STRATEGIC
RESEARCH
MAKES THE
MOST OF YOUR MESSAGE
BY JOHN HEALY AND DAVID SCHULTE
today’s challenging eco-
nomic environment, many
associations face a barrage
of issues that threaten to
undermine their success. Such issues
can include shrinking membership
numbers, decreases in non-dues-based
revenue, new sources of competition and
other economic obstacles.
IN
Successful association professionals
aren’t looking for quick fixes to these
problems — they are starting with the fundamentals. They are rethinking their organization’s core messaging and evaluating
not only what they say, but how they say
it. The goal is to become even more relevant to members and other constituents.
A BALANCING ACT
In order to develop such new messaging
— and the related strategies and tactics
that reflect them — associations must
skillfully balance constituents’ changing
expectations with organizational objectives. Cost-effective, quickly executed
research can help associations better
understand what internal and external
audiences are thinking and help them
make smarter decisions about how to
allocate and spend marketing dollars.
In 2008, the Academy of General
Dentistry used strategic research to ask
its 35,000 member-dentists what they
would like to see in a consumer public
awareness campaign for the association.
The research began with in-depth, qualitative interviews of member dentists, followed by a quantitative study to ensure
the findings were projectable across
the entire membership. Those results
were then analyzed against the results
of research conducted among moms
with kids ages 3-12 about their need
for information related to dental and
oral health issues. The outcome was a
new AGD-sponsored consumer Web site,
www.Know YourTeeth.com, that combines dental and oral health information
with increased awareness of the association, the background and qualifications
of its members, and its “Find a Dentist”
referral program. (For more about the
