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Tradewing
What Is Tradewing?
Designed for the unique needs of small to medium-sized associations, Tradewing delivers a modern, user-friendly, and customizable member social community as well as a built-in suite of virtual meeting tools for everything from continuing education up to full-service conferences.
We make it easy to grow and retain your members while creating new opportunities to increase non-dues revenue.
Tradewing works right out of the box and easily integrates with most AMSs and other key tools.
Who Uses Tradewing?
Small to medium-sized associations and non-profits.
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Reviews of Tradewing
Alternatives Considered:
Quick rollout and very user friendly
Comments: We did our customization and rollout very quickly so we could hold an upcoming conference in the platform. It was so easy to set up and very intuitive! I'm our only staff person and I was concerned that rolling out a new platform ahead of a big event would be too much to take on. Our TradeWing support person ([SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]) is amazing and is there to help us every step of the way! I am constantly pleasantly surprised at how easy this software is. Not only for us, but for our members as well. We are excited to see this already adding value for our members in such a short time!
Pros:
We were looking for a platform that combined a community and a place to host online events. On the community side, we love the simple layout and ease of use not only for our admin team but also for our members. We love that there is a gamification factor with our members earning badges. On the events side, they are very easy to set up, have a professional look and feel and our members appreciate that they are easy to attend without having to download a new system. Overall, this platform has simplified our communication with members and the ease of use has enabled us to spend more time doing our mission of work, rather than having to band-aid numerous systems together.
Cons:
As in all platforms, there are limitations. For us, we haven't noticed anything that is holding us back. However, we are excited for upcoming improvements like a mobile app and better analytics.
Alternatives Considered:
Great Product and Incredible Customer Care
Comments: So far, my overall experience with Tradewing is exceptional. We are hosting our first major event on this platform in about two weeks, and the support has been excellent in helping to ensure our success. I'm excited to put this platform to work as our regular day-to-day member engagement tool after the conference.
Pros:
It is very easy to use, super intuitive, and the visual layout is very easy on the eyes. Clean and professional design.
Cons:
There are a few features on the 'wish list', but the company is very open to suggestions for possible implementation in future releases.
Alternatives Considered:
Avoid Disappointment by Going Elsewhere
Comments: The sales experience proceeded well. We had a team vetting the product, which can become overwhelming, but the salesperson was focused and professional. The build, too, went well. Where it went downhill was once the final product was unveiled. While the member backend functioned as promised, the public-facing website "design" was so simplistic that it looked unfinished and unprofessional. Where before we had a nice aesthetic and a home page with a rotating image, we now had a single image that was far too small for the expansive white background. When we asked for a rotating banner image on the home page to help fill the space, we were told that TradeWing did not have the capability to supply that basic website feature. More importantly, while we had been clear from their sales demo to the build that we were looking for an all-inclusive product to replace our old website and the collection of systems that we had been using, we found (when we noticed plain text on the new website where there had previously been a link) that document storage was also not something that TradeWing could handle. Instead, their recommendation for the hundreds of documents that were to be linked from our website (like member applications and sample policies) was to set up a Google docs account to store the documents which would then have to be linked in from the website. Our webinar archive - which we had also been clear about needing to maintain - was similarly problematic to them. After discussions with our developer, it became apparent that they were not going to be able to deliver on the all-inclusive product that was promised and contracted for. We, consequently, stopped the build, cancelled the service, and requested a refund of what we had paid. In response, the [sensitive content hidden] requested meeting with me first, and a meeting was set up but had to be rescheduled. Since we were now in a time bind on the website, we found a new product and contracted with a different vendor for what we needed in the interim. When I let the [sensitive content hidden] know that we had signed a contract with another vendor, his communications stopped and, despite months of repeated emailed requests to the developer and the [sensitive content hidden] , we never received any refund. If you want an all-inclusive product, then avoid disappointment and spending money and time unnecessarily by going somewhere else.
Pros:
Probably the thing that sold us on it was the Forum feature that not only posted online but also sent posts to emails.
Cons:
We already had a website, but were also using a host of systems cobbled together to give us the remaining functionality that we needed. What I had inquired about, and was clear about from the beginning, was that we wanted a single all-inclusive system from the website to the backend that included all of the Resource materials that we maintain for members, including our webinar archive and that we did not want to cobble systems together any longer. However, while the sales person and contract reinforced that they could deliver on my requests, the final product did not which required us to seek out another vendor.
Tradewing was the right choice for our Association
Comments: Tradewing has helped us provide our member base a platform that provides a dedicated communications platform that is exclusive for our member base. No spam or unwanted ads on our platform. We also are excited about the virtual event capabilities as a way of adding a live stream of future live conventions, for our members that traditionally can't attend our live conventions due to cost of travel, room and board which can be high when traveling from the other side of the world. Excellent customer support coupled with a desire for feedback by the developers to IMPROVE the actual platform and make it better, is really part of an amazing experience.
Pros:
What we like the most from our Tradewing platform is that it meets the specific needs we were looking for as far as a unique, dedicated communications platform for our association members. The platform "checked off" the majority of requested communications tools AND provided communication solutions that can be used in the future by the association as well. (Virtual events as an example). We also liked that this specific platform did not have a plethora of other integration tools (accounting as an example) which would be of no added value to our association specifically. The platform seemed as if it was tailored to our specific needs.
Cons:
Some software feature functionality is missing like being able to search beyond name, for country or company name. (This feedback is apparently being addressed by platform developer). Platform also needs more advertising capabilities to assist client with ROI. Portions of the platform screen are empty so being able to run logos or scrolling company banner ads would be great. (Looks like platform developer is working on this capability as well).
If customer service and focus is important to you - you need to check out Tradewing
Comments: Tradewing has provided my association with a user-friendly, reliable product that has improved my communications with members. Exceptional customer service is important to me and they have exceeded my expectations.
Pros:
The staff at Tradewing has worked closely with me to make sure I understand the product and how it can work for me and my members. They provide exceptional customer service, are focused on ways to help me improve my interaction with my members, as well as improving our business. They are genuinely interested in finding ways to improve their product that will help our company grow and expand. I highly recommend Tradewing.
Cons:
The greatest challenge we had was acclimating our members with log-in credentials. This was not because Tradewing made it difficult, but our members are new to the digital world and needed extra efforts and confirmations. Tradewing created white papers with guidelines for us to use so members could be reminded until it became natural.
