FOUR years ago, the American Society of Association Executives’s Marketing Section Council made a report on trends affecting association marketers, which I wish to share with you. Although done some years back, I think these six trends, which Samantha Whitehorne, deputy editor of ASAE’s Associations Now magazine wrote, are still relevant today in the context of the Philippine association community.
Capturing the attention of members
Ninety-seven percent of the survey respondents rated this as the top challenge among association marketing professionals. This is not surprising given the increase in the number of items and services competing for members’ personal and professional attention every day through an ever-increasing variety of channels, notably from the Internet. The importance of “cutting through the clutter” to capture the attention of members was a significant item in the virtual focus group, as well.
Identifying new members, customers, products and services
Eighty-eight percent of the respondents rated finding new customers as either very important or important, while 72 percent rated identifying new products and services as very important and important. Since many associations’ traditional revenue streams are challenged, the importance of revenue diversification and the expansion of customer bases are keys to survival and growth.
Personalizing and microtargeting
Many organizations are rethinking how they send out and target communications and realizing that a more segmented approach is important in appealing to members and customers. As indicated by the survey data, the trend of microtargeting and personalizing marketing and communications efforts is considered important or very important by 78 percent of respondents.
The survey also found that healthcare associations are more likely to find this trend very important than non-health care associations (42 percent vs. 30 percent).
Investing in market research
Sixty-two percent of respondents rated market research as an important or very important trend. And associations are investing more marketing dollars into research: 32 percent are increasing their budgets. The survey also found that about 50 percent of associations are conducting a form of market research (e.g., surveys, focus groups, etc.) annually, which shows that organizations are recognizing the importance of research as a way to give members, customers and potential markets a voice, as well as answer questions, and provide solutions.
Understanding technology systems
Almost two-thirds of respondents indicated that it is either important or very important to understand technology systems, which include association management systems, content marketing systems, and e-mail marketing systems. Understanding these will not only help marketers reach, attract, engage, and retain customers but also provide a road map for leveraging cross-channels and measuring the impact of marketing programs.
Integrating social media into other marketing efforts
Seventy-four percent of those surveyed ranked integrating social media into their marketing efforts as important or very important, which explains why social media was ranked as the second-highest budget priority.
In addition to the six trends, the survey also looked at how associations accomplish the marketing function within their organizations. Almost half reported that their association has a centralized marketing function, while 37 percent said they have a partially centralized marketing function.
This article was published by the Business Mirror on June 22, 2018 and may not be reproduced without prior consent from the writer and Business Mirror.
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