Ideally, the operational order is this: 1.   Strategic Planning identifies one of the following as a strategic issue: Communicating the value of membership Define and communicate our value to members Poor awareness of value of membership Explaining our worth to members Shift away from events; be innovative in providing offerings directly related to members’ […]

Your value proposition is not your logo or your mission statement. Below are popular marketing terms and their definitions: Strategic Planning and Value Proposition: How they work together: Strategic Planning is your opportunity to step back from your daily operations to look at your organization today, and what needs to change in order to address […]

Did you know “North America offers some of the most unique, inspiring and colorful gems found on this Earth?” So says Noreen Paris, who sources one of my favorite jewelry brands, David Yurman. I contend you’ll find some unexpected gems in your membership when you bring everyday members to the table to help you uncover […]

Associations and businesses spend money, time and man hours on all kinds of business issues: be it financial, policy, member, technology, education, customer service issues – and this is the short list. Many spend no time at all discussing, discovering, and investing in the most critical business issue: their value proposition. A value proposition is […]

For many of us, our world revolves around making lists: priority activities for the day, grocery lists for the big meal, a daily to-do list to make sure it all gets done. Lists help us focus on what’s most important and establish order. With that in mind, here’s a list of what I call the […]

Kudos to you, Association Executive and team. You, who have spent valuable time building a foundation to support your members’ business. You identified important member segments. You dug into their sensibilities and rationales to define what will make their business better. Your value proposition links what you do exceptionally well to what members most need. […]

Have you ever been to a party when someone suggested, “Let’s play charades and the teams are the boys against the girls?” That is the most basic kind of segmentation – or clustering. A cluster is a group of people who have one or more like characteristics. Simple clustering or segmenting looks at the groups […]

Every organization is different, but we hear similar feedback from Association Executives about why they need to breakthrough value:I just have this feeling that beyond involved members, there is a disconnect about what the organization brings to the table. We need a way to highlight what we do that’s different. We deliver so many services, […]

You and your leadership invested significant time and effort in developing your association’s value proposition – a simple, concise message that connects what you do with the most pressing needs and concerns of your members. You no doubt have a nice graphic depicting the value proposition and everyone feels really good about the work accomplished. […]