GrowingGLOBAL MARKETS

DURING DIFFICULT TIMESBY BRET KELSEY AND PETER TURNER

ike many association professionals, you probably areseeing a growing number of non-U.S. influences onyour business. More and more international customersare consuming your products, attending your U.S.

meetings and contributing content to your publications. As yougrow increasingly reliant on this international clientele, yourmembers, customers, partners and leaders are likely demandingthat your association be more “present and engaged” with them.

Meanwhile, your environmental scanning indicates thesedemographic and business trends: • Expansion in global trade as a result of freer and newer markets;• Rapid increase in migration of workers, not only to developed

countries but to emerging markets; • Rapid adoption and diffusion of technology; • Major expansion in foreign direct investment on a global scale;• Increasing demand for a local presence and customized

local offerings; • 24/7 global project management that necessitates inter-

operable standards and procedures, fueling the demand forcertification and training;

• Expectations for “global” customer service, with regionalconsumers demanding the same quality experience whetherin Chicago or Mumbai.So how do we pursue growing a market for products, serv-

ices or membership in various regions of the world — even ina down economy?

International Scope, LocalViewFor some associations, the answer might be to lead with prod-ucts and services, while for others it remains all about member-ship. But regardless of your approach, if you cannot build localrelevance and presence you may be less likely to attract andsustain interest among customers, members, partners, sponsorsor endorsers in any market.

According to the World Bank, in 2000 the middle classand the wealthy exceeded 40 percent of the population in onlysix developing countries. By 2030, the number of countries isexpected to grow fivefold to 30. As a result, there will be amassive new income-earning consumer base that will demandaccess to standards of living previously known by populationsonly in developed countries.

What industry or profession wouldn’t want to serve such anuntapped demand for living the kind of life many of us take forgranted? To do so, an association must find a way to establish apresence — directly or indirectly — in the markets in which it hopesto grow. The two following examples help illustrate this point.

Million Dollar Round TableThe Park Ridge, Ill.-based Million Dollar Roundtable — an inter-national association of life insurance and financial servicesprofessionals — developed a successful strategy and implemen-tation plan to target Central and Eastern Europe for member-ship and non-dues revenue growth. The solution was not simplyopening a regional office, because local operational effective-ness does not necessarily result in revenue growth. In addition,the organization knew simply distributing membership brochuresin a local language would not be sufficient.

MDRT devised a segmented strategy targeting Central andSoutheastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent

States. Based on local market research that defined the local“business value” of the MDRT value proposition, the strategycalled for a plan that tailored the opportunity according to theneeds of each member prospect while personalizing its delivery.

The plan hinged on the following:• Hiring an in-region team to build relationships with C-level

executives, create targeted marketing communications, andprovide membership support;

• Using various partners including local chambers of commerce,national entities, and sister organizations;

• Creating local member activities driven by local member needs;• Communicating in local languages to promote local, regional

and international programs and services with calls to action;• Launching an ambassadorship program of regional volunteer

leaders to attend local company meetings; and• Conducting best practice presentations by MDRT volunteer

leaders or top regional producers.After one year of this program, MDRT realized a six-figure (in

U.S. dollars) increase in revenue from Europe, the Middle Eastand Africa through a 20 percent increase in local membershipand 33 percent increase in U.S. annual meeting attendance.

MDRT is now applying this same model in the Asia Pacificregion, where it sees significant growth potential in South Korea,China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

International DB2 Users GroupAnother example of successful global growth strategies is Inter-national DB2 Users Group, based in Chicago. IDUG, an inde-pendent user group for IBM’s DB2 products (a family ofrelational database management system products), has movedbeyond its U.S. base by leveraging a strong vendor partnershipwith IBM to grow its user community. But rather than launchingeducational events in such countries as India, Brazil and Chinasimply because there were users located there, IDUG did itshomework and truly cultivated a community.

IDUG worked collaboratively with IBM to identify local cus-tomers and leverage lists of active online forum contributorsfrom India to build a continuity of user group supporters. Inaddition, the team performed a market research assessment ofthe local market to determine:• Demographics of the local user base;• Local education needs;• The competitive landscape for DB2 education;• The value proposition and potential pricing model;• Needs for translation of content;

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L According to theWorldBank, in 2000 the middleclass and the wealthyexceeded 40 percent of thepopulation in only sixdeveloping countries. By2030, the number of coun-tries is expected to growfivefold to 30.

48 FORUM MARCH 2009

• Opportunities for local third-party vendor support;• Preferences for delivery of educational content.

The contacts and data gathered helped IDUG create a three-year plan to cultivate a local user community that would leadto the eventual launch of a stand-alone educational conferencein Bangalore, India. IDUG was able to gain a foothold and beginto build a following through a series of measures: • Leveraging local IBM customer events to build visibility and

brand awareness of the independent user group; • Gaining an opportunity — with the help of IBM — to win

over attendees of these local events by providing them achance to opt in to IDUG membership; and

• Enlisting active local users to: (1) Create and build awarenessof a new IDUG regional user group that would eventuallyfeed into a local IDUG conference planning committee; and(2) Provide input on hot topics, which led to the creation ofa series of IDUG-branded webinars tailored and marketed tolocal needs and designed to keep the local community engagedbetween events. IDUG is now replicating this cooperative process in the

Brazil and China markets. The effort is yielding growth both in itsonline user community, and in creating opportunities for expan-sion of both face-to-face and electronic education delivery.

Strategies for Success Based on our experience with these and other clients, here aresome tips for developing and executing your own global growthstrategy:

1. Market Analysis and Business Plan: There is no substitutefor market research collected directly from your customerand member segments in targeted regions.

2. Product Management: Make sure local experts are involvedin adapting your product or service to each region, and thatyou have the ability to scale your service delivery inside theregion instead of from headquarters.

3. Membership: Cultivate participation by giving your localleaders a say in how to create local activities.

4. Marketing Communications: Rather than just translatingyour material, make the content relevant to local audiences.

5. Meetings: Select partners with solid local knowledge andexpertise in areas including marketing and promotion,sponsorship development, destination management, hous-ing, currency risk, registration and meeting logistics. Despite economic challenges, meeting the needs and fulfill-

ing the aspirations of members remain critical for the future ofall associations. At the same time, globalization trends point toopportunities for associations to maximize their growth and rev-enue potential. Five years from now, the organizations that will bein the best position are those that — despite the challenges —have identified those opportunities and pursued them effectively.

Bret Kelsey is senior director of client services for the SmithBucklin + MCI World-

wide Partnership. He may be reached at bkelsey@smithbucklin.com.

Peter Turner is MCI’s business development director, U.S. institutional market.

He may be reached at peter.turner@mci-group.com. For more information, visit

http://growglobally.org.