Most associations are great at creating new programs in response to member demands. But how many are good at sunsetting low-performers or leaders’ pets? How many take the time to assess products and services and then make strategic decisions based on performance and organizational impacts?
At our first quarter McKinley breakfast, I presented to a group of clients and attempted to answer these questions and more. Associations are unique in the challenges they face in managing a diverse program portfolio. Unlike the for-profit world, your primary goal is not to increase shareholder value; rather it’s to meet the ever-growing needs of members while advancing the mission. So it’s no surprise that many associations lack the flexibility of for-profit organizations to invest resources in analytics at the program level. And without objective information that comes from such analytics, strategic decisions on offerings are made on what is available: namely intuition, past experience, etc. Another challenge is momentum: associations are often reluctant to stop projects underway.
These factors, collectively, can pose real difficulties in identifying and discussing the true value and the true cost of a program. The bottom line: the ability to objectively see how your offerings impact your organization will allow you to make informed decisions on how best to allocate resources, where to accelerate and where to slow down, ultimately enhancing your ability to meet strategic goals.
And we have reason to believe that associations are gearing up to expand. McKinley recently published its annual Economic Impact on Associations study and a key finding indicated a shift toward program expansion. “More than six-in-ten respondents (61%) reported that their associations are currently expanding or planning to expand their programs and services this year.” As the association community continues to recover from the economic recession, it is likely that core membership will expand and the demand on internal infrastructure and operational capacity will increase. Now more than ever, it is imperative for associations to evaluate and prioritize existing products and services. There are often many more ways in which to launch new projects than there are to retire them.
Conducting a portfolio assessment is one way to work through these challenges and provide actionable data to inform strategic decisions. A full portfolio assessment enables you to understand:
- Your offerings in the context of member usage and value
- The current resource allocation
- The true cost your association bears to provide that initiative
To give you an overview of a portfolio assessment see the diagram below which illustrates the three main components of a program assessment: Purpose & Scope, Data Collection, and Summary & Analysis.
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Geoffrey Jaroch, MBA, CAE, Senior Director of Marketing for the College of American Pathologists and McKinley’s Mike Norbut recently wrote an article “Hitting the Bull’s-Eye: Avoid a Dartboard Approach to Pricing,” which appeared in the March 2013 issue of FORUM magazine, published by the Association Forum of Chicagoland. See below for an excerpt.
5 Questions for Strategic Pricing
With a disciplined approach to pricing, you can minimize guesswork and maximize revenue opportunities.
The process starts with five key questions about your members, your competition and your product, which will help you zero in on an optimal price that increases sales as well as profits.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) recently asked those questions. Based in Northfield, Ill., it has more than 18,000 pathologist members and is constantly looking for ways to help them improve their skills and enhance their education. One opportunity that CAP identified a few years ago was a set of certificate programs based on cutting-edge topics in pathology. Catering to small groups of 20 or less per class, the College wanted to create a rigorous, hands-on program that would generate demand based on the quality of the education and the exclusivity of the certificate.
At McKinley, we often talk about the tremendous value of longitudinal research. Indeed, we try to continually remind ourselves (and our clients) that while taking a one-time snapshot of member perception is certainly valuable, expanding the research discipline to track key data over time opens up a whole new window on market intelligence and strategic decision making.
Nowhere can we see this more clearly than in our recently released 2013 Economic Impact on Associations (EIA) Study. Marking the sixth installment in our ongoing benchmarking series, the 2013 EIA study provides a glimpse of the current perceptions within our sector as well as clear illustrations of trending data that becomes so valuable in looking at the impact of changes over time.
The optimism seen in previous studies continued this year as associations begin to regain a sense of stability. Respondents from nearly every industry sector reported higher overall 5-year net membership trends; even those from sectors that were deeply impacted by the recession. This renewed sense of stability is causing many associations to shift from implementing short-term solutions, like hiring freezes and budget cutbacks, to focusing on efforts which require resources but promise deeper return-on-investment. As part of this process, 70% of respondents are examining and considering making changes to their membership model in order to achieve other association goals. What is your association planning for 2013?
In the past year, have you made or have you considered making, significant changes to your membership structure and benefits packages?
