Smooth The Path

Member Informed Strategy, Innovation & Marketing

March 24, 2020 By Amanda Kaiser

This Is the Perfect Time to Question What an Association Is

I live in a fairly rural, farm town in Pennsylvania, so imagine my surprise when a relatively new company a few miles away from my home office made national news.

Eight Oaks Farm Distillery has been growing a following for their spirits, but in light of the COVID-19 virus, the owners stopped production and started making hand sanitizer. Take a peek at this three-minute video from CNN.

Notice the impact of this good deed. The company’s leaders are building a community, keeping staff employed, all while meeting a pressing health need. The reason I wanted to share this story with you, is it is an excellent example of tossing out the “what we are” focus in favor of the “what people need” focus.

Given the current environment, this is a good time for association professionals to rethink our preconceived perceptions about what an association is and does. Instead of rallying around professional development and networking, we instead focus on the broader concept of community.

You have your community’s attention right now. What do members need most?

Related:

  • What your members need most right now
  • Are members getting enough stardust?
  • Just because you can

Filed Under: Association Strategy Tagged With: association innovation, association leadership, association strategy, curious, focus, innovation mindset, member focused

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