Opportunity? In midst of a global pandemic? Yep. I believe people will look back at this COVID-19 era as a watershed moment that made the association community stronger.
For those of us in the Association world, we are acutely aware that many organizations are struggling right now due to significant revenue losses from canceled meetings, uncertain membership renewals, and strains on staff capacity. But let’s face it, the association industry has never been regarded as "innovation leaders". There are associations that are models for innovation, but they tend to be the exception rather than the standard. As a whole, associations typically watch how other sectors innovate and then slowly adapt. There are far too many associations that are operating today much like they were 20 years ago.
Until now.
In recent weeks, numerous associations have quickly made tough decisions in response to COVID-19. They have pivoted at lightning speed to move programs online and provide the critical information needed to help their members during this crisis. They are thinking critically and strategically about the future.
The disruption of COVID-19 presents opportunities for the association sector to innovate in all aspects of their strategy and operations. Opportunities abound in areas ranging from where and how association staff work, business modeling, revenue generation, to the delivery of value-add services and programs. With the cancellation of in-person conferences, the future of meetings seems to be an area ripe for long-term disruption.
Personally, I believe the growing thinking that the future of association meetings will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual has great benefits, including:
1. Opportunity to engage more people. Traditional conferences limit engagement to those who have the budget and time to attend. Hybrid conferences will allow associations to engage exponentially more people. Higher engagement leads to more revenue through registration fees, future donations, lead generation, and improved member retention.
2. Innovation of the partnership and sponsorship model. The association sponsorship model has been long overdue for innovation. The key to creating long-term, mutually beneficial sponsorships and partnerships is to craft relationships that deliver value to all involved – sponsors/partners, the association, and members. A new hybrid conference model offers the opportunity to remake the standard sponsorship program and think creatively about ways to leverage service providers’ expertise in ways that will benefit our members and key stakeholder groups before, during, and after a conference. The most successful sponsorship programs are ones that deliver value to all parties throughout the year.
3. Repackaging conference content. Association conferences are a source of rich content development. However, some associations have struggled with how to repurpose conference content to support initiatives and goals outside of the “conference.” A hybrid conference model and more online programming will generate more content from a larger pool of resources in formats that are easily shareable. Content can be monetized in a variety of ways including stand-alone offerings as well as through a content marketing strategy.
A lot of work will need to go into developing new strategies to take advantage of these opportunities. But, I am confident that the association community will emerge from this crisis stronger and better off because of it.
Jeanne Metzger has 25 years of association marketing, development and strategy experience. She helps associations and nonprofits achieve their full potential through stakeholder research and engagement, revenue generation, and marketing strategy. Learn more at jeannemetzger.com.
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