Marketing Boot Camp: Competencies for Savvy Association Leaders June 14, 2001 American Society of Association Executives.
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Marketing Boot Camp:
Competencies for Savvy Association Leaders
June 14, 2001
American Society of Association Executives
Kevin Whorton Vice President, Marketing and Retailer Relations
ChainDrugStore.net
Product/Service Strategy:Offers You Can't Refuse
What We'll Discuss
Product/Service Marketing Goals Feeding/Drawing from Brands Customer Service Product Development Strategy Evaluation
How We Define "Product/Service"
Things that should generate revenue:
Membership Education Trade shows Publications Services
• Anything you develop and communicate
Things that don't (directly):
Advocacy Prestige Public awareness Community Web/e-commerce Networking
General Marketing Goals
• Financial• Market penetration• Total sales units• New customers/users• Share of wallet• Measurable levels of member
satisfaction• Customer satisfaction
What You Want Your Customer to Experience
• Awareness• Need broad knowledge, understanding• 'Impulse buys' rare for association products
• Adoption• Sales fulfill value proposition--services don't add
value unless they are used
• Positive perception• Sales experience, post-sales evaluation of
product/service enhances overall standing• Enhance likelihood of repeat sales .. customer
retention.
Feeding/Drawingfrom Brands
• Building a brand • Benefiting from the brand
• "Your calling card":• awareness that means something• Expectations and comfort• Ability to charge more• Greater loyalty/less defection
Brands & Image
Volvo Pringles Cuisinart Dell Computers Mummy Returns Ford Explorer AOL Amazon
Annual Congress Journal of ABC 1999 Standards
and Guidelines Associate
membership Technician
Training Manual
Personal Aspects
• In addition to product, goals People, and community, countWho created the product Who do you interact with to buy, learn
more (customer service)Word of mouth from peers who either
recommend or discourage your offerLinks to other product/servicesResponsiveness, relationship building
New Product Development
• Sources of ideas• Development process• Inclusion of customers• Structured feasibility• Evaluation
• No amount of promotion will cure a bad product
Product/Service Lines
• How do you review the collective results of
• … your product development • … your marketing • … the economy• … customer memory • (20 years of new initiatives) • … word of mouth
New Formats and New Positioning
Achieving indispensability• Truly new e-services• Charging for free things• Offering fee based services in bundles
or for 'FREE'• New bundles• Repackaging for new markets
Your Offers
• Bundling• Introductory offers• "Free" (bundled with membership)• Penetration pricing• Fixed non-negotiable pricing• Volume discounts• Continuity: one-time purchase vs.
subscriptions with renewals
Ingredients of the Offer
• Quantity: one or multiple• Price: price points, discounts for first-
timers, pre-publication, etc.• Time: limited offers, urgency• Call to action: "Ask for the vote"• Multiple channels--more info at www,
call or visit …• Post-sale: guarantees, returns,
expected delivery
Varying the Offer
• Offers varying by ability/willingness to pay• Strong database marketing program• Need stored knowledge of individual customers• Experience with price and offer testing/results • Right vehicle: direct mail, targeted email, fax • Ability to manage the process: vendor or internal• Why?
Customers vary by backgroundDiffering price points and desired featuresYour need to sell varies with time: meet milestones or
exhaust old inventory
Evaluation: Grading on a Curve
• Associations vary greatly: • Trade vs. professional, different missions• Competitive position/penetration• Size and nature of your market• Infrastructure: technical, staff, business processes• Historical position/image within industry• Revenue base--may or may not support investment • Market's ability/willingness to pay• Degree of competition: publishers, shows, dot-coms
• • "One size doesn't fit all"
• Take a process orientation
Evaluate Your Results
• Your financial and sales results• How clearly do you demonstrate a value proposition• Acquisition and retention• Clarity of communications• Frequency and targets of communications
Track demographics of newly acquired vs. long-time customers (aggregates can mask changes)How you answer competition: know their messages, their offers, tactical responses
Evaluate Your Tactics
How often do new buyers, members come to you, versus you finding themHow much marketing is "push" vs. "pull"To what degree do you segment vs. untargeted mass communications?Do you vary level of effort according to probable value of customer? Can you?Do you measure value of acquired customers: direct and indirect revenue
Cultural Issues
Who feeds your strategy• Entrepreneurial plus responsive• Revenue generating vs. "for profit"• Who designs, creates, promotes,
fulfills your products• Internal vs. external• Teams vs. one "skunk works"
12%
16%
22%
29%
29%
34%
31%
50%
53%
53%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Recognizing sub-units of companies as members
Adding new governance structures to be more responsive
Changed structure/dues of associate/affiliate members
Increased overall dues for current general members
Changed the dues structure to capture more revenue
Reduced expenses and/or staff to offset revenue loss
Moving aggressively into new markets or membership segments
Increased efforts to reduce member loss
Created new services to diversify the membership base
Increased efforts recruiting additional general members
Actions taken
Factoring in the economy, business environment, strategic plans, other major initiatives:
Annual Plans/Bigger Picture
Associations Say …
“The focus on member services has moved toward servicing the significant players in the market to ensure that they remain satisfied with association products, services, and response to their issues.”
"We've also eliminated a lot of peripheral service areas and concentrated on our core competency development."
"More industry share in fewer member hands—smaller committees, less demand for social activities, meetings shorter and at more convenient locations, on-line and e-services are expanding."
New Services and New Offers
• Bundle of products--"corporate" NACDS
• One big product--distinct from NACDS, commercial, and Internet based
Different Strategies/ Same Association
• Low frills, business service • Intentional austerity.• Retailer focused--brand within the NACDS "brand."• Business programs primarily--sometimes
undifferentiated commodities.
• High ticket, visibility• Unique community. Primarily manufacturer
focused--pharmaceutical and CPGs• One unique product, distinct image.
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