ECONOMIC STRATEGY
FOR ASSOCIATIONS:
A BENCHMARKING REPORT
ON PRIORITIES, CHALLENGES
AND STRATEGIES
BY SHERI JACOBS, CAE
AT THEIR CORE, MOST ASSOCIATIONS EXIST TO SERVE THEIR MEMBERS. THIS, IN
TURN, DRIVES THE NEED FOR ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONALS TO COLLABORATE
AND LEARN FROM COLLEAGUES AND PEERS WHO SHARE SIMILAR INTERESTS. IN
NEGATIVE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, THE NEED TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND
EXPERIENCES OFTEN TAKES ON GREATER SIGNIFICANCE AS INDIVIDUALS LOOK
FOR ASSISTANCE IN WEATHERING THE CHALLENGING CLIMATE AND FINDING WAYS
TO EMERGE INTACT.
Many questions linger in the minds of association professionals
today: What challenges are other associations facing? What are
the key priorities of associations within my industry and the
greater association community? How will the economy impact
our ability to recruit and retain members and attract participants to educational programs? What marketing strategies and
tactics will prove most effective and provide the best return on
our investment?
As 2008 drew to a close, the need for actionable insights on
these questions became particularly acute as economic conditions worsened and association professionals began to wonder
about the year ahead. Recognizing the need for empirical data
on these topics, McKinley Marketing developed a study to gather
and disseminate important data that association professionals
can use to share and compare their concerns for this year.
This report provides the results of a survey of 300 participating trade and professional associations. McKinley will conduct a follow-up survey in mid-2009 to evaluate the impact of
the current recession, using the data presented in this report
as a baseline.
2009 STATE OF ASSOCIATIONS
KEY FINDING NO. 1
Associations are bracing for a negative impact on membership,
meeting attendance and other non-dues revenue sources.
Not surprisingly, 82 percent of survey participants believe
the economy will have an extremely or somewhat negative impact
on their ability to achieve their goals in 2009. Eight percent
do not believe the economy will have any significant impact
