Association Strong

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.

Driving Innovation Through Asking Your Members

A great speaker said, "Information is power.  But the "feeling is the fuel."  Find the feeling of your members and they will buy.  Do you take the step to actually ask your members what they want... what their pain points are?  This is where the greatest value exist... in asking.  Or do you rely on your board to determine the value proposition with no member input.

In this week's podcast, Tom and Dave interview Garth Jordan from the American Animal Hospital Association to unpack how Garth led his board through the process of asking their members what they need and using a process like design thinking to help them to see the ideas and move forward with action that will drive your value proposition.  

Driving Value Through Innovative Thinking

Wouldn't it be great if your association actually discovered that innovative piece of technology or service that transformed how your members get to do business?  Think about if the taxi association had discovered the Uber technology or if the hospitality association had discovered AirBnB.  Those industry associations would have sky rocketed in value to their members providing them new ways to do business.  In today's podcast Tom and Dave interview an association who discovered the industry changing technology that transformed their industry and the association.  Listen in as Tom and Dave talk connecting your members needs to innovative thinking with Brent McClendon, CEO of the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association.