The Competition Within

About the Book

How do you connect with your members? How do you ensure that your association is at the center of members' online and offline conversations?

The twin forces of globalization and technology revolutionized how successful companies compete. Now they present a threat to associations, as well as an opportunity that they must embrace.

But associations cannot reinvent themselves based solely on new technology that simply enhances current offerings. Only a major, top-to-bottom transformation will catapult associations into a new, uncharted competitive space.

Associations will make the change or contend with irrelevance in the face of globalization, online communities, digital and social media, user-generated content and on-demand access to research and information.

They must discover what members want and then deliver it however and whenever they want it. That is not too much to ask in a borderless world powered by technology. It is not only possible, but easy. The competition has figured it out. Have you?

About the Author

Rebecca Rolfes is executive vice president of association publishing at Imagination, a relationship-marketing agency. She helps trade and professional associations to strengthen member relationships and discover new revenue streams. Rolfes holds undergraduate degrees in English and French, and a master's degree in international policy. She lives and works in Chicago.