Strategic Opportunities for Associations - Right Now

By / Meredith Low

There is increased risk for most organizations right now— there always is in a recession, let alone everything else that’s going on. Yet, even now, there are strategic opportunities for associations that should not be overlooked.

A chance to connect with everyone

Activities have moved to the virtual realm and seem likely to stay there for a while, even if some reopening is taking place. (Just because events might becomelegalin a particular jurisdiction doesn’t mean that people will be comfortable or able to attend. Unfortunately, there’s still no cure, no effective treatment, and no vaccine for COVID-19.)

Countries like Canada have far more geography than people. It’s always seemed surprising to me that Canadian associations aren’t absolutely fantastic about virtual access to services. (Some are great; many have been heavily reliant on in-person events, though.) Now’s a great chance to capitalize on that potential, seems to me.

Think about:

• People in remote areas who lack the time or budget to travel to in-person events.

• Those whose interest is relatively low, who may not have bothered to attend an event but who might sign up for a webinar.

• People outside your usual geographic area entirely, for whom now there are no barriers to participating in—and paying you for—content.

• Non-members or former members who don’t see enough value in membership—yet—but who might try out a snack-sized relationship.

Even if you continue to create and develop your activities aimed squarely at, say, your traditional members within your geographic catchment area, you can market them to this broader audience. Then, think about what you would do with these folks if they do sign up. Do you cultivate, market, try to convert them to membership, or something else?

Mobilize members

One of the theories for why people are so willing to engage politically right now is that there is not much else to do. (Note: this is just one small element of analysis of the current political moment.) Now, your members might be terribly busy with their work, especially if they are in a sector like health care. Many of them have extra demands on their time if they have children at home. But your members perhaps do have a little extra bandwidth or may be craving some novelty in terms of how they engage with you and with each other.

Do you have advocacy goals where you can activate your membership to provide you with stories to tell or with numbers to show to decision-makers? Are there new opportunities to pursue your policy agenda, given the shifting political landscape? Consider whether your members might be open to new ways toengage, precisely because of this situation.

Another analysis of the current political moment is that decades of activism and organizing has made people willing to contemplate previously unthinkable ideas. And of course that’s also an argument to mobilize your members if you can. You don’t always know when the time will be ripe for your ideas. ▪

Learn more at https://meredithlow.com/