FAQS by Associations about ECNs
Q: What is an ECN?
A: An Expert Calling Network or “ECN” is a group of subject matter experts featured in an online directory and paid to offer opinions or knowledge over the phone. All calls, billing, and transaction settlement and payouts are conducted through the ECN platform.By default, each ECN allows for the Expert to post their own rates when they set up their ECN Profile. You may condition an Expert's participation in your ECN
Q: Who sets the calling rates for the Experts that participate in my organization's ECN?
A: By default, each ECN allows for the Expert to post their own rates when they set up their ECN Profile. You may condition an Expert's participation in your ECN on a standard set of rates. However, since each Expert has unique expertise and may have different motivations for participating in an ECN, we recommend that you let the Experts and the market guide the appropriate call rates.
Q: Who selects the "Experts" that would participate in my organization's ECN?
A: You do and you have some choices. You can curate a limited number of experts that you would like to see in the ECN, limit participation to those that have received some credential or certification offered by your organizations, or you can open participation up to every single member of your organization. Regardless of what you decide, we'll disclose to consumers the criteria you use to allow someone into the network in the role of expert.
Q: After an initial call, can the Expert and the Consumer take any follow-up transactions off the ECN platform?
A: From our perspective, it's a perfectly legitimate use of the ECN platform for an Expert and Consumer to take any follow-up transactions off the ECN platform. However, because of the convenience in payment, collection, and disbursement for any call transactions, some Experts may require Consumers to continue to request their expertise through follow up calls through the platform.
Q: Are phone numbers or other personal information shared between callers and Experts?
A: No, phone numbers are not shared between consumers and Experts. Each party is connected through a calling bridge and they never have the direct contact information of the other.
Q: What is the price for my organization to have our own ECN?
A: Unlike many generic services, no two Expert Calling Networks (ECNs) are exactly alike since each organization has a different objective, different network of members, requires a different feature set, etc. Therefore, we will build a custom pricing sheet depending on the configuration best suited to your organization. However, one major benefit of our ECN service is that we have one model (advertising-based) whereby the price to your organization is Zero $ and instead, you would receive a percentage of what we're successfully able to monetize from your network (non-dues revenue).
Q: Can we make our ECN closed to only our members?
A: Yes, we can configure the ECN so that only your authorized members can login and interact with Experts in the ECN. However, this business-to-business approach may limit your ECN's potential and so we recommend that every organization consider the merits of an open, business-to-consumer ECN (whereby "consumer" is defined broadly and can include other businesses or industry peers).
Q: Can the ECN be integrated with an association's AMS?
A: Yes. Depeneding on the AMS, integration may require some additional set-up fees, but yes, it is possible.