Does Your Association Outdistance For Profit Competition?

for profit competitionDoes Your Association Outdistance For Profit Competition? At a time when for profit competitors pursue convention & conference space once owned by Associations, CEOs determined to thrive are reinvesting & sharpening their organizational competitive edge. In one case, PMMI www.pmmi.org, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, an organization whose principal source of funding comes from trade shows, takes nothing for granted. According to Chuck Yuska, President & CEO, the board & staff team always compete to maintain their “Convening Authority” mantle.

Strategic Partnership Emphasis

Securing market alignment is key for PMMI. Members & staff collaborate on annual goals, objectives, and measurements for the upcoming year.

Yuska emphasizes “we want to help our members be more competitive, give them the tools & information to grow their business, minimize their risks and obtain new business practices that help them become better companies and be more profitable.”

Address Member Pain Points   

Successful Associations like PMMI remain connected with member pain points, & provide business tangible solutions to:

1. Help members succeed. Support member global market needs, produce trade shows & conferences that studiously link buyers & sellers, members, & their customers.

2.  Use Customer Feedback Loop. Utilize exhibitor, member, & customer analytics & feedback to continuously improve takeaway value for all members & show participants.

3. Maintain High Relevance Factor. Accelerate organizational visibility through traditional & social media, direct mail, and industry channels.

4. Reinvest. Deliver the next “new thing,” and expand opportunities for members & customers.

Does Your Association Outdistance For Profit Competition?

for profit competitionDespite $2 million net operating performance in 2012 & 2013, and 7% operating growth and 95% retention in 2013, PMMI looks to consistently enhance its competitive position.

What’s next for PMMI? Expansion into regional trade shows with Pack Expo East www.packexpoeast.com. 

For a free copy of the “Accelerating Strategic Member Engagement” eBook, request your copy at www.potomaccore.com.

for profit competition

By Dan Varroney

3 decades of experience working with multiple Industries and understanding different Association challenges by helping build strategies that add long term value. Comprehensive understanding of Associations, as Senior Vice President for the National Association of Manufacturers’ National Membership & Grass Roots operation, as President of the American Solutions Advocacy organization, & as President and CEO of the Association for Corporate Growth. Considerable background on impact of legislative and regulatory policy on Industries, has provided analysis on economic performance and M&A trends in outlets that include CNBC, CNBC Europe, Fox News, Fox Business, Dow Jones Marketwatch, Bloomberg, and the BBC. Strategic perspectives are frequently sought out by CEO Update, a leading source for Association news and information. Authored over 145 blog articles on Strategic Planning & Member Engagement. Facilitates knowledge sharing among forty -five Association CEO’s at the Growth Strategies & Member Engagement Forum.  Served as a member of the Prince William County, Virginia Strategic Business Planning Team. District Three Councilman in the Village of Palatine, Cook County, Illinois, twenty one years. B.A. in American History from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. and earned a Certificate from the Yale School of Management, New Haven, Connecticut in Leadership and Team Effectiveness. Member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).