Essential Operations to Drive Local Business

Tarnbir Kaur, CAE Director – Association Management & Consulting,

MCI Middle East and India

July 2012

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In partnership with

Agenda

Who Am I?

Factors for success

Association Offerings

Regional Strategy

Integrated Business Development

Integrated Marketing and Communications

Rise of Social Media

Some examples

Things to remember

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Who am I- Tarnbir Kaur, CAE Based in Dubai, UAE responsible for

association management and consulting for Middle East, North Africa and India

Prior to this was based in Singapore and consulted, advised and managed professional and trade associations in Asia

Overall 12 years of working in the India, Asia and Middle East primarily in the not for profit sector

Successfully led and developed international associations in Asia and Middle East.

Spearheaded market research projects to assess potential and devise strategy for associations interested in Asia, India and Middle East

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Success in International Markets

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SuccessIncrease in

partners and service providers

Growth in Membership

Growth in Revenues

Brand Visibility

Association Offerings of Interest to International Markets

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Certification/

Standards

Education-

Trainings

Professional

Platform

Regional Strategy

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Strategy

Integrated Business

Development

Integrated Marketing &

Comms

Chapter/Affiliate

Management

Membership Development

Customer Service

Growing Market Share

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• Incorporation and formation flexibility• Working with local partners or AM&CStrategy

• Building strong partnerships – govt, association, corporate• Establishing various sales channelsBusiness Development

• Local touch point for customers• Information, Communication and Time zonesCustomer Service

• Campaigns in local language and graphics • Local industry information and benefitsMarketing

• Customised packages – benefits, price, etc.• Focused local recruitment & retention campaignsMembership

• Understanding of volunteer leadership locally• Not just support, but assist in execution of tasksChapters

Strategy

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Global HQ with regional operations and local staff managing the association

For profit office in the region with regional staff managing operations

Outsourced services to local company

Joint operations with partner organization presence

Working through service provider or business partners

Having local presence in the form of Chapters and Affiliates

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Integrated Business Development

Strategy: Engagement with stakeholders in all areas

Strategy: Engagement with stakeholders in all areas

Primary Goal: Achieving visibility for association in the region

Primary Goal: Achieving visibility for association in the region

Government Departments

Companies Individuals Service/ Training

Providers

Universities and Colleges

Integrated Business Development Strategy

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Learn

• Understand the needs of the stakeholders and be genuinely interested in providing them with solutions

Engage

• Continue to engage them in regular conversations as it is unlikely that results will come from 1-2 meetings

Deliver

• It is critical to deliver on your promises- whether it is for customized solutions or for specific products for regional needs

Integrated Marketing and Communications

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Communications and Engagement

Regional websites

Local Testimonials and personal

stories

Social Media Channels

Integrating Market

Feedback

Bi-lingual communicati

ons

Using local Chapters and

Partners

Rise of Social Media Influence Total users of Facebook in the Arab world stands at 45 Million users

as of June up from 37 Million at the beginning of the year.

The number of Facebook users in the Arab world has approximately tripled in the last 2 years (June 2010 – June 2012), increasing from 16 million users to 45 million users.

Egypt still constitutes about a quarter of total Facebook users in the Arab region, and has added more users in the past year than any Arab country, at over 1.6 million new Facebook users between January and June 2012.

Young people (between the ages of 18 and 34) make up around 70% of the 4 Million LinkedIn users in the Arab world

Arabic is the fastest growing language in Twitter history with the region generating 67 tweets per second

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Source: Arab Social Media Report

Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategy

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Message

s

• Develop messages that are not too verbose and communicate the value of the product/service offered

Positioning

• Positioning your association as an international leader that has world class products and services

Channel

s

• Use innovative delivery channels to reach the target market such as virtual job fairs

IMA Booth at the Virtual Job Fair

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Lead Generation Strategy

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Gathering information from potential members and credential holders at every stage of communication to develop targeted messages with special offers.

Measuring effectiveness of all campaigns and ensuring results are captured in the customer records for future campaigns

Joint campaigns with Training/Service providers and partner organizations

Creating specific programs for attendees from virtual job fairs and other events that the association participates in

Offering incentives to get website visitors engaged and share detailed information so specific offerings can be developed for them

Other Critical Elements

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Customer Service

• Proximity to members and their needs• Continuous engagement strategy for members

Membersh

ip Developme

nt

• Specific membership retention and recruitment campaign support

• Validation of membership value and data on membership engagement

Chapters and

Affiliate

• Ensuring that international members have local networking opportunities and a local presence via Chapters

• Having local volunteers who can represent the region within the association

Things to Remember

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Need for engagement with Government authorities due to greater influence

Greater role of the public sector companies For example public sector employment accounts for about 20 percent of total employment in the MENA countries

Recognizing role of employers in decisions about professional development and education

Need for engagement with existing associations through joint membership programs

Using local members, volunteers and credential holders as spokesperson for the association

Ensuring all association areas are assimilated to arrive at new campaigns so information is used holistically

10 Step Quality Test for Your International Strategy

1. Does your strategy differentiate you from competitors or potential entrants?

2. Do you have an advantage in market position or capability?

3. Do you have a business plan with proper detail to support strategy & operations?

4. Does your strategy leverage trends impacting local customers?

5. Is your customer insight fresh?

6. Do you embrace risk and know what’s acceptable for growth?

7. Do you have commitment to your strategy and does it have flexibility?

8. Are your plans biased: too “hindsight focused” or “authority blind”?

9. Does your strategy include implementation plans (e.g. resources: people, partners, policies/procedures, and technology)?

10. Do you have action plans (what, who, how, when) to better ensure execution?

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Out of 2000+ firms

65% pass only 3 or fewer!

Contact Information

About This Presentation

Tarnbir Kaur, CAE

tarnbir.kaur@mci-group.com