Every association is constantly overwhelmed with solicitations to spend its limited marketing budget. The multitude of new e-commerce opportunities only adds to complexity of creating an effective marketing program. Well, the first thing is to step back and develop a sound marketing strategy.
Clear goals make it easier to sort through the countless opportunities to spend money.
Associations charge their marketing departments with the dual responsibilities of increasing membership and generating non-dues revenue. By breaking these broad responsibilities down into specific targets, a marketing department can tie initiatives to quantifiable objectives and measure performance. Additionally, detailed goals will help determine the necessary level of funding. By focusing on the desired outcome, marketing departments will channel investments into those opportunities that produce the highest return. Once an association is clear about its marketing objectives, the next step is to make certain that it really understands its members, prospective members and competitors.