ON POINT ARTICLES
EDGE-UCATION
FIVE THINGS THE PANDEMIC REMINDED US ABOUT MEMBER VALUE IAPCO Member: ICS Author: Matt Riley
Educator Randy Paush once said that “Experience is what you
But beyond just being a business necessity, diversifying our
get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” There’s no question
associations’ offerings is also a sound member value strategy.
that the global pandemic has prevented us as association pro-
Associations that had pinned their entire value proposition on
fessionals from getting many of the things that we wanted for
one or two conferences saw large drops in membership during
our associations and ourselves. But as we look to the future,
the pandemic, whereas those that were able to occupy a more
this is the perfect time to consider the experience we’ve gained
holistic role as industry advisors, advocates, and relationship
and how it can help us to refocus on member value. Here are a
brokers saw membership numbers stay much more resilient
few that stand out for me.
in the face of event cancellations or shifts to virtual. Going forward, the most successful associations will be the ones that
1. The value of trust is at an all-time high.
deliver a broad variety of offerings, to avoid major disruptions to both their revenue and their value proposition.
Study after study shows that the pandemic has accelerated the already declining level of public trust in institutions. This is a huge challenge for associations and society at large, but here’s
3. The “cannibalization” of live events by virtual ones is a myth.
one potential silver lining - associations that can still manage to earn and maintain high levels of trust among their audienc-
Has there ever been a bigger moment for virtual events than
es can shine like never before.
2020 and 2021? Thanks to the pandemic, even the staunchest luddites have been taking 10 video calls a day and even the
Research for the American Society of Association Executives’
humblest of virtual event tech startups is fending off funding
"Impact of Associations on Society” study showed that associ-
and acquisition offers left and right.
ation professionals, members, and nonmembers rated associations’ role as a “trusted source of information” as their most
And yet, at the same time, is there anyone who isn’t desperate
important role in the past and present and for the future. Diffi-
to get back to in-person travel and conferences? If virtual at its
cult to earn, and very easy to lose, this “trust score” will be our
peak still hasn’t replaced the demand for in-person events, can
most important currency going forward, and a key element of
we finally just put this age-old fear to rest once and for all?
how stakeholders evaluate our member value proposition.
Going forward, I hope we can all start doing what savvy associations always have, that is – recognizing live and virtual
2. Live events have to be part of a diversified portfolio of revenue streams.
events as two powerful tools in our toolbox and using each to its greatest advantage to deliver member value. Let’s use our live events to create impactful, world-class experiences that
As an association management consultant, I find that revenue
surprise and delight, and create meaningful connections be-
diversification is unfortunately one of those conversations
tween people. And let’s leverage virtual to deliver convenient,
that boards don’t really value until it becomes concrete. As the
just-in-time, bite-sized chunks of learning, engagement, and
pandemic sidelined the in-person conferences that many as-
key messaging.
sociations were relying on for most, if not all, of their nondues revenue, revenue diversification became an urgent topic out of necessity. 16
| July 2021
