Identifying new revenue sources is top of mind for most Association executives right now. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was much discussion in association circles about how legacy business models may not ensure future sustainability.
There are a variety of “drivers of change” that are changing how people connect and learn. Quality information is increasingly ubiquitous and affordable (increasingly free), and there are more options for like-minded professionals to connect and learn from one another as for-profit companies recognize the power of convening. These trends are eroding the profitability of traditional sources of Association revenue, particularly from conferences and publications.
Ecosystem Value Mapping Can Lead To Revenue Opportunities
Ecosystem Value Mapping is a valuable exercise for any organization exploring options for growth and innovation. An ecosystem map is a visual depiction of an organization’s business environment. It identifies all the organization’s primary stakeholders and the value link for each relationship. You can also expand it to show secondary relationships that indirectly influence the organization.
By identifying and analyzing the existing and potential value chains, opportunities inevitably surface. This ideation exercise helps to identify possible strategies for revenue generation. Each idea can then be further explored and ranked based on mission alignment, revenue potential, resource requirements, and risk.
Common stakeholders for associations include members, vendors, industry suppliers, policymakers, media, and other industry influencers. During this exercise, it’s important not to leave out competitors and related associations. Sometimes the most promising opportunities come from partnering with an “unlikely bedfellow.” Too often, similar associations view each other as competitors when they should see one another as potential partners. On policy matters, associations partner regularly. Association government affairs teams are experts at coalition building and bringing together diverse stakeholders to achieve a common goal. Association executives can learn from this approach and apply it to other aspects of their organization. The goal is to identify opportunities — particularly pain points — so partnering together will achieve something that the two organizations could not have accomplished on their own.
Relevance for Healthcare Associations
Ecosystem mapping can be particularly relevant for healthcare associations where missions align on improving patient outcomes. A well-known and documented pain point in healthcare delivery is care coordination. I experienced this first-hand when I coordinated the care of my mother, who was battling lung cancer. Cancer patients often have multiple specialists involved in their care. In my mother’s case, she had a thoracic oncologist, a pulmonologist, and a general practitioner. During her illness, we also consulted thoracic surgeons and worked with interventional radiologists. Each of the doctors we worked with was highly skilled and well-intentioned. But, medicine is not an exact science. What is going on in the body and how it will respond to specific treatments is not always clear. Each specialist brings their perspective based on their training and experience, sometimes leading to conflicting opinions. Further, due to doctors’ demanding schedules and incompatible technology platforms, coordination of recommendations is rare, leaving patients and their families ill-prepared to make life-impacting decisions.
Care coordination is a shared pain point for many healthcare associations. Conducting an ecosystems value mapping exercise and asking the following questions could help identify potential partners for a joint venture that could result in progress on this critical challenge:
Who are the related stakeholders that have alignment with our mission?
Whose cooperation would we need to alleviate this pain point?
Can technology help solve this problem?
Who are technology partners that can help solve this problem?
Is there a revenue motivation to solve this problem, and who would be the beneficiaries?
The answers to these questions will help identify potential partners in which to explore this problem. Each conversation will take a different path. At a minimum, coming together to discuss a common problem will help build stronger relationships with key stakeholders.
Finding Your Focus
Innovation success requires intense focus on learning as much as you can about who to serve and who to seek out as partners. Creating an Ecosystem Value Map is a crucial step in identifying customer segments and strategic partners that best support new opportunities to advance the mission and grow non-dues revenue. Ecosystem analysis is a core method used in finding a focus zone in the Association Venture Opportunity Discovery advisement model.
If Not Now, When?
An innovation mindset is required for this exercise to yield promising ideas. Participants need to leave assumptions and past experiences behind and approach the exercise with an open mind. Innovation is more than incremental changes to existing programs. Innovation requires Association executives to embrace creativity and think big. Considering everything is changing around us, if not now, when?
This article was first published on Association Ventures Playbook.
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