Featured Articles

Turn Customers Into Community

By Sherry Budziak posted 2 days ago
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How do you grow membership in a harsh climate? Attracting a wider audience and turning those customers into community is a good way to start.   We’ve been on notice since well before the pandemic that shifts are occurring in why people join an association and what they want once they sign on. Going virtual has brought those issues sharply into focus.   Over a year ago, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez, and I wrote two books* about the future of associations in the digital marketplace. We interviewed CEOs from organizations across the country as well as heads of companies that serve the association industry. Changing membership models were a frequent ...
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Guarantee Your Success—Network Like Your Career Depends on It

By Sherry Budziak posted 5 days ago
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What’s the single best thing you can do for your career? It doesn’t require special training, it’s never too late to get started, better still, it will return your investment of energy and effort many times over. With all those pluses, why isn’t building a strong network at the top of every leader’s list of professional goals?   Trading business cards comes naturally for me. It’s a fortunate accident of DNA. Although there are lots of extraverts in the association community, not everyone loves to mix and mingle with a new crowd. Even gregarious people may not enjoy introducing themselves to an unfamiliar audience. Others simply don’t want to take the time ...
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Giveaways and Gimmicks Are Short-Lived Solutions—Strong Membership Initiatives Begin With the Basics

By Sherry Budziak posted 12 days ago
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From VIP clubs to fancy swag and tiered pricing, the tactics to win members’ hearts are only limited by imagination. When the economy, technology, or social disruption, like the pandemic, threatens to come between us and our reason for being, a little panic is understandable. But before you load on the giveaways and short-lived solutions, make sure that the fundamentals for a strong membership initiative are in place.   Put Technology First In the era of Match.com, lots of relationships start online. The communication between your association and its members is no exception. More often than not, your website is the venue for your first date. If that initial ...
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Hiring Without a Handshake—Get Virtual Interviewing Right

By Sherry Budziak posted 25 days ago
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Every new hire is either an opportunity for success or a challenge to it. No recruit is neutral. If there are people on your team who don’t rock the boat, but never move it forward, that’s a drain on precious resources. Interviewing in a virtual environment adds a dimension to an already high stakes process.     Interviewers need to be ambassadors, psychologists, empaths, and detectives to accurately assess candidates in what is, typically, a short period of time. Even when recruitment includes multiple meetings with representatives from across the organization, missteps are common.   Remote work makes the world your oyster. You can cherry-pick talent ...
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Remote Work Is a Superpower—Learn How to Use It

By Sherry Budziak posted 01-18-2021
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I hate to see COVID-19 give remote work a bad rap. The ability to do business from anywhere gives you the superpower to slay disruption in its tracks. But only when you learn the rules.   Over the last few months, more than a few people feel as though work sabotaged their lives. The office abruptly moved into their homes along with school and the playground. It would be hard to imagine a worse scenario for making the switch to an online association. Organizations with long-standing remote work initiatives were islands of calm in the chaos. Those fortunate groups already had the opportunity to discover how to take their operations virtual.   Transitioning ...
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Flexible, Hybrid, On-Demand—The Future of Work Holds Opportunity for Leaders Who Accept the Challenge

By Sherry Budziak posted 01-15-2021
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We’ve all had the feeling—You click to leave the Zoom meeting and your brain needs a refresh along with the computer screen. Here’s some not so surprising news. Zoom fatigue is real.   A study from Microsoft’s Human Factor’s Lab demonstrates that brainwave patterns associated with stress and overwork are higher during remote than in-person collaboration. But there is an interesting twist. The reverse is also true. People who first collaborate online seem to register more stress when they begin working together in person.   Enforced change is almost always uncomfortable. Work, an activity which for decades has been characterized by predictability, has ...
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Invite Risk To the Party and Still Play It Safe

By Sherry Budziak posted 01-04-2021
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As an entrepreneur who works in the association community, I’m always aware of the differences in these two worlds and the circumstances that influence their distinct perspectives. Associations are cautious diplomats. They try so hard to avoid a misstep that sometimes they don’t see the edge and fall off the cliff despite themselves. On the other hand, us entrepreneurs are bold upstarts. Our willingness to grasp at straws of opportunity can prove equally disastrous.   Neither group is immune to an extreme approach to risk; but, as the digital revolution continues destabilizing the business environment, it’s clear that to keep their balance associations need ...
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Did You Haul Analog Baggage Into the Digital Marketplace?

