As we get ready for the holiday break, have we allowed ourselves a false sense of security for the year that lies ahead?
If you go by 2017, many of you will feel that you had a pretty good association year. Membership might be slightly up, conference attendance was good, and you sold out of your sponsorship opportunities. Shouldn't you expect more of the same in 2018?
Probably not.
A lot of the good things that happened this year can be attributed to factors other than what you did or didn't do for your association. Analysts suggest that much of your success is due to the growth of the American economy. This has had a suppressing effect on a number of trends that are starting to emerge as challenges for all associations.
Let's paint a picture for 2018. Let's say there may be a downturn where many of your members are all of a sudden without work in the industry that your association serves. Do you provide enough value for them to stay? Can they find the value that you provide FREE from other sources?
What about sponsors? Will they be scrutinizing their partnerships due to smaller budgets? Will this force them to choose only those association partners that provide them with measurable engaging content that satisfies multiple audiences?
What about your conference attendance? Will a downturn effect how many of your members travel to a conference?
Even if the economy remains strong, you will be at the mercy of disruptive trends that will impact all the areas that you thought you were great at in 2017.
Free membership, declining conference attendance, and changing sponsor dynamics are all part of what's ahead for 2018.
You may want to prioritize January 17th, 3:00pm eastern, for what you need to do to make sure 2018 is as good as 2017. Click on the button below to find out more about a FREE webinar that you shouldn't miss.
Enjoy the holiday break. Here's to a great 2018.
Association TV® is part of WorkerBee.TV
John Heppenstall is Director of Marketing for WorkerBee.TV