As an association executive, a columnist and a blogger on topics revolving around association governance and management, I subscribe to many association-related e-newsletters to broaden my knowledge and get inspired. I pick up new ideas, catchphrases, and slang words from time to time. In a recent Skype call with US-based AssociationSuccess.org’s Arianna Rehak (who holds the title “Community Evangelist”—another new term), I learned a new phrase: pain points.
While comparing the challenges of associations in the US, Arianna asked me to identify the three pain points of associations in the Philippines. The question made me pause for awhile then quickly grasped what she meant. After our call ended, I immediately Googled “pain points” and learned from the post of Jeffrey Carter that a pain point is a “problem, real or perceived.”
So based on my assessment of the challenges working for the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), I came up with these three pain points that that associations in the country are facing:
Member engagement: Associations need active, engaged and passionate members as this brings about positive and long-lasting mutual relationships. Studies show that members who are engaged renew their memberships and even help recruit new members. But member engagement is not necessarily simple to achieve. There are strategies and techniques to do this (see my column on “Effective Member Engagement” on September 28, 2017).
Revenue generation: Associations need financial resources to sustain their work and advocacies. Reliance on membership dues alone will not work for the organization. Recent research have shown that the ratio of membership dues to total revenues has drastically declined over the years and now only constitutes 30 percent to 45 percent. This means that
nondues revenues (NDR) is now filling the gap, as my column on “Beyond Traditional Revenue Sources” on October 5 states.
Communications programming: Associations develop and provide unique and innovative services that are relevant and useful to its members and the broader public. These include educational courses, industry studies and standards, and the like. They contribute, too, to social and economic development through community missions, enterprise creation, trade facilitation and others. Yet, most often, these noble deeds are not effectively communicated even with the many communication channels and technologies available today.
These pain points are interrelated. Good communications lead to better engaged members and, in turn, generate greater revenues.
It was also interesting to know from Arianna that these pain points and more will be tackled at the AssociationSuccess.org’s virtual summit for over 1,000 association professionals around the globe, the first of its kind of this scale on the Internet. Themed “Surge 2017”, the three-day free event runs from 12 noon to 4 p.m. EST from November 7 to 9. Do check out AssociationSuccess.org’s web site for more details. You may be able to find solutions to the pain points of your own association.
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The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and the CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 5 (AS5) on November 22 and 23 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC.
E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS5.