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-15-2020
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Did your organization leap or crawl into the virtual realm? The pandemic’s challenging circumstances demanded a quick transition that left many associations carrying unnecessary baggage to the other side. Trying to manage an analog culture in the digital marketplace requires heavy lifting. The new year brings an opportunity to lighten that load.   You may have acquired new software and added skills but having and using that technology does not equal integration into the digital environment. It only gives you the tools to get there. There is a significant difference between being digitized and digital. Gartner, the information and technology research consultancy, ...
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Are You Listening?

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-08-2020
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It’s one thing when you choose to do your job at the kitchen table; It’s another to be stuck there without an alternative. By choice, the kitchen seems cozy.  When it’s the only space available—not so much. I make that distinction because remote work shouldn’t take all the fall for the perfectly understandable cultural stress occurring in many organizations.  Now more than ever, the need for listening comes to the fore.   If you are a leader who understands the connection between a positive culture and success, you’re probably communicating with your staff with greater frequency and intention than ever. And, undoubtedly, you’re listening more often than talking. ...
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Make Data Your Competitive Advantage

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-02-2020
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Can you guess the answer to this question? Virginia (Ginni) Rometty, Executive Chairman of IBM, recommended making these critical marketing shifts within the next 18 months or risk being left in the dust: Move the focus from market segmentation to the individual customer. “Create systems of engagement” that go beyond reaching out to tracking brand and customer interactions over time and using that information to “maximize value creation at every touch point.” Promote authenticity and transparency by aligning brand and culture.   What year was it?   Surprisingly, Rometty made these remarks in February 2013. She was speaking to CMOs and CIOs ...
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The Digital Marketplace is a Learning Machine—Keep Pace With 8 Simple Steps Toward Business Transformation

By Sherry Budziak posted 11-25-2020
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This message appeared on my phone the other day: Hi Kristina: I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Rose Resident Mischief-Maker at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. As your virtual hook-up, just text me for housekeeping requests, restaurant reservations, room service orders, guest services, and more. Just reply Rose and I’ll show you everything I can do. Aside from the fact that an imperfectly programmed human missed a digit in Kristina’s phone number and sent the AI on a futile mission, this was a good example of pandemic adaptation. It signals what the future holds not only for hotels but for industry across the board. Rose will only grow smarter and smarter ...
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Happy Endings Brighten a Challenging Season

By Sherry Budziak posted 11-18-2020
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Most of us won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving as usual. Gatherings will be a slimmer version of the traditional mega feast. There’s no need to hunt down the extra table leaf and chairs. The good news is maybe Uncle Harry, who you love to hate, won’t be there. The bad news is that you’ll probably miss him more than you think. You might even imagine yourself saying, “Sure, Harry, enjoy that cigar. Nobody minds a little smoke.”   We’ve had eight months to get used to separation, but it remains stressful and difficult, perhaps more so than ever. Like me, you’ve probably found your bright spots and moments for gratitude. Although I would be thrilled if my daughters ...
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Guidance on Revenues From Virtual Trade Shows

By Kristin McGuine posted 11-17-2020
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This article originally appeared in the  Fall 2020 issue of VantagePoint magazine , the quarterly publication of WSAE. Author Amanda VanNatta, CPA, is Senior Manager at Wegner CPAs, a WSAE member. Net income received by a tax-exempt organization may be subject to federal corporate income taxation if the income is generated by the performance of an activity that is a trade or business, is regularly carried on, and is not substantially related to the organization’s tax exempt purpose. One area of debate has been whether an organization’s production of a convention or trade show was an activity that was substantially related to the organization’s tax-exempt ...
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Deliver Leadership, Leverage, and Leads for Virtual Sponsors

