Case Studies: Delta Delta Delta Fraternity

“Before Affinity Circles, there were really just two ways for Tri Delta alumnae to organize themselves: either in a collegiate chapter, or in an alumnae chapter that was based in the town where they live. Affinity Circles gives our members a new way to stay connected and allows them to group themselves not only by geography but also based on interests.”

-Phyllis Grissom
Senior Director of Operations
Delta Delta Delta Fraternity

Delta Delta Delta Fraternity Background
Delta Delta Delta Fraternity (Tri Delta), founded in 1888, began as an organization concerned with the growth and development of the college woman and has evolved into a leader among sororities. The organization is committed to engaging members for life, through timeless values, meaningful friendships, and innovative opportunities for growth. Beyond the college years, Tri Delta offers its alumnae membership opportunities for leadership, mentoring, community service, and continued personal growth. Ongoing programs and services offered to alumnae include travel programs, involvement with alumnae chapters, volunteer opportunities, and chapter reunions.

Connecting Individual Members to Tri Delta through Technology
Traditionally, Tri Delta’s 140,000 members received information and communications through the organization’s quarterly magazine, The Trident, or through interactions with local collegiate and alumnae chapters. Over the past few years, Tri Delta has transitioned the magazine to a subscription-based offering. In lieu of the magazine, the organization offers other ways for members to stay connected to Tri Delta, including its web site, Life Loyal membership, e-newsletters, chapter events, and Affinity Circles.

Tri Delta was attracted to the Affinity Circles platform because it eliminated geographic barriers to communications, allowing members to use technology to connect with each other based on common interests and preferences. Affinity Circles also supported the organization’s need to keep the most current and updated data on its members. Since gaining access to the Tri Delta affinity circle, users have sent over 25,000 messages, made over 65,000 connections with others on the network, and made over 140,000 updates to user profiles.

“When members go to our affinity circle and see that they’re able to connect with a lot of different people, it’s an incentive for them to trust us with their e-mail and other contact information,” said director of marketing Stacy Gillard. “Obtaining, accurate information on our members is very valuable to sustain ongoing relationships with them, especially after college.”

The Power of Affinity Circles’ Administrative Tools
In addition to benefiting from updated contact information on its affinity circle, Tri Delta also uses the administrative tools available through Circle Manager™ to view an array of data on its members. For example, Circle Manager gives a break down of all members and their year of initiation, which helps the organization target different groups with relevant information. As expected, Tri Delta’s affinity circle is used most by women who have graduated in the last 10 years. The organization plans to target more alumnae members and showcase how this tool can be relevant in their lives.

“In the next year we plan to develop marketing strategies that target different age groups and highlight what is relevant to that user community. We see the administrative tools as being very useful as we develop this process,” Stacy explained.

Also available through inCircle Manager are the top ten interests, hobbies, and activities of members, giving Tri Delta a quick snap-shot of its community, what people like, and what they’re doing. Over time, the administrative tools will help Tri Delta track the success of marketing campaigns by monitoring user activity before, during, and after a campaign is launched.

A Communications Hub for Members
Tri Delta is already seeing the potential of Affinity Circles as a communications hub for its members – both collegiate and alumnae. Whether members are connecting socially or professionally, the organization hopes the Tri Delta affinity circle will be a primary destination for its members to find what they need. Tri Delta has seen the greatest success on its affinity circle among its alumnae groups that actively use the network to promote their events.

“The more we encourage people to get on the site and set up their profile, the more our affinity circle can be a central point where we continually send our members for a variety of different purposes,” commented Stacy.

Another area where Affinity Circles has filled a gap for Tri Delta is with recruiting requests. Previously, Tri Delta did not have a way to satisfy requests from its alumnae professionals for qualified job applicants. Tri Delta’s web site was not used for employment postings and most inquiries for potential employees were handled through personal networks. Now, Tri Delta members who are looking to recruit from the fraternity’s network can use the affinity circle to meet their needs.

Positive Working Relationship Fosters Success
Affinity Circles has been very responsive to the needs of Tri Delta, offering superior customer service and valuable resources. Tri Delta has used content from Affinity Circles’ Marketing Portal for promotions to its members and plans to reference the site frequently for content. Like most organizations, Tri Delta does not have personnel devoted solely to its affinity circle operations and maintenance, making the support and expertise from Affinity Circles even more valuable.

“We’re enthusiastic about the content on the Marketing Portal and we value the service. The benefit of working with Affinity Circles is that they help us with content, so there is less that we have to generate on our own. We plan to use the site as an ongoing resource.”

-Phyllis Grissom
Senior Director of Operations
Delta Delta Delta Fraternity

Affinity Circles can help your organization:

Connect with your alumni community.
Drive quality contact information back to your database.
Increase the effectiveness of your marketing programs.
Empower alumni to manage communications previously handled by your staff.
Create revenue growth opportunities.
Build your brand and demonstrate value to your most important constituency.