I am not much of a gamer right now, but the few experiences I have had with the Nintendo Wii have been absolutely mind-blowing. I work up a sweat throwing punches in the boxing game, and my bowling score is true to life – which is to say it’s downright awful.
But it’s one thing to impress me, someone who grew up in the era of video games and spent too many hours in college playing Tecmo Super Bowl with his buddies. This system impresses and excites a whole new group of gamers these days – senior citizens. Instead of pursuing the same group of customers – namely young adults – with its new product, Nintendo has pursued its own blue ocean. And it has taken the gaming industry by storm not only by creating a revolutionary product, but also by proactively determining who its future customers could and should be.
Thinking about future members can be a challenging proposition for associations. After all, organizations generally serve a specific industry, and those industries tend to evolve gradually. However, if you’re only thinking about the present in terms of your membership, you’re missing an opportunity to grow.
The PURL campaign that the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) is currently executing is exactly about the future (see my “What’s the Big Idea” column on page 48 of this month’s issue of Forum Magazine). The field of ceramics is changing, and while some of the society’s traditional members might be able to find value in organizations that don’t necessarily specialize in ceramics, the application of ceramics in other areas opens membership opportunities in previously unconsidered disciplines.
The PURL campaign offers a way to proactively address the new industry trends. The goals of the campaign are not only to develop a new and viable prospect list, but also to find out what trends and issues are of greatest interest to these prospects. Then, the organization will use these ideas as it creates messages for its ongoing recruitment campaign.
How is your organization handling the evolution of your industry? Have you considered how your future members may look compared to your current constituents? What strategies do you have in place to address the inevitable changes in your business?
Stay tuned for other posts related to the ACerS PURL strategy, as well as updates and early results from the campaign.
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