Published by
UpSquad Team
on
2 min read
2 min read
Leaders Leading
The idea of connecting people and businesses has always been a central part of how city leaders lead. In the past, leaders would invite citizens and corporations to in-person gatherings where important relationships were created. While in-person interactions are still vital to a city, today’s environment also calls for a digital ‘city square.’ A singular space where important information is shared and always available.
A digital city square is the exact concept that The City of Memphis, TN envisioned. In order to make this vision a reality, The city tapped UpSquad, Inc. to create a dedicated online community. This new business-centric ecosystem is headed up by the city's communications team and will help build collaboration between local/regional businesses and of course the city’s citizenry.
Mobile-First, For Better or Worse
UpSquad’s unique and proprietary platform is first and foremost an intuitive tool, which is simple to navigate and even easier to use. As we all know, if it’s complicated you might as well not even get started with it. UpSquad’s user-first approach allows for easy and authentic engagement with fellow members, which is the end-goal of any online community.
Perhaps more important than functionality and user-friendliness is the concept of mobile-first. For better or for worse, we live in a mobile environment and The City of Memphis is no different. The city’s leadership team was seeking a solution allowing business leaders and citizens to stay connected to the city at all times: a one-stop shop for everything Memphis, if you will. 
Specifically, UpSquad’s mobile application provides Memphis with in-device or push notifications. Let’s consider a business owner in Memphis who competes for contracts and procurement opportunities. As you are most likely aware, business owners are stretched and pulled in a dozen directions on a daily basis simply operating their business. The concept of checking a procurement site for opportunities or even sifting through dozens of emails is not exactly efficient. With push notifications, important updates are clearly visible the moment that opportunity hits the online community.
In addition to driving business from a contract and procurement standpoint, Memphis’s online community serves as the digital hub for important interactions and events. Training classes, workshops, mastermind sessions, special interest meetings, and essentially any other gathering will be planned, executed and stored in the Memphis community. Recordings for online sessions are available to members on-demand. The online community will also provide the valuable and actionable behavioral data on what matters most community members. We all have opinions on which topics are most popular or important; however, concrete metrics are hard to argue with.
Wrapping It Up
In conclusion, the concept of community has never been more relevant. Delivering the right information at the right time absolutely matters, especially to business owners. The City of Memphis understands this concept and is leading the way. If your city, municipality, or organization would like to learn more about how online communities are changing the way we communicate, UpSquad is here to assist.