Knowing Member “Up at Night” Issues Accelerates Association Growth & Positioning

up at nightKnowing Member “Up at Night” Issues Accelerates Association Growth & Positioning. Trade Associations and Professional Societies with upward trending 3-year operating results are far more likely to better understand member “up at night” issues and to engage members in acting upon those needs. This and other relevant actionable data was released in a joint survey of 307 Association Executives conducted through the collaborative effort of Vertical Leap Consulting, icimo, and Potomac Core Consulting.

Up at Night Issues: What Members Care About Most

Strategic Member Engagement is mostly about understanding member “up at night” issues and the outcomes that Association Members seek instead of focusing on member satisfaction with an association’s current “outputs” (products or services).

3 Year Operating Results

Associations who identify member “up at night” issues and then engage their members in solutions are far more likely to report strong performance in Member Retention, Annual Operating Revenue, Registrations to Primary Annual Meetings, Annual Revenue from Fee for Service Offerings, and Timely Membership Renewals. Trade Associations and Professional Societies reflecting upward trends also more frequently have these capabilities:

  1. Very highly engaged boards who are strategic in focus
  2. Regularly conduct member impact surveys (not merely “satisfaction” surveys)
  3. Ability to gather and segment member data; especially if able to integrate data from multiple sources/platforms
  4. Very high degree of board understanding and strategizing about the needs of the average member
  5. Have identified member segments who most want to contribute knowledge and collaborate with other members
  6. Have identified specific behaviors that foreshadow future increases in knowledge and contribution and collaboration

Knowing Member “Up at Night” Issues Accelerates Association Growth & Positioning

Having a firm grip on Member “Up at Night” Issues has game change potential for Associations.  Ultimately it helps align organizations with the things that their members really care about.

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

up at night

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).