Over the next six weeks, I will publish a post on each of the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future, created in collaboration with CHIEF. If you have not done so already, I hope you will download the e-book today. Also, please join me on September 26 from 2 pm-3:30 pm EDT for my webinar on the e-book, presented in collaboration with Peach New Media. As always, I invite your feedback in the comments below, or you can join the Associations Unorthodox conversation on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #auxsix.
The Problem
The commitment to growing membership lives within the DNA of all associations. Indeed, the phrase, “membership organization” may well be the most orthodox description of an association’s organizational identity. Without question, it is the operative mental model behind the preponderance of association business models, even when member dues are not a major revenue stream. Yet with sky-high stakeholder expectations for meaningful value, new forms of competition and unfavorable economic shifts putting pressure on established association lines of business, the traditional membership value proposition faces serious long-term challenges. For example, the enormous popularity and global reach of public social networks has altered forever the fundamental human experience of associating, making it simple and mobile, ubiquitous and inexpensive. Membership has become a pass-through, with the effect of commoditizing traditional “pay-to-play” arrangements. As a result, the membership and member centricity of their existing business models is an increasingly unsustainable burden for associations to carry into the future.
To read the original article: Associations Unorthodox Shift #1: De-emphasize membership
