The Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) is a professional association that serves a diverse range of professionals and businesses involved in architectural woodwork, including manufacturers, suppliers, installers, architects, designers, educators, and students. Offering a wealth of resources—from technical standards to best practices—it aims to refine the craftsmanship of those dedicated to advancing the woodwork profession and push the boundaries of innovation in woodwork.

AWI members benefit from educational programs and events, industry expert reports, sponsorship and networking opportunities, and a member directory to advance their careers and facilitate business-to-business collaborations within the industry.

Project Objectives

AWI had a website with limited membership management capabilities that did not align with their specific needs for user experience, customization, or scalability. The platform struggled to deliver a personalized member experience, manage complex membership structures, or seamlessly integrate educational resources.

AWI approached Advanced Communities to develop a visually appealing Salesforce solution that would address these challenges. The goal was to create a member platform that provided easy access to educational materials and events, supported networking through the portal, created a customized join process, and delivered tailored membership offers based on subscription type.

Solution

This was a significant project that included website development from scratch—covering everything from design and custom development to implementation and ongoing enhancements using Salesforce-native solutions for effectively managing members and organizing AWI’s knowledge base. Advanced Communities also assisted with data migration from AWI’s legacy system to Salesforce and provided educational sessions to help the AWI team adopt Salesforce more easily and learn the platform faster.

The main scope of work included:

● Salesforce implementation

● Building a brand-new member portal on Salesforce Experience Cloud

● Creating a user-friendly, intuitive website design that aligns with the AWI brand requirements

● Implementing and configuring AC MemberSmart and AC Knowledge Management Enterprise solutions for Experience Cloud

● Delivering a custom member subscription solution

● Implementing personalization features

● Providing education on the Salesforce platform

AWI is now our managed services client, and we continue to support them with all their Salesforce needs even after the project’s completion, making sure everything works smoothly, helping them work smarter, not harder, and getting the most out of their new system.

Our goal is to make sure AWI feels supported and confident in their new tech setup, so we’re always there having their back with all Salesforce, AC MemberSmart, and AC Knowledge Management Enterprise needs.

Benefits & Results

● With the event management functionality in place, AWI can now organize and promote online and in-person events more easily while providing a personalized registration experience for both members and non-member users. Their platform handles everything from planning and registration to keeping attendees engaged and tracking event success—all seamlessly integrated within Salesforce. The system is smartly integrated with the member portal, creating a user-friendly experience that benefits everyone. Members can now discover events tailored to their interests and register in just a few clicks. For AWI, this means a game-changing approach to member engagement: they can create, promote, and manage events more efficiently and ultimately deliver greater value to their community. 

● Partnering with Advanced Communities has completely transformed how AWI manages their subscriptions, taking everything to a whole new level! Now, AWI can handle both personal and organizational subscriptions with ease and offer flexible payment options like annual or monthly plans based on custom subscription rules.They can implement different pricing structures, including offering tailored rates for new and renewal subscriptions, as well as for members who wish to switch to a different subscription type. With features like auto-renewals, invoice payments, embedded bank card options, grace periods, and monthly trial subscriptions, AWI now has all the tools they need to make subscription management simple, efficient, and member-friendly. 

● With the new Member Directory, AWI has created a go-to space for networking and collaboration within their community. Members can easily connect and engage with each other, building stronger ties and boosting platform activity. Advanced search and filtering options make it simple to find professionals based on industry, location, manufacturer organization or licence  type, or even member subscription type — helping members find exactly who they need to grow relationships, spark collaborations, and open up new opportunities for business and professional growth.

● AWI now has an intuitively designed, well-structured, one-page knowledge base where all resources, documentation, and educational files are organized and easily accessible to members. This design makes it incredibly convenient for AWI members to find the resources they need on a single page using intuitive filters. They can filter data by categories, resource types, or specific criteria such as fastener or material type, duty level, core thickness, and more. 

With collapsible sections, users can easily navigate through long knowledge articles in a simple and intuitive way. Plus, members following specific articles stay informed about any updates or changes, thanks to personalized notifications.

● Through AWI’s online shop, both members and non-members have the opportunity to purchase books, booklets, and other educational materials to gain unique industry insights and deepen their knowledge in the field of architectural woodwork.

Learn more about Advanced Communities:

Visit AC Consulting Services page on the Salesforce AppExchange.