Daily Buzz: Education Offerings for Industry Partners

Industry partner, affiliate, vendor, or supplier members—whatever your association calls them, if you fail to engage with this member segment, you’re missing an opportunity.

“Many of you are thinking, ‘No, they’re not our focus.’ Strictly speaking, that’s true, but educating supplier members has benefits for your membership culture and association,” writes the WBT Systems team on its blog  (opens in a new tab). “Ideally, an association’s members would do business with fellow members. This practice would strengthen the membership culture and tie all segments of your membership more tightly together.”

The problem: Many industry partners don’t know how to develop those kinds of relationships. That’s where an affiliate education program comes in.

“Vendor education programs serve two purposes: They help members gain a better understanding of the industry they serve, [and] they teach members how to more effectively network and build relationships,” the team says.

When vendors feel like part of your professional community, they’re more likely to support your association’s mission, volunteer, sponsor an event, and renew their membership.

What Online Communities Do for Your Team—and Members

Your online community delivers an immense amount of value for those that it serves. There’s also value to the business that shouldn’t be ignored. #cmgr  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #businessvalue  (opens in a new tab) #onlinecommunity  (opens in a new tab)https://t.co/i9E7Q54Gw2  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/MP3XirhneS  (opens in a new tab)

— Community by Association (@CommunitybyAssn) July 1, 2019  (opens in a new tab)

Online communities bring value to both organizational objectives and members, according to the  State of Community Management 2019 report  (opens in a new tab). How?

“Online communities attract people seeking knowledge,” says Marjorie Anderson  (opens in a new tab) from Community by Association. “They may or may not already be a member of your association, but they recognize you as a source for answers to their questions. Because of this, online communities can play a major role in bringing in new customers/members by exposing them to information they may not have known they could access previously.”

Because communities are a place of conversation, they also allow organizations to hear member pain points as they arise, which means you can act swiftly to offer a solution.

Other Links of Note

Heading out on summer vacation? Get the wording right on your out-of-office email  (opens in a new tab) so that your colleagues won’t bother you, says Fast Company.

Internal linking is an underrated SEO strategy. CMSWire explains how you can leverage your website’s internal link structure  (opens in a new tab).

Livestreaming your next conference? MeetingsNet offers tips for a seamless video experience  (opens in a new tab).

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