Text of article published in BIG Times, March 2010 issue
Written by Guy Consterdine of Guy Consterdine Associates, moderator of ICG egroup
ICG BUILDS A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
"Being part of such a supportive network has helped our business hugely... the e-forum proves to be so rich and vibrant on a daily basis."
So wrote a member of the Independent Consultants Group (ICG) about its electronic discussion group (egroup). Another member commented:
"Since being part of the ICG I feel I have a brilliant 'team' of senior, trustworthy contacts with expertise in many more disciplines than I ever had at my fingertips when I was employed by one of the largest UK MR agencies."
Now in its seventh year of existence, the egroup has proved vital and highly successful in building a real sense of community among ICG’s members. The egroup embodies great generosity of spirit in exchanging ideas, information, and expertise. I find it quite inspiring. As one participant said, “It’s a real joy to be part of something so positive”.
How did it all begin?
The ICG was formed in the 1990s as a special interest group of the Market Research Society, but around a decade ago it became totally independent and self-funding. Today it has just over 370 members, all independents working in market research or related areas, dispersed across the UK and with a scattering around the world.
An early question for ICG was how could members communicate with each other on a more regular basis than the occasional newsletter, and thus get the best out of their membership, and make individual contributions?
Initially, a bulletin board was set up on ICG’s website, but it proved a failure. Very few members had the discipline and inclination to go to the website and read the messages regularly at very short intervals. Almost all members just visited occasionally or never. Those who did visit found old requests for advice or information which had attracted little or (more often) no response. Any time-critical posts were out of date before more than a handful of members had seen them. The problem was that members had to go and get the messages, instead of the messages coming to the members.
I was a participant in a flourishing music-based Yahoo egroup, and was convinced a similar group would work well for ICG. The key was that messages come to members, automatically. One or two other people made a similar suggestion. The ICG Committee agreed. Committee member Janet Lang of Lang Research Associates set up the egroup in September 2003 and became the first moderator. I took over from Janet in February 2005.
An early lesson was to switch from opting in to opting out. At first ICG members had to opt in, by registering themselves on the Yahoo website. However less than half of ICG members joined, critical mass had not been achieved, therefore debates were sporadic, and during 2004 the number of posts only averaged one per day.
I found there were two problems. The principal one was inertia: many ICG-ers vaguely meant to join but never got round to it. Second, some made an attempt but found it confusing and gave up. So we decided to enrol every member. In July 2005 I enrolled the backlog of ICG members who hadn’t registered themselves – some of whom commented “Thank goodness someone is sorting this out for me!” From then on every fresh person who joined ICG has automatically been enrolled in the egroup. It is possible to opt out but only half a dozen have chosen to do so.
There are now 370 members of the egroup. In recent months the number of posts has averaged 15 per day. (For those who find the volume a bit too much there is the option of choosing the Daily Digest - a single long email per day with an index of topics.)
In an ICG Members Survey in 2009 the egroup achieved a very high rating, earning a mean score of 8.2 out of 10, with the most heavily chosen position on the scale being 10 out of 10.
Topics cover all aspects of market research or running your own small business. Requests for advice or information almost invariably receive helpful responses, sometimes in large quantities. There is also commendable courtesy and much wit in the posts. Consequently there are often comments such as these:
"I love the way the group always has an answer for everything; [who] could ever match our collective knowledge?"
“Thanks everyone for your advice on [topic] – much appreciated and I agree that ICG membership is worth its weight in gold”
"Thanks to everyone who has responded to my request - another fantastic example of the range and quality of suggestions that the egroup generates (and so quickly!)"
Specific requests sometimes trigger wider discussions of general interest. As one reader commented "This is why this networker group is so useful - hadn't thought to ask this question but got some useful ideas from the discussion."
The group was summarised by one member in these terms: “From the egroup we have had plenty of new business opportunities; loads of help, advice and support; lots of new learning; so much fun and laughs; broadened horizons; great new contacts and companionship. And that is why the ICG is so popular, and why there is so much emotional warmth attached to belonging to it.”
Emotional warmth: yes, the egroup has given all ICG members a real sense of community. People working on their own, and in some cases geographically very remote, are prevented from feeling professionally or emotionally isolated. They know there is a strong community to hand. One member wrote “I have never been part of a more knowledgeable, forward-thinking supportive group”. Another commented "It is the best source of support, advice and help in the whole market research industry." Long may it continue!