Creating Value
Recent research conducted by Tecker Consultants suggests that there is a decreased interest in joining associations among the younger generations entering the workplace. These young people have grown up in a time where self-forming communities of like-minded people happen in the virtual space of the Internet. Listservs, blogs, personal websites and powerful search engines are increasingly filling the need for community and information not just on a personal level but on the professional level as well.

Associations that strive to serve and survive must find new strategies to compete with these non-traditional competitors. Continuing to provide the same types of opportunities for involvement and experience will lead to the slow but steady decline of membership. Trade associations whose mission is to advocate and associations with strong credentialing programs seem to be the exceptions. Other associations will need to find stronger strategies for providing value and sustaining relevancy.

Tecker Consultants has discussed some of the most effective strategies for dealing with this challenge. These strategies include improving members’ ability to compete on the basis of “cost” or “differentiation.” Another strategy is to provide members with information that they can’t get anywhere else. Above all, associations need to ensure that what they provide to members is useful, relevant and timely.

The member benefits of joining a DataZone are completely customized to the needs of the Association’s members. Some of the benefits associations can provide to their membership through DataZone include:


• Ability to Tap Into Member Wants, Needs and Preferences—Instead of assuming what members want from the association based on anecdotal evidence, DataZone allows you to quickly and easily tap into members opinions on issues large and small. Rather than waiting for the annual member needs assessment, your association can quickly poll members to get information for decisions you have to make today—ensuring that your association’s decisions fit your members’ needs.

• Benchmarking on Critical Metrics—As association members join the DataZone, they provide information about themselves, their businesses, their customers that is relevant and useful to those members. Once their data is entered and submitted, they can get an immediate comparison with others who have submitted information to the database. This information could take many forms, such as salary, product usage, income, expense and other financial measures.

• Customized Content Based on Member Interests and Needs—As a member completes his or her profile, the association’s information and marketing efforts can be completely customized to hit that member’s hot button issues and interests. So if a member is primarily interested in legislative issues, that member can access the DataZone through that portal—while still having the other information available.

To learn more about how Association DataZone can help your association,
contact Robin Wedewer at (410) 414-5718.