Lisa Furfine will be on Maui, January 3-6, for the PGA Mercedes-Benz Championship; Yvonne Garcia and Ilana Edell will be in Anaheim, California, January 6-9, for the American Football Coaches Association Convention; Yvonne Garcia and Ilana Edell will be in Nashville, Tennessee, January 10-13, for the NCAA Annual Convention; Lisa Furfine will be in San Diego, California, January 22; Rachel Carr will be in Ventura, California, January 25-27; Lisa Furfine will be in Phoenix, January 31-February 4, for Super Bowl XLII; Tim Schneider and Lisa Furfine will be in Washington D.C., February 5-8, for the Association of Convention Marketing Executives Meeting, the DMAI Foundation Dinner & Dream Auction and Destinations Showcase.

WE’RE HERE TO SERVE YOU AND WE LOVE TO SEE YOU WHEN WE’RE TRAVELING! Please call us toll-free at (877) 577-3700 or e-mail us if we can be of service in any way or if you’d like to schedule a meeting with us when we’re in your area.

Previously, in response to a reader inquiry, we discussed several ways associations can make their meetings and conventions something special. Following are some additional suggestions for taking your event from a “maybe I’ll go this year” to a “there’s no way I would miss it.”

Allow for multiple entry and exit points based on attendee type. An astute event planner realizes that everyone these days is time famished. Confronted with the schedule for an event that’s been planned to run five days, most attendees are going to try to find the two or three days of the schedule that most closely meet their needs.

Vary the formats of the sessions themselves. While each of the sessions and functions at your event need to be thought of from the standpoint of having a beginning, middle and end, you should take care not to make each of the sessions and functions too similar.

Consider human factors when determining your final schedule. At the annual conference our company organizes for the sports-event industry, the TEAMS Conference & Expo, it’s not unusual for the schedule to run 16 to 17 hours per day. If your convention has long hours, be mindful of the need for attendees to have some down time—time to recharge and check e-mails. Otherwise, you’re likely to notice a decided drop in attendance at your early-morning sessions by the third day of your convention.

Association executives and meeting planners face any number of challenges when it comes to scheduling annual meetings and conventions. To breathe new life into your meetings and conventions, become a proponent for change by incorporating some of the ideas we’ve presented this month and last or adopting components for your event that you’ve seen work well for associations outside of the industry or profession you serve.

Additionally, let us know what’s worked—and what hasn’t—at events you’ve attended, by commenting below (including your name, title and organization)!

The holiday season is always a good time to spend a few moments considering all that we have to be grateful for. Professionally, I am blessed to work with a group of colleagues that are world-class in so many ways. They strive daily to serve the important communities of state and regional association executives and sports-event industry professionals–communities whose work has a positive impact on millions of lives.

Of course, we would not be able to do what we do without the support of our advertisers, exhibitors and sponsors. Thanks to the support of 681 companies and organizations, we published 1,344 pages between our two magazines in 2007 and produced our best-attended TEAMS Conference & Expo ever.

The circle of support that radiates from our clients through our staff to the readers and attendees we serve makes what I do in my work truly satisfying. Of course, we’re always looking for new ways to be of service and to make what we already produce more valuable. Your suggestions in that regard would be greatly appreciated. Please add your comment below to share your thoughts.

Here’s wishing you a holiday season spent with friends and family and a new year that brings you success and satisfaction beyond your expectations!

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

One of our readers e-mailed to say that he is planning the schedule for a statewide convention of fire chiefs. To make his mark on the meeting, this planner wants to move from what he calls a “plain and simple” format to one that “raises the bar.” His note arrived just as I was reviewing the agenda for a meeting I’m planning to attend. My observation of that meeting’s agenda is that it seems to get longer each year. For a group of less than 500 members to have a meeting that runs from early on Monday until late on Friday seems to be a bit excessive.

So how can an association looking to add value to their meetings and conventions avoid needless agenda creep yet make their meetings something special? This month and next, I’ll be providing suggestions based on what we’ve learned by attending countless conventions and organizing our company’s annual TEAMS Conference:

Have a vision of the experience you’re attempting to create. Looking at your event as an “experience” helps broaden your overall approach to the planning process. Putting yourself in the place of the attendees is an excellent way to increase the odds of exceeding their expectations.

Here are some key questions to ask yourself: Is the primary purpose of your event education? Is it business development for your members? Is it networking? Is it a combination of some or all of these? How would your attendees answer the primary purpose question? Knowing those answers is the starting point for envisioning ways to enhance your attendees’ experience.

Create a sensible flow for your event. Before you begin scheduling items on your event’s agenda, take a step back and consider what would make the most sense in terms of the event’s flow.

Be careful what you call things. Pre-conference sessions, plenary sessions, post-conference sessions, opening receptions, welcome receptions … Be sure the names you attach to agenda items clarify what the attendee can expect. The name assigned to an agenda item is often the only thing considered as the attendee is deciding what parts of your event to attend.

Make sure your event has a beginning, a middle and an end. The most important aspect of event flow is being able to group the various components of your event so that they flow from start to finish in a logical fashion.

Do you have additional suggestions on how to plan the best possible agenda? Let us know by leaving a comment below (including your name, title and organization).

Unless your association is brand new, at some point it’s probably had to incur the wrath of members upset over a dues increase. Customer service expert Ross Shafer would likely attribute their unwillingness to pay more to a lack of love. Says Shafer, “If your customers love you, they will give you more money.” While “love” may not be a concept many associations consider, Shafer suggests strongly that it should be for the following reasons:

1. Humans have only one emotional barometer. Organizations of all types make the mistake of thinking their customers, clients or members are only in a business relationship with them. “Customers,” says Shafer, “expect a human relationship because they can’t tell the difference. Customers respond to bad service with the same hurt and emotional triggers they experience in a bad personal relationship.”

2. Loving you means members can stop dating others. According to Shafer, reluctant customers often experiment with several companies before settling on a favorite. Says Shafer, “You want to be the place they ‘settle.’ Because, when customers finally find a shop, service or product they love, what it means to them is that they can stop ‘dating’ others and commit to you.”

3. The love can be quantified. Shafer tells the story of a money-losing grocery store whose owner decided to see what he could do to keep the business operating. “He turned to his customers and did something radical,” says Shafer. “He started loving the customers. He would stand at the front door and say hello to everyone.” Within nine months, the store had increased its revenues sixfold.

As corny as it sounds, it may be worthwhile to consider ways to make your members love your association. You may soon have members who are much more likely to renew their memberships even if the dues are going up. Shafer’s latest book, “The Customer Shouts Back,” is available at our online bookstore at www.AssociationNews.com. For more information on Shafer and his Customer Empathy Institute, please visit www.RossShafer.com.

Have you taken steps to increase your members’ love for your association? Please comment on this post (including your name, title and organization) to share your experience with your colleagues at other organizations.

While the American business press can be counted on to serve up every detail of major corporate mergers, much less attention is paid to the merger of associations and other nonprofit organizations. Recently, however, the supply of information on the topic of association mergers has been increased dramatically with the publication of a study titled “Investigation of Association Mergers.” The 28-page report, produced by The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research, is based on qualitative data derived through interviews with board and staff executives of 11 associations that have engaged in merger activity in the last five years.

The report revealed that the following factors are key to successful mergers:

Communication. Open, honest dialogue and a willingness to share information during the merger discussion stage; effective handling of leaks during the negotiation stage; and providing detailed instructions as well us updates on progress for key internal audiences.

Leadership. The need for a “catalyst leader”—an individual who recognizes and communicates the need for a merger—and a nucleus of like-minded individuals committed to seeing the merger become a reality.

The Appropriateness of Time. Appropriate time periods must be allowed for precursor partnering, merger discussions, negotiations and implementation in order to allow for the building of relationships, the establishment of processes that facilitate collaboration and the addressing of the legal, financial and operational details of the merger.

Social Capital. The emergence of trust and familiarity—as well as the congruence of values, missions and goals—through face-to-face interactions between people in informal settings outside the boardroom.

Retention of Culture. The retention, honoring and integration of the distinctive and meaningful cultural elements of the former associations as the new entity is created.

Whether or not your association is considering a merger, this report contains valuable information that can help you understand the basis upon which successful partnerships can be formed. Copies of the complete research report, as well as additional information on The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research, can be found online at www.smithinstitute.org.

The holiday season is always a good time to spend a few moments considering all that we have to be grateful for. Professionally, I am blessed to work with a group of colleagues that are world-class in so many ways. They strive daily to serve the important communities of state and regional association executives and sports-event industry professionals–communities whose work has a positive impact on millions of lives.

Of course, we would not be able to do what we do without the support of our advertisers, exhibitors and sponsors. Thanks to the support of 681 companies and organizations, we published 1,344 pages between our two magazines in 2007 and produced our best-attended TEAMS Conference & Expo ever.

The circle of support that radiates out from our clients through our staff to the readers and attendees we serve makes what I do in my work truly satisfying. Of course, we’re always looking for new ways to be of service and to make what we already produce more valuable. Your suggestions in that regard would be greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Here’s wishing you a holiday season spent with friends and family and a new year that brings you success and satisfaction beyond your expectations!

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company, Inc.