Five Reasons Why Membership is Killing

Association Business Models Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, Chief Strategist and Founder

Principled Innovation LLC

Making Innovation Happen Survey

www.makinginnovationhappensurvey.com

For association CEOs only Please complete by June 30 at 12 am PDT

“The future is always beginning now.”

--Mark Strand

associations are in a fight for the future

the central imperative for 21st century association leaders is to build their organizations to thrive

what will it take for associations to thrive over the next decade

and beyond?

if associations are going to have a chance to thrive, we must be able to question our

most orthodox beliefs

Current orthodoxy

By definition, associations must have members. It is a matter of identity, i.e., it is

more than what we do. It is who we are.

New perspective

In a world of both “good enough” and superior

alternatives, our stakeholders can associate easily and

inexpensively without the need for membership.

3 things I DON’T believe

membership is evil

most associations will ever completely end membership

membership is essential to the future success of associations

3 things I DO believe

we must confront the shifting economics of membership

we must do more to honor our stakeholders’ expectations

new value creation matters more than membership

business model

thinking

what is a business model?

A business model describes the rationale of

how an organization creates, delivers and

captures value. Source: Alex Osterwalder, Ph.D.

VALUE COST

Cost elements Value elements

Value propositions (VP)

Key resources (KR) Stakeholder segments (SS) Key activities (KA) Channels (CH) Key partnerships (KP) Stakeholder relationships (SR) Cost structure (C$) Revenue streams (R$)

business model elements

five reasons why membership is

killing association business models

Reason #1

Membership-centric business models organize all value around the membership

relationship

Reason #2

Membership-centric business models tend to focus on

association outputs instead of stakeholder outcomes

Reason #3

Membership-centric business models often depend on

cross-subsidies that create unintended consequences

Reason #4

Membership-centric business models ask members to make the most important decisions

about new value creation

Reason #5

Membership-centric business models require a significant investment of human effort

for an insufficient return

association leaders need to design and develop sustainable business models that do not

depend on membership

associations are in a fight for the future

“The future is always beginning now.”

--Mark Strand

jeffpi1@gmail.com www.principledinnovationblog.com

www.facebook.com/principledinnovation www.linkedin.com/in/principledinnovation

www.facebook.com/jeff329 Twitter: @pinnovation