Marketing Boot Camp: Competencies for Savvy Association Leaders June 14, 2001 American Society of Association Executives.

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.

Sl i c e 1

0%

Sl i c e 2

0%

Sl i c e 3

0%

Strong competition

16%

One key competitor

20%

No direct competition

64%

Defining your products and services

Avoiding complacency

Market dominance isn't a license for unresponsiveness

Staying in the "Drivers' Seat"