For the Media

“The Competition Within” for the media

“The Competition Within: How Members Will Reinvent Associations” is the new book from Rebecca Rolfes. Rolfes is the executive director of Association Growth Partners, a Chicago-based consultancy that that creates and executes content marketing programs that increase revenues for B2B associations.

The book aims to show that the biggest competition today’s associations face is not other associations, or even for-profit organizations. Competition is coming from the fact that the way people feel about joining an association—and what they expect from their membership—is changing.

When technology offers what author Clay Shirky calls “the power of organizing without organizations,” why pay dues? When global markets are interested in only a part of an association’s offering, how can associations afford to operate as they always have? When people manage their lives from any device with a wireless connection, why join an association with rigid ideas about boundaries? When social networks remove the overhead of running an organization, when like-minded individuals in any specific area are only a click away, why tie yourself to an association where one size must fit many?

Interview Rebecca Rolfes

Rebecca is an authoritative source for interviews on topics such as:

  • the benefits of outsourcing for associations

  • maximizing non-dues revenue
  • custom publishing and content marketing for associations
  • why associations must embrace competition and technology

To arrange an interview, call or email Rebecca Rolfes at Association Growth Partners. (phone: 312.887.1000 ext. 116)

Interview Questions for Rebecca Rolfes, Executive Director of Association Growth Partners
  • On your website and in your blog, you talk about the advantages of outsourcing strategy, publishing and other non-clerical functions? Why would an association do that?
  • Associations have always functioned just fine until now … Why do you say that associations must come to grips with technology and globalization if they want to remain relevant?
  • What are some common misconceptions about what members expect from their association membership? How are those expectations changing?
  • How do blogs contribute to an association’s marketing/membership strategy?
  • Associations have always printed magazines and newsletters as a way to keep in touch with their members. Why would an association want to risk losing control of their message by allowing comments and user-generated content?
  • Can you give me a few examples of associations that are embracing technology and changing the way they interact with their members?
  • What advice would you give to an association that is considering outsourcing a magazine or its digital content?
  • How can an association use audio/video to engage its members?
  • You say that an association should determine if it functions in a leadership capacity or a service capacity. What do you mean by that?
  • Do you have plans for another book? What is on the AGP agenda for 2009-2010?