--- title: "Membership Hack: American Dental Association’s Listening Tour" id: "37954" type: "post" slug: "membership-hack-american-dental-associations-listening-tour" published_at: "2017-04-28T21:53:58+00:00" modified_at: "2017-04-28T21:53:58+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/04/28/membership-hack-american-dental-associations-listening-tour/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/04/28/membership-hack-american-dental-associations-listening-tour.md" excerpt: "A team from the American Dental Association visits dentist offices to listen to members’ unmet needs." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "listening" - "Member Engagement" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Director" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Membership Hack: American Dental Association’s Listening Tour **How to hack it?** Stephanie Moritz calls it “being a fly on the wall.” The American Dental Association’s chief communications officer, Moritz recently decided to conduct a “listening tour” with members as a way to understand their deeper needs and challenges. The two- to four-hour [office visits](http://associationsnow.com/2016/03/day-in-the-life-of-members/) are part of ADA’s design thinking approach, “a concept that starts with the end user’s experience and builds out from there,” she says. “The first step is our listening tour to better understand our members’ unmet needs and motivations, as well as where, when, and how to best reach them.” So far, her team has made 10 office visits with dentists from a range of backgrounds and experience levels. **Why does it work?**“Ultimately, what we’re hoping to do is develop new products and services that will help better meet needs today and tomorrow,” Moritz says. After the in-person visits, she and her team conduct follow-up interviews with several member panels. These are typically remote and digital encounters, where members can preview and test ideas. **What’s the bonus?**ADA has already begun to see strong results from their listening tour and the application of design-thinking principles. “We saw these dentists at work and put ourselves in their shoes,” Moritz says. “And with the member panels we can quickly turn ideas or insights into actions.” For instance, Moritz heard that members were often busy but took time in the day to check Facebook. That led her communications and marketing team to try Facebook Live video streaming. ADA is currently testing this platform and hosting conversations regarding [dental guidelines and procedures (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/april/questions-about-fluoride-join-the-facebook-live-conversation) . “It’s a really cool way to engage differently with our members,” Moritz says. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Tim Ebner](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/) Tim Ebner is communications director and press secretary at the American Forest & Paper Association in Washington, DC. He is a member of ASAE’s Communication Professionals Advisory Council and a former Associations Now senior editor. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/) Tags: [#listening](https://associationsnow.com/tag/listening/) [#Member Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F04%2F28%2Fmembership-hack-american-dental-associations-listening-tour%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !