The Challenge: It’s no secret that many industries were affected by the economic conditions of the Great Recession. As a result, some trade associations were impacted more than others. For example, printing associations experienced a decrease in memberships due to consolidations, buy-outs, and increased digital marketing and communications. A New Idea: One printing association in particular, when faced with lost membership and non-dues revenue, recognized it was critical to evaluate their programs and member benefits. They determined that, in the […]

The GrowthZone team is again providing a free “Shop Local First” Facebook cover image (the image and download instructions are below). We’re also including a “Top 10 Reasons to Shop Local First” list. Use it for social media posts for a “Small Business Saturday Countdown” or for talking points when promoting the “Shop Local First” message.   Top 10 Reasons to Shop Local First To shape and preserve our distinctive community character Local competition and diversity leads to more product choices It keeps and recirculates money in […]

Exceptional new member experiences are key to association success. In this FREE, on-demand webinar, membership expert Amanda Kaiser explains why associations are focusing on new members in order to successfully engage all members. In her interactive presentation, Amanda helps association professionals: learn how to turn the renewal process entirely upside-down for better results. see why engaging new members within 3 days to 3 weeks is critical. walk away knowing the most powerful (yet most under under-leveraged) key to engaging new […]

Coming up with ideas for social media posts can be stressful and time-consuming. The social media success formula indicates that only 10% of posts should be about your organization. So, what about the rest of your posts? A simple technique for keeping on pace with your content calendar is to post about holidays and events. Here’s how to write an association blog article people will actually read » Here are several holiday and event ideas for your October social media posts: […]

It’s a fact that a member’s decision to renew is profoundly influenced by their experience when they first join – is your association fueling exceptional new-member experiences? Join us on Thursday, October 11th, when membership expert and guest presenter, Amanda Kaiser, will explain how associations can focus on new members in order to successfully engage all members. In her presentation, “Fueling Exceptional New Member Experiences,” Amanda will help attendees: • Learn how to turn the renewal process entirely upside-down for […]

Membership pro, Frank Kenny, explains how to build a board of directors that is representative of your members (and why it’s important you do so). When you scan the faces of your board members, what do you see? How many are men? How old are they? Are they mostly of the same race? When I am prepping for facilitating a strategic planning retreat or board orientation I always ask the CEO, “How well does your association’s board reflect your members […]