Association Strong

Association Digital Mindset That Drives Value and Revenue

Associations who don't embrace a digital mindset for serving their members will quickly become irrelevant in the future.  Fast paced change, demand for real time information and a new generation are all driving everything in an association to be provided digitally.  Tom and Dave discuss the keys and steps to an effective digital transformation for any association in education, communication and member engagement.

Member Engagement That is Laser Focused in Member Needs

Member relations plays a huge role in helping drive member value and engagement.  Don't miss this very informative podcast as Tom Morrison and Dave Will discuss the power of member relations in association engagement with Anne Pritchett, Senior VP of Policy and Research with emphasis on Member Relations with PhRMA.  Dave, Tom and Anne discuss how PhRMA connects their 33 members to their value proposition and over a hundred workgroups with industry issues and advocacy.

Creating Ambassador Programs That Drive Member Engagement

Designing an engagement strategy through members that drive membership engagement is every association's dream.  Don't miss this podcast as Tom Morrison and Dave Will unpack the keys behind building a successful member ambassador program with Paul Walsh from the European Business Aviation Association on how their association designed an ambassador program that drove their brand, value and engagement.

The Labor Drought... What the Future Holds

The labor drought every association and the memberships are struggling with is causing a lot of heart ache in the growth outlook for the future.  Top onto that the current trends on inflation and supply chain issues and the storm seems even worse.  Don't miss this highly informative podcast as Tom and Dave talk with Ron Hetrick, Chief Labor Economist at EMSI, on the long term impact of labor trends coming out of the pandemic and the impact of inflation and supply chain issues.  It is eye opening with a silver lining for the future.  

The Resurgence of Meeting... What the Future Holds for Associations

This highly energetic episode of Association Strong features Tom and and Dave interviewing Mandi Graziano from the Hospitality Performance Network on the trends and resurgence of meetings in 2022 and beyond.  Mandi is a long time meeting coach and professional planner.  Tom, Dave and Mandi cover everything you can imagine on the meeting front including new ways meetings are launching, meeting attendance, new engagement strategies and how to leverage third parties and CVBs to maximize your budgets, attendance and meeting resources.  

How Review Sites Will be a Game Changer for Associations

The likes of Yelp and Trip Advisor have been game changers in the B2C world of business.  Associations have the potential to sit in the driver seat of the next phase of review sites focused on B2B and create new levels of sponsorship and non-dues revenues.  In this episode, Tom Morrison and Dave Will interview Teri Carden, Founder of 100 Reviews, the association industry's leading provider for review sites.  Listen in as Tom, Dave and Teri unpack the future of review sites and what it means for associations. 

Why Have an Online Community to Connect Members

If it is one area of communication that the COVID area exposed, it was the lack of online community.  So many associations rely heavily on in-person meetings and connection.  And rightly so.  It is what many members want.  But during COVID, associations had to think differently about engagement and connection.  Online communities became a driving force for many to keep their members connected in a disconnected environment.  Listen in as Tom Morrison and Dave Will interview Ben Muscolino, President of Breezio, to hear the why, what and how to starting and driving an online community to maximize member engagement.

Building Community and Trust That Engages Members

It is one thing to have an online community.  It is another to have vibrant activity built around trust within your community.  Tom Morrison and Dave will interview Kiki Litalien, founder and creator of Association Chat, one of the association industry's most vibrant communities over the last 12 years on the keys to driving an online community.  

Innovative Thinking Through Asking Your Members What They Want

One of the key elements in meeting members needs is through active listening.  It is through active listening that you hear your member's pain points, which is where the highest value opportunities are.  Listen in as Tom Morrison and Dave Will interview Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate, Chief Innovation and Information Officer for NCARB on how actively listening to members led them to creating a certification structure that drove value and engagement in their association.

Strategic Planning That Maximizes Value and Engagement

All value and engagement in associations point back to a strategic plan that aligns goals, action steps, metrics and execution that work together to create a vibrant association that is making a difference for their members.  Strategy doesn't just happen.  It happens through a methodical yet creative process that drives boards and state to innovate within the changes going on in your industry.  Listen in as Tom Morrison and Dave Will interview one of the top facilitators and strategist in the association space, Lowell Aplebaum from Vista Cova on the keys to aligning strategy to value and engagement.