In vertical media, two seemingly opposing things are true at the same time.
First is that traditional directories, or buyer’s guides, sometimes struggle mightily. It may be that it’s because print media is no longer the best place to find a supplier. it may be that your web directory isn’t reaching enough people, or doesn’t have critical mass of participating suppliers. After all, you’re competing with Google as well. It may be that your UX is terrible, and your search engine performs poorly. And so on.
The second thing is that vibrant industry marketplaces are more important than ever, as buyers look to solutions providers to assist with increasingly complex operations. So it’s on the producers of buyer’s guides to innovate. Which is where Insight Guide comes in.
Insight Guide is, according to its website, a business-marketplace software-as-a-service platform designed especially for industry-focused associations. The intent is to engage association members by showcasing relevant suppliers, while also generating non-dues revenue for the association and leads to solutions providers.
Jeff Baker.
Indeed, Insight Guide has this slogan: “Goodbye Buyer’s Guides and Vendor Directories.” We were fortunate to catch up with Insight Guide Solutions Architect Jeff Baker for a conversation about all this. Here’s a transcript.
Fox Tales: How did you come up with the concept of Insight Guide? What did you perceive as an unmet need in the market?
Jeff Baker: Insight Guide is the brainchild of [CEO and Founder] Andy Steggles. It’s a concept that was born out of his experience as an association executive at the Risk and Insurance Management Society. The ongoing challenge was finding solutions to help connect members to members and also members to suppliers. In an effort to connect members to members, Andy co-counded Higher Logic, an online community tool used broadly across the association market.
While Higher Logic successfully facilitated member-to-member engagement, there was still a significant gap in fostering meaningful connections between members and sponsors/suppliers. Despite the ongoing demand for these connections, little progress had been made in developing enterprise-level marketplace solutions. Insight Guide addresses the long-standing need by creating a platform that helps associations bridge the gap between members and suppliers, delivering value to all parties involved.
Fox Tales: It looks like associations are your primary or sole market. Is that correct?
Baker: Yes, associations are our primary focus. Our team has decades of experience within the association sector, working across areas like technology, events, non-dues revenue, membership, and community building. Collectively, our executives bring deep industry knowledge and thought leadership, making us uniquely equipped to serve this market effectively. In short, we love helping associations and mission-driven organizations!
Fox Tales: Tell us about the platform itself. How does it distinguish itself from other directory offerings? I noticed some of the features: UX, simplicity, customer service, and more.
Baker: Insight Guide stands out by prioritizing simplicity for the end user, leveraging AI capabilities, allowing for granular configurations for administrators, and delivering true value for all three key stakeholders engaging with the marketplace: members, suppliers, and the association.
The members gain a one-stop shopping experience with information about the supplier, access to community-driven recommendations, RFP management, member-only perks, and more. This is all an effort to help the member make smarter and more informed business buying decisions.
Suppliers benefit from increased visibility, thought leadership opportunities, leads, and valuable insights into how their products compare within the industry.
The association client receives a sustainable non-dues revenue stream, actionable data intelligence, and opportunities to uncover new subject matter experts, content ideas, and prospects for sponsorship and other revenue-generating opportunities.
Our clients say that these three features shine the brightest:
- Member Perks Module: A feature that highlights exclusive member-only discounts and coupons for buyers. By acting as the connector for these deals, the association strengthens its value proposition, gaining recognition for facilitating meaningful connections between members and suppliers.
- Member Experience Module: Empowers members to view which companies their peers are engaging with and are satisfied with through community-driven recommendations. This creates a transparent and neutral space for members to share their experiences, while the association remains an impartial facilitator of these insights.
- AI Support: Throughout the product, AI is leveraged to drive efficiency, generate unique vendor descriptions, enhance content quality, and provide actionable data insights. This transforms Insight Guide from a standard directory into an intelligent, dynamic marketplace that delivers deeper value to everyone.
Above all, Insight Guide cares. Our clients and their success are our top priorities, so we think strategically alongside them, we help them look good by delivering an innovative and easy-to-use product, and support them by making our team accessible around-the-clock. We also proudly donate 1% of all sales processed through the platform to social-good organizations such as Autism Speaks.
Fox Tales: Is it white-labeled?
Baker: Yes, Insight Guide is a fully white-labeled, highly configurable SaaS platform. The marketplace operates on a subdomain of the association’s main website, ensuring a seamless user experience while boosting visibility through SEO. Since the content is unique and association-branded, it improves both discoverability and credibility.
Fox Tales: How can you guarantee revenue? That’s certainly a point of differentiation.
Baker: Insight Guide enables associations to bundle listing subscriptions with exhibitor sales or other sponsored opportunities. For example, one association increased their booth fees by 7%, generating an additional $39,000 in annual revenue. This increase is defensible because the marketplace is included and it provides year-round value through leads, brand awareness, and thought leadership opportunities. This is just one way associations are mitigating the cost of the solution and generating unseen non-dues revenue.
Fox Tales: Do suppliers have to be members to participate?
Baker: The platform is flexible enough to meet different use cases. Some associations choose to keep their marketplace exclusive to members, while others open it to non-members to maximize engagement and revenue opportunities. In most cases, associations leverage the platform as a non-dues revenue generator, allowing suppliers to upgrade their listings to unlock premium features, enhanced visibility, and better lead-generation opportunities.