The Future of Young Professionals Groups

MSAE's Young Professionals Networking Group met to discuss the future of young professionals groups and how MSAE can better serve young professional members. Here are the takeaways:

The big question was how do you define a young professional? Is it by age?  Experience? Age and experience? Each association and young professional group is going to be different, but defining what a "young professional" is to your organization is a good first step.

Finding out what your young professional members want from your organization is key.   Do they want social events? Educational events?  Do they want best practices or platforms to share?  Are your young professionals into giving back?  Maybe a service project is a good idea. Survey, ask, but find out.

Is it important to keep your young professionals? Absolutely.  Even more important is finding out who your young professional members are and how to keep them engaged.  Do they even want to be called a young professional? 

Does your association have a young professionals group?  What is your association doing for younger members?  Please share. 

MSAE Marketing & Sales Symposium Roundtable Conversation Takeaways

As part of MSAE's Marketing & Sales Symposium last week, members had "Conversations with Your Peers" - here are the top takeaways from the discussions (technology, membership, branding, mobile, contracts, conflict and more!):

Integrated Marketing: Social, Print, Web, Video

• Consistency
• Simplify messages
• Find time to lay out all types of communications you produce and analyze them for consistency, content, etc.

Responsive Web Design: What is it? Why does it matter to your organization?

• Design with responsive in mind
• Design form mobile first - then build to bigger devices
• Think about the three most important things a user would want to see on your homepage

Brand Management

• Consistency is key
• Defining standards
• Use style sheets

Member Replenishment

• Putting members on committees, board - give them a voice
• Photos - communicating "fun aspect" - ID them
• Cross pollination across associations

Contract Negotiations

• Cancellation by hotel clause in contracts
• Mutual respect between meeting planner and hotel
• Spell everything out in the contract, not vague

 Workplace Conflicts - Strategies for Handling Workplace Tensions

• Think through the first words that will come out of your mouth before you start the tense conversation - start with a positive intention, such as, "I want you to be successful here."
• Find the balance between silence and violence.
• Just because you feel comfortable enough to say something to someone, doesn't mean you should.

Tablets in the Workplace

• There's an app for anything
• Microsoft Office can be accessed on your tablet
• iBooks are coming!

Mobile Technology Decisions

• Make sure your devices are compatible with what you do
• Look at the company making your device to ensure they will be around

So What? How to Communicate Member Benefits - Part I

• Can you deliver what you're saying?
• Customized communications - your member will listen
• Benefits is generic - value is the full package, brings more meaning

So What? How to Communicate Member Benefits - Part II

• Segmentation
• Know how your members want to be communicated with
• Meet your member where they are

For handouts from the day, click here.  Hope to see you at next year's Marketing & Sales Symposium!

Association BarCamp

Over 50 members came out for MSAE's Association BarCamp on 9/14 - topics were selected that day, here are takeaways from each discussion:

Next Generation Retention and Recruitment

• Don't use structured English in communication. Don't use "join" - instead use "engage" or "participate." Be fast, quick, to-the-point. If you don't, you will lose their attention.
• They need to feel their contribution/opinion is valued.
• Identify groups by mindset rather than age.

Online Learning

• Offer a subscription service for purchasing online learning.
• 3 Association / Group Resources - ASTD, Digital Learning Forum, PACT.
• Online is great but continue with face-to-face.
• Ways to build online self-directed resources - software to use: Articulate.

Effective Communication in the Workplace

• Intentionally establish your communication culture (e.g. it's okay to be blunt).
• Stop emailing - go down the hall and talk to someone.
• Pay attention to your speaking tone. People read your written messages in the voice in which you speak to them.

New Membership Dues Structures

• Let members choose how they want to pay (monthly, quarterly, annually - but commit to entire year).
• Give option for members to pay for membership, events, education - "all inclusive" and give them a monthly fee. "Save time, save money."
• Don't ask them to "join," ask them to "engage" or "participate."

The Modern Meeting

• Read the book: "Read this before our next meeting" by Al Pittampalli.
• Instead of a meeting, have a work session.
• No more meetings to give information, write a memo instead. Only meet to provide dissent or coordinate effort.

More vs. Less

• Narrowing your message - keep it simple and target your segments - "FOCUS."
• "Vote with your dollars" to learn member needs - have members use fake money to put against programs - allocate their dues.
• Learn needs - focus - execute - and stay on plan.

Cold Calling - Get exposure for your association or company

• Try a sales system like Sandler.
• Cold calling isn't dead, it's different. Includes email, social media and calling.
• Find a unique connection to warm-up the initial conversation.

Apps for Associations

• Don't force members to login to access an event app. Maybe use an event code onsite to access?
• Sponsorship opportunity to cover cost of app development.
• Most useful apps for associations seem to be related to events. Hard to see value-add of an app just for membership.

Brand Management

• A logo is important and truly can communicate a lot about you. Fonts can show a definite feel. How will it look in print and online?
• Use an online logo creation crowdsource to get your new logo - LogoDesignGuru.com or DesignCrowd.com are examples.
• You need to know who your organization is before you adopt a new logo. And not just who you are, but also who you want to become, and who you are to outsiders?

Using Member Data for Planning

• Developing the right questions.
• Be consistent with questions and measures.
• How do you develop a system to track member activity?
• Incentivise!

Maximizing Trade Shows

• Interaction - Increase traffic? Tying your booth message into why you are presenting? Tie message to product.
• Money - price paid for booth does not equate to greater traffic.
• Failure - research why your message is not working. Revise your approach.

Email / Constant Contact

• Be as succinct as possible. Make emails "scanner-friendly." Shorten story titles and end with "..."
• Measure the effect your email is having. Are they truly reading? Are they finding it truly valuable?
• Experiment with different messages for different segments.

See photos from Association BarCamp online at Flickr. Download Free Tools handout.

Expectations and boards

Don't let expectations ruin your relationship with your boards. Make sure that the expectations are stated and understood.
Recruit well
Provide job descriptions
Get a commitment up front
Conduct orientation
Communicate frequently
Be flexible and willing to change directions
Be honest. Be open.
Be consistent.
Provide training.
Use Roberts Rules of Order.
Pick you fights (Decide which hill you will die on).
Every board is of course unique. Pay attention to the expectations, spoken and unspoken, to ensure your success in the future.