Take your positions…

The competition for membership is getting fiercer everyday. This article shows you how you can protect your organisation by adopting a positioning strategy.

In the past it was not difficult for someone to decide which association to join because there probably was only one organisation that covered a particular area of interest. But that has all changed. We are surrounded by more and more choice and the competition for our attention, time and money will only get worse.

 There are thousands of membership organisations for an individual or organisation to consider joining. But the competition does not stop there. People have other options available to them getting access to what people join associations for.  Your competition could include publishers, educational institutions, independent training providers and even individual members.  The Internet has also generated a number of tools that make it easy for people to connect and share information and anyone can facilitate this.

 So what can an association do to protect itself from the competition? The answer is to consider adopting a specific marketing strategy called positioning. Positioning involves differentiating your organisation from what your competitors are offering in the mind of the prospective member.

 Here are some examples of positioning that you will probably be able to associate with. What car manufacturer would you recommend to a friend who has three young children and is most concerned about their ‘safety’? What brand of radio battery comes to mind if you were looking for ‘long life’? What brand of soap do you associate with ‘dry skin’? The answers are Volvo, Duracell and Dove who use safety, long life and moisturising as their positioning in the marketplace. Each will have very little competition for customers looking for that particular benefit.

How would this apply a to membership association? By way of example, let’s take a look the three of the many marketing organisations. In my mind, I would position:

1.  The Chartered Institute of Marketing as offering me ‘recognition’. They give me the letters to put after my name that people in industry recognise i.e. the accredited qualifications.

2. The Marketing Guild sends out a constant flow of regular handy ‘tips and ideas’. Their bulletins are full of practical tried and tested tactics. 

3. The Marketing Society gives me ‘contact’ with similar level colleagues. It is for senior marketers, rather than people just starting out in the profession.

There are four steps involved in the process of finding a position.

• Step 1: Understand what positioning is all about and know what you are looking for. You are looking for one simple word – straight out of the dictionary – that people understand. Ideally it will communicate an important benefit. What problem are you in a unique position to solve for members that your competitors cannot claim and would provide significant perceived value? Could it be recognition – those letters after your name, time – today people often value having more time more than anything else, understanding - specialist knowledge, profit – direct and indirect business networking opportunities? It could also be representation, prestige, professional development, personal development, information, resources or to make a contribution to a cause.

• Step 2: Determine the competition. Positioning reflects where you sit in the prospects mind relative to the competition, so a realistic review of the competition is important.

• Step 3: Review the competitive dimensions and your relative positions, focusing on customer’s perceptions.  You should be looking for a positioning that is easy to associate with you, appeals to large number of your members, that is difficult for others to copy, is relevant in that it make sense in the context of being a member and it is not too costly in align the organisation behind.

• Step 4: Once you have determined your positioning the final step is to use your membership benefits package to support and re-enforce the perception of your position in people’s minds. Brand your uniqueness. Then communicate this to everyone inside and outside the organisation.

Once you have implemented a positioning strategy, you will be well placed to survive for many years to come because it will give you a clear direction, purpose and focus. It will also help you recruit and retain members.

 This article was published in Association Manager in April 2003 (Page 15)

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