“You get out what you put in.” Association Memberships how can they help individual business

Many business people will be looking at their marketing budgets thinking what can go and what can stay in this economic climate.

Why are associations important to your business?

Associations are formed to ensure that industries have an audible voice, in the business world.

Individual businesses join Associations at a local, regional, state, national and global level. All these membership costs add up. Businesses often ask why not just have one association for all?
That is a great question.

Associations specialise in different areas helping to expand business knowledge, create opportunities and highlight product and services through:

• Marketing
• Industry Trends, Education legal and regulatory updates
• Political change
• Individual Business Role

‘As a member ask associations how they differentiate from one another what they offer, that makes you want to contribute.’

Marketing

As business grows and the market base diversifies, Small Medium Enterprises (SME) can link in with associations as a cost effective marketing tool. If an individual business were to pay for exposure at both industry and consumer events and other marketing campaigns they may offer the costs go into tens of thousands of dollars rather than the couple of hundred dollar fee.
Associations offer a way to showcase individual product and services and create a unique differentiation to other areas that would be competing with your business.
In order to get the most out of marketing opportunities

‘ask what you gave to the association to sell the business. For example

• Create a value add, discount or another means to monitor sales returns.

• Speak to the association prior to events or marketing campaigns to see how
they will market your product or service.

• Ask for a debrief session after , even if it is just a 5 minute conversation
or email to see how the market was and what they seemed to want?

Working with an association in this manner enables a business to be informed which in turn can create new thinking and fresh ideas to improve business processes, partnerships and opportunities for the future.

Industry Trends, Education legal and regulatory updates

From an education perspective, it is okay for us business owners not to know everything, what is dangerous for a business is if the key stakeholders do not work on continuous improvement.’ Associations offer an economic way to stay in touch with industry trends, legal and regulation changes, and education.
Change will always be a factor for business in both the macro and micro environments. Associations do inform and educate business on these changes and in some case contribute to the changes that are made.
Often associations offer opportunities to hear from others in industry what they do well, what challenges they faces and most importantly how they were overcome. They are able to access academics and create academic and industry partnerships, offer specialised training at reasonable costs and to suit the individual business owners’ time requirements.
Associations can keep you up to date with local regional national and global trends in industry business can access figures statistics etc to assist with planning and growing your business.

If an association offers this sort of industry updates and training attend these forums and training sessions, if you cannot send someone else on behalf of your business or ask for access to the notes. All this helps you to help your business stay in touch.

Political Change

Political impact is difficult for SME’s. As an industry your business in Australia is highly regulated As an owner it seems a long way from where your business is operating to Canberra and a professional politician who may have never been a business owner in their life; and who are being influenced only by their parties’ political views.
In order for businesses to change the thinking of government they have access to industry associations.

Individual Business Role

Associations can overcome this issue at a local regional state and national level. Associations are made up of members, as a member it is imperative that an individual or your whole team engage to inform these associations of issues. However it does not stop there. As a business come up with a solution to the issues, no one knows your business like you do you and others in your industry understand the issues, if you don’t have the solution you can bet no one else will have a satisfactory one either so investigate the issue your facing and come up with the solution that would suit not only your business but others like it. (Yes those that are your competitors. Remember competitors are not the people around you rather those in other areas that are able to create demand outside of your business region. in particular offshore or international businesses in your field) If the solution works for your industry on the whole then the association has the avenues to get your views to the decision makers quickly and efficiently.
REMEMBER ‘Associations represent its majority of members concerns they are not there to satisfy singular individual views, working together, however, as a group creates opportunity for change. This way the Association in essence is making it easier for government to interact with industry and vice versa.’

There are many diverse businesses within an industry and most are Small and Medium Enterprises. (98% of Australian businesses are SME’s) Without associations SME do not get a fair hearing from government industries can become silos leading to stagnation and or decline and you as the individual do not get the opportunity to inform and educate the decision makers of your industry.

Associations are vehicle however, the individual members must be the drivers of the association otherwise, like a car, your vehicle will not move.

So next time you wonder what your memberships do for you ask:

‘What have I done to contribute to change for my industry and how have I worked with the association to achieve change?’

Tanya Forsyth Taylor (MBA)
Business Wanganhaa
11/01/17

11/01/17