By Sherry Budziak posted 11-16-2020
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Networking is one of my favorite conference activities. Meeting someone who expands my horizons or helping a colleague make a critical connection, is satisfying in a way that’s hard to beat. It’s not as easy to experience that glow in cyberspace. Nowhere is the gulf between an in-person and a virtual encounter more important to bridge than with the sponsors whose financial support is a critical component of association meetings. Results of a recent .orgSource survey highlight the challenge that many organizations have producing robust ROI in virtual venues. Respondents reported that although online participation has increased, those gains were not matched ...
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My Zoom Background Is My New BFF – Critical Conversations About Work in the Age of COVID-19

By Sherry Budziak posted 11-06-2020
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The pandemic ended breakroom chats, Friday happy hour, and pizza around the conference table. But there is a bright side. We are learning to be remote together. We can draw on each other’s ups, downs, and sometimes sideways experiences to grow stronger and smarter.   .orgCommunity , .orgSource’s networking and educational partner, is hosting a series of “Critical Conversations.”  These events are an opportunity to discuss how .orgCommunity members are coping with the intersection of work, home, family, and adjustments that are necessary to lead their associations through this uncharted territory.    I’m sure there are other leaders wrestling with the ...
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Sometimes It takes a Dachshund to Make People Consider Change

By Sherry Budziak posted 10-22-2020
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Why did I use this cute pup to illustrate my post? You know what they say about babies and dogs, they get people to pay attention, and this message is important.   Several weeks ago, I wrote about the results of a survey .orgSource conducted. That’s another reason for the dog. Survey results tend to make readers’ eyes glaze over. But stay with me. I want to talk about bringing a breath of fresh air into stale scenarios and looking at routines through new eyes.   The survey goal was to learn how associations are being impacted by the pandemic and how they are preparing for the future. Based on the responses, most groups are navigating through this disruption. ...
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Small Associations—Cut Through the Clutter to Find the Right AMS

By Sherry Budziak posted 10-21-2020
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There’s low-fat, chipotle-spiked, lime-laced, dairy-free, and enriched with avocado. Mayonnaise isn’t alone in its overwhelming diversity. An explosion of products can make selection, especially something as significant as a new association management system, a black hole that drains organizational resources. For small associations (10 employees or less) that don’t have the bandwidth or the budget to spend on power shopping, the array of choices can be especially frustrating.   Back in the olden days, say ten years ago, choice wasn’t a problem because the options were limited. Much of the software designed for associations was high-ticket (think at least ...
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Keep Scary Surprises Out of Your Virtual Event

By Sherry Budziak posted 10-07-2020
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Bugs and ghostly echoes are fun on Halloween. But don’t let unanticipated hauntings turn your virtual conference into a scare-fest instead of a success. On October 22, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez,, and I will host a webinar to tell you how to stop the vampires and ghouls from invading your online event space.   Our panel which includes, Joanna Pineda , Founder, CEO and Chief Trouble Maker, Matrix Group International, Inc. .,   Arianna Rehak , CEO, Matchbox Virtual Media , and Dan Stevens , President, Workerbee.TV , are experts at virtual communications, marketing, and events.   The program comes on the heels of Solutions Day, .orgCommunity’s ...
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Survey Reveals Disconnect Between Current Strategies and Market Realities

By Sherry Budziak posted 10-07-2020
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Is it déjà vu? Back in 2018, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez, and I wrote a book. It was the result of months of thinking about how associations would need to change in the digital age. When we named our work , Association 4.0: Positioning for Success in an Era of Disruption , little did we suspect, that in short order, our entire community would be living that title.   Fast forward to Solutions Day 2020 , .orgCommunity’s signature event. I presented the results of a survey that .orgSource conducted to assess the impact of that disruption. The pandemic has accelerated many of the trends .orgSource was already seeing on the horizon and has brought challenges ...
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An Updated Education Menu Keeps Members Coming Back for More

By Sherry Budziak posted 09-29-2020
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The pandemic has elevated trends that were bit players to the big screen. This phenomenon was highlighted in the presentations at .orgCommunity’s recent Solutions Day . If you weren’t able to attend our signature event, no worries. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be writing about what I learned.   Associations stake their relevance, as well as large slices of budget pie, on providing quality professional development. So, staying in tune with the evolving education marketplace is critical. Sharon Rice, .orgSource’s Director of Business Strategy always has a finger on the pulse of the digital landscape. During her presentation, she shared her perspective ...
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