Is your association and its major meeting at the top of the “value chain” in your industry?

Being at the top of this chain means that your association and meeting will outlast your competitors as members, meeting attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors make tough choices in today’s struggling economy.

If you’re not there, how do you get there?

Jane advises planners to keep a relentlent focus on member involvement

Jane Berzan is the former Senior Vice President for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), where she led a top 100 trade show as well as supplier relations, exhibits, sponsorships, advertising and global development.

During her 12 years at NACS, she created a highly integrated program built on long-term relationships and high-value benefits for supplier members. The annual NACS Show tradeshow she managed featured 1,400 exhibiting companies in 380,000 net square feet that generated more than $16 million.

“Solid relationships built on listening, communicating, and then providing the value suppliers want is the key to succeeding in today’s market,” says Berzan, who just launched her own consulting company, JMB Business Solutions. “These are the ways to reach the top of the value chain.”

One innovative program she led and managed was the “Hunter Club,” named after the founder of NACS. It provided an exclusive club for top suppliers, giving them preferred exhibit locations, access to NACS leaders at special events, previews of new industry research, and more. Low-key word-of-mouth marketing added to the high-level appeal of the club.

“This is just one example of finding ways to make suppliers feel special and increase the value they receive from your association,” Berzan explains.

She also has advice for planners who may hear grumbling from exhibitors and sponsors about declining participation in meetings.

“Listen carefully to exhibitors and sponsors rather than telling them what you are doing for them,” Berzan says. “Seek their input on attendee recruitment ideas, identify specific decision-makers they would like to meet, and develop innovative marketing efforts to recruit them to your meetings.”

In many consolidating industries, there may be fewer players, but overall buying power is the same or greater than it was before the consolidation.

“In these cases, focus less on the number of attendees and more on the quality and aggregated buying power,” she advises.

“The bottom line is that it’s more important than ever to keep a relentless focus on member involvement,” Berzan says. “It’s far more than attending a conference, purchasing booth space, or reading the magazine – it’s about how members benefit from their participation—a lifelong mentor met at your conference, a great idea that made a difference to their business, or best practices they bought back to their company – so they never question writing the dues check or making travel plans to attend your events.”

Jane Berzan can be reached at jmberzan@cox.net.