Becoming a data-driven association means you get direct insight into what is working—and also what isn’t.

“One of the most difficult situations an organization may face in the journey to become a data-driven entity is when findings suggest that the solutions that leaders championed for years may be causing more harm than good—and you’re a leader who championed them,” Colleen Dilenschneider explains on Know Your Own Bone.

When it comes to dealing with less-than-positive analytics, Dilenschneider recommends not taking it personally.

“Things are a bit different now than they were twenty years ago, and as a result, there’s an increased responsibility to understand how people think and behave today,” she says. “If data suggests that there’s room for improvement—as the most helpful data does—it may not be that the current leadership team ‘created’ that issue. It may be that we now have data and information available to identify the opportunity in the first place.”

Leaders should use these insights to shift focus onto how that data can work to push their industries in innovative, new directions. “Data can turn a light on in an otherwise dark room,” Dilenschneider says. “We may not like what we see, but it’s only by seeing it that the industry can move forward.”

Purpose-Structured Associations

"The membership actions and usage/consumption/engagement metrics will drive our centralized content creation." In the mood for a radical business model transformation story from the association space?! Get inspired by Garth Jordan at https://t.co/nyxOT8LypV #assnchat #redesign pic.twitter.com/2mmw0kMMmt

— Sidecar (@sidecarglobal) March 13, 2019

What does a purpose-driven organization look like? Garth Jordan writes on Association Success that it’s structured around strategy, content, acquisition, and retention.

“While our structural concept may take some time to be completely integrated across our whole organization … we will align around doing one thing exceptionally well, and that is delivering much-improved member experiences and engagement—especially digitally,” he says. “This translates to the core primary outcome for all of us on staff: member and customer retention.”

Other Links of Note

Want to increase newsletter subscribers? Nonprofit Hub offers marketing tips to help build your subscriber base.

Volunteers aim to deliver on your mission, and developing key indicators can show their success, says Elisa Kosarin on the VolunteerMatch blog.

Need Instagram story inspiration? Nonprofit Marketing Guide offers five examples on how to better engage with members through the feature.

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