COMPASS Consultants Corporation
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Ron McKenzie - Architect. Author. Advisor.
"COMPASS Consultants Can
Help Point You in the
Right Direction"
The Association Challenge
Association Economy
When the economy gets tight, association members find themselves getting less work, and in many cases, less profitable work. Their first reaction is to look for ways to cut expenses, which will create more cash in the business to pay their overhead. Oddly enough, the first thing they cut is marketing and advertising, which is viewed as an expense by most companies. Smart companies understand that marketing and advertising is an integral part of the dynamic of the business. They realize that you change the programs, you don't cut them. When they're cut, this contributes to the snowball effect, and their problem gets worse. Then they begin to cut staff; some of these people may be the very people that attend the association meetings and training sessions. So, the next step to save money is to cut the association expense.
So, what's the answer for the association? What should they do?
The ideal situation is to create programs of value that will minimize members from leaving, and attract new paying members.
But what programs?
"It will cost TEN
times the
amount of money
to sign a new member, compared to the
effort to retain
an already
paying member."
The answers are hidden in the needs and wants of the current members and prospects. The universal dilemma is the associations always think they know what the prospective members want, but since the demographics and economy changes over time, needs and wants also change. They may very well want and need something entirely different than five years ago.
Having worked with associations in the past, I know how to identify these needs and wants, engage the members, and how to develop programs to retain current members, and to get new ones.
If you’re interested, give me a call and I can talk to you about my ideas. You might be able to accomplish this yourself, but I would be available to guide the project, or lead it from beginning to end.
The desired outcome is increased members and improved cash flow.
