Awardees. The Guild Group also includes Nutrition Society staff and members who communicate with each other during the studentship programme.

Tailored Gen Z communication

Engagement between the specific groups of younger members and the Nutrition Society staff has increased significantly since Guild was launched, reflecting the ease-of-use of the messaging platform.

Removing duplicated efforts

The open forum communication enables members of the Nutrition Society to address similar challenges experienced by members without having to duplicate their efforts. Guild provides a private space for members to help one another and self-serve, and for members of staff to step in when required.

Growing and retaining the society members

"The high levels of engagement have shown us that we made the right platform choice for our members, staff and students."

The Nutrition Society has started relationships more likely to be maintained after they have gone through the studentship, providing value beyond the programme. They also have plans to develop further specialist groups and member communities in Guild.

Alison Barnham, Membership Manager at The Nutrition Society explains why Guild was the perfect choice for them.

"Guild has really worked for us. Our students and staff were able to use it intuitively and quickly. It feels like a very familiar platform to everyone and they were quick to engage on it."

Alison continues:

"We loved the fact that we could brand the community and get it up and running in a matter of minutes. The high levels of engagement have shown us that we made the right platform choice for our members, staff and students."

Join Guild 🤝

See for yourself how the Guild experience is different to WhatsApp, Slack, LinkedIn or Facebook Groups. Guild is a safe space to connect, communicate and collaborate with others.

Join us on a platform that is purpose-built for professionals and businesses.

Contact us if you want to know more or have any questions.