Love 'em or Lump 'em...Market Research Associations?
Posted by Vaughn Mordecai on Wed, Feb 10, 2010 @ 04:31 PM
I recently wrote an article about the usefulness (or for some...the uselessness) of Market Research Directories. In the course of the conversation, a similar question was implied regarding the benefit gained from the numerous market research associations.
Before we continue, it's worth noting that I have a bias that I should put OUT THERE. I have been volunteering with the MRA (Marketing Research Association) for several years and find market research industry associations helpful. Melissa Pepper, an awesome industry friend, and I, are two "first-time" board nominees for the upcoming MRA election and have created the "Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper & Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board". The committee is aimed to have some fun and see how (if) social media can impact the MRA election...MROC the vote so to speak (ha - that seemed like a shameless plug that wasn't really intended as a shameless plug) Please keep reading now...
In a recent discussion on the Tom H. C. Anderson moderated LinkedIn group, "Next Gen Market Research," the question was asked "Which trade organization membership would you miss least?" It's a very interesting question. I started to think about it and concluded that the question should probably be flipped on its nose. Maybe the question should be "Which trade organization do you value the most?" And why?
I personally believe that these associations are necessary for the future survival of the market research industry. This is especially true for small to mid-size companies that may not have the resources of their much larger competitors. Industry associations bring benefits to market research companies that are very difficult or very costly to acquire elsewhere. They even benefit "non-members" of the association without the "non-member" ever realizing it. For instance:
- Market research industry associations provide us with legal interpretation and representation as an industry. Where would we be if our industry associations were not lobbying for us when legislation is considered that could eliminate or severely inhibit the ability to provide our products and services. Just because YOU PERSONALLY may not pay specific attention to these developments, doesn't mean they are NOT a benefit to you.
- Related to this are best practice guidelines that not only outline legal requirements in bulleted form, but also provide standardized quality practices. Following these association requirements for membership significantly diminishes the probability that an organization will violate some legal guideline or get itself into "trouble" having a negative impact on the entire industry.
- My personal opinion is that the training and educational elements of our industry associations are significantly under-utilized. This is a valuable part of what these associations offer and shouldn't be overlooked.
- For many, networking opportunity is the most visible element of association membership. Unfortunately, the value placed on any membership is oft-times ONLY associated with the robustness of the networking available.
I believe that the reasons these benefits are often overlooked are:
- You get out what you put in. Many of us spend a significant amount of time maintaining and managing our social media, staying connected to trends, and watching for insight that can help us evolve our businesses. What kind of time are we spending invested and involved in our industry memberships? Would you see a real-world, revenue-based, ROI benefit from your industry associations if even one-fourth (or less) of the time we spend on social media was actually spent on volunteering with the association(s) you belong to? The connections you build when you volunteer are tighter, the relationships stronger, and the benefit just as robust. Not to mention the good karma you get by giving back to those that contribute to your success (ok...so I did mention the good karma).
- If you don't know...you don't know what you don't know. Many members subscribe to association membership simply to say that they are a member and so they can put the association logo on their website. The complaint is then raised that the association brings nothing to them. If you are not engaged in the association and understand what it brings to the table, how do you expect to reap its benefits.
- You're only as irrelevant as you allow yourself to be. I've heard some say that the associations may not bring the benefit that they once did. For whatever reason the benefit has decreased due to social media, TMI - too much info available, information is moving too quickly for associations to keep up, etc. If you want your membership to be valuable, PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS...I don't care which association it's for, or who you vote for...but place representatives in the associations that a
re forward thinking and capable of transforming the association with the new technology and methods available.
Whether you love 'em or would like to lump 'em, market research associations seem to be here to stay. Could the associations provide more value and be more effective? The answer is yes? Could members get more value from their memberships? The answer is also yes. The million dollar question is "How do you encourage these two paths to converge?"
So I ask you...
- What market research industry associations do you value the most? Why?
- How can market research industry associations be more valuable to their membership base?
- How can members of market research associations get more value from their memberships?