LINK TO CASE STUDY (SITE DOWN)

Close to two years ago, Fortis (the financial services company) and Ernst & Young joined forces to create a high-quality professional social network.

Unfortunately, the site recently closed. I assume it has more to do with the financial crisis than the site itself (management cost maybe). Still, it is worth reviewing.

The company managed to reach a large number of European CEOs by offering a high-quality, high-relevance business matching tool. The platform’s design is part of its success and some of its modules in particular created an edge: video blogs from experts, Europe-wide qualitative and quantitative research, related conferences, and even a magazine (for editorial content).

Fortis is primarily using the community to refine its communication. But the bank is also taking advantage of the win-win relationship it built with the network’s members by allowing it to better structure its offer and anticipate its clients’ needs.