Joe Grant's Blog

The Future of Professional Associations - My Thoughts on Shel's posting

Shel Holtz's blog posting (The Future of Professional Associations ) generated some interesting buzz on ASAE's Listserve.

He makes some interesting points about how social media is becoming more and more of a major threat to associations.

I agree with Shel's points.  I also agree with Ben's comments that this is not the first threat associations will face nor will it be the last. I remember back in the early 90's at the first Digital Now conference - the buzz was that if you didn't change your association's business model by lunch break or have an instantaneous “paradigm shift” you were toast : )

Phew...we made it.

Fast forward to the latest buzz...social media is a serious threat to associations. Without a doubt, social media needs to become a high priority item on the strategic agenda; however, there are others (some interrelated) that are just as important.  For example.

How do you compete with time? I believe this is a huge threat to associations. People have less and less time to volunteer or participate in the traditional offerings. When members ask for a different experience, they’re criticized for rocking the boat. How will associations provide volunteer opportunities and programs that are compelling enough to make the calendar?

Who's really serving your members? Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia and many others have transformed information into a commodity. If your members can find better information about YOUR industry on Google, Yahoo, or any other third party website for that matter, you're in trouble.

Can anyone say information overload? Somewhere in your office or home you have a growing pile of ASAE magazines, newsletters, industry publications, articles, books, newspapers, etc.  A little overwhelming isn't it? You keep saying you're going to read them someday, but that someday never seems to come.  How will associations and other information providers deliver content in bite sized chunks that can be digested on the fly and be compelling enough to avoid joining the pile?

Forgive me for this much overused cliché but associations need to start thinking outside of the box and find ways to turn these threats into opportunities. They need to become more innovative, more creative, act faster, take more risks, invite younger members to the table, start delivering value to these members, synthesize the old with the new, collaborate with other associations and organizations, and communicate the value proposition more effectively.

The biggest threat to associations in my opinion is their own fear of change. It reminds me of the simple but compelling book Who Moved My Cheese.  Sure membership numbers are down, but things are going okay... so let’s keep doing what we've always done. As the story illustrates, this strategy (or lack thereof) will only work for so long.

Slot Machines at Funerals!

When I read the article in the Sunday's USA TODAY titled Some Funerals Evolving into Life Celebrations, it peaked my interest. The article describes a shift away from the traditional funeral arrangement to more of a celebration for remembering loved ones.

In one case, a funeral home simulated a live casino in the funeral parlor. Apparently, the deceased was fond of gambling so the family wanted to reproduce the sound of a casino. Money dropped into the slot machines was donated to the decedent's favorite charity. Other cases involved campsite themes, powerpoint slides, videos, and armored trucks. 

In another more elaborate case, an event planner took matters into her own hands by renting a ballroom to create a grand celebration for her 54 year old husband who died suddenly of a heart attack.  The celebration included two large tv screens with 3 1/2 minute video to remember his life and three Ferraris parked in front of the stage to honor his love of engineering.  Guests were asked to wear white to symbolize peace, rolling stones played on the loud speakers and tongue stickers were distributed to attendees.

Another significant change in the funeral industry is the ability to purchase your own casket and urn online at a fraction of the funeral home's cost.  By visiting sites like tributedirect.com, casketstore.com or casketxpress.com, you can order a discounted casket with free shipping to your funeral home.  A casket that costs $8,000 in a funeral home, can now be purchased online for $3,595 (Levitt and Dubner 62).

In the book Freakonomics, authors Levitt and Dubner describe the term asymmetrical information.

"We accept as a verity of capitalism that someone (usually an expert) knows more than someone else (usually a consumer).  But information asymmetries everywhere have in fact been gravely wounded by the Internet."

The examples above represent a change in consumer attitudes about death and religion and the ability to access information that was at one time knowledge only to the experts.  Changing consumer attitudes and shifts in asymmetrical information are allowing consumers to push funeral directors and other experts out of the driver's seat and take control.

Is the funeral industry on the endangered species list?  Probably not, but it is being forced to change its business model - perhaps, becoming less funeral director and more event planner to create unique life celebrations.  Funeral home's can no longer rely on the profits from their commodities (caskets and urns). They need to shift their focus to creating a unique and memorable experience for the family and embrace the change as an opportunity, not a threat. 

I believe the association's role is to help identify and communicate these trends to our members before it's too late.  To help them see the new opportunities and become designers of the future rather than victims.

Of course this is easier said than done.  I worked for a funeral association several years ago (hence my peaked interest) and I remember the management team discussing the trends described above. Unfortunately, there was a strong resistance from members to accept the changes because business at the time was doing well.  Still it is our duty to present the facts, help them see the future and prepare them with the tools and resources to succeed.

The USA TODAY article provides examples of funeral homes who are embracing the changes and benefiting. Hopefully funeral association's are reevaluating their offerings to help their members thrive in this new environment.

USA Today Article Link: Some Funerals Evolving Into Life Celebrations

How have shifts in consumer attitudes or asymmetrical information affected your industry?  What are you doing to communicate these changes to your members?  How are you dealing with resistance?