Second hybrid meeting presentation from Dubai using Blue Sky's virtual KOL technology.

2. Essential Operations to Drive Local Business
Tarnbir Kaur, CAE
Director – Association Management & Consulting,
MCI Middle East and India
July 2012
In partnership with
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3. Agenda
 Who Am I?
 Factors for success
 Association Offerings
 Regional Strategy
 Integrated Business Development
 Integrated Marketing and Communications
 Rise of Social Media
 Some examples
 Things to remember
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4. Who am I- Tarnbir Kaur, CAE
 Based in Dubai, UAE responsible for
association management and consulting for
Middle East, North Africa and India
 Prior to this was based in Singapore and
consulted, advised and managed professional
and trade associations in Asia
 Overall 12 years of working in the India, Asia
and Middle East primarily in the not for profit
sector
 Successfully led and developed international
associations in Asia and Middle East.
 Spearheaded market research projects to
assess potential and devise strategy for
associations interested in Asia, India and
Middle East
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5. Success in International Markets
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6. Association Offerings of Interest to International
Markets
Professional
Platform
Education-
Trainings
Certification/
Standards
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7. Regional Strategy
Integrated
Business
Development
Integrated
Customer
Marketing &
Service
Comms
Strategy
Chapter/
Membership
Development Affiliate
Management
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8. Growing Market Share
• Incorporation and formation flexibility
Strategy • Working with local partners or AM&C
• Building strong partnerships – govt, association, corporate
Business Development • Establishing various sales channels
• Local touch point for customers
Customer Service • Information, Communication and Time zones
• Campaigns in local language and graphics
Marketing • Local industry information and benefits
• Customised packages – benefits, price, etc.
Membership • Focused local recruitment & retention campaigns
• Understanding of volunteer leadership locally
Chapters • Not just support, but assist in execution of tasks
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9. Strategy
 Global HQ with regional operations and local staff
managing the association
 For profit office in the region with regional staff managing
operations
 Outsourced services to local company
 Joint operations with partner organization presence
 Working through service provider or business partners
 Having local presence in the form of Chapters and Affiliates
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10. Integrated Business Development
Primary Goal: Achieving visibility for association in
the region
Strategy: Engagement with stakeholders in all
areas
Government Universities Service/
Companies Individuals Training
Departments and Colleges
Providers
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11. Integrated Business Development Strategy
• Understand the needs of the stakeholders and be
genuinely interested in providing them with
Learn solutions
• Continue to engage them in regular conversations
as it is unlikely that results will come from 1-2
Engage meetings
• It is critical to deliver on your promises- whether it
is for customized solutions or for specific products
Deliver for regional needs
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12. Integrated Marketing and Communications
Regional
websites
Local
Using local
Testimonials
Chapters and
and personal
Partners
stories
Communications
and Engagement
Bi-lingual
Social Media
communicati
Channels
ons
Integrating
Market
Feedback
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13. Rise of Social Media Influence
 Total users of Facebook in the Arab world stands at 45 Million users
as of June up from 37 Million at the beginning of the year.
 The number of Facebook users in the Arab world has approximately
tripled in the last 2 years (June 2010 – June 2012), increasing from 16
million users to 45 million users.
 Egypt still constitutes about a quarter of total Facebook users in the
Arab region, and has added more users in the past year than any Arab
country, at over 1.6 million new Facebook users between January and
June 2012.
 Young people (between the ages of 18 and 34) make up around 70%
of the 4 Million LinkedIn users in the Arab world
 Arabic is the fastest growing language in Twitter history with the region
generating 67 tweets per second
Source: Arab Social Media Report
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14. Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategy
• Develop messages that are not too verbose and
communicate the value of the product/service
Messages offered
• Positioning your association as an international
Positioning
leader that has world class products and services
• Use innovative delivery channels to reach the target
Channels
market such as virtual job fairs
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15. IMA Booth at the Virtual Job Fair
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16. Lead Generation Strategy
 Gathering information from potential members and credential
holders at every stage of communication to develop targeted
messages with special offers.
 Measuring effectiveness of all campaigns and ensuring results
are captured in the customer records for future campaigns
 Joint campaigns with Training/Service providers and partner
organizations
 Creating specific programs for attendees from virtual job fairs
and other events that the association participates in
 Offering incentives to get website visitors engaged and share
detailed information so specific offerings can be developed for
them
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17. Other Critical Elements
• Proximity to members and their needs
Customer • Continuous engagement strategy for members
Service
• Specific membership retention and recruitment campaign
support
Membership • Validation of membership value and data on membership
Development engagement
• Ensuring that international members have local networking
opportunities and a local presence via Chapters
Chapters and • Having local volunteers who can represent the region within
Affiliate the association
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18. Things to Remember
 Need for engagement with Government authorities due to
greater influence
 Greater role of the public sector companies For example public
sector employment accounts for about 20 percent of total
employment in the MENA countries
 Recognizing role of employers in decisions about professional
development and education
 Need for engagement with existing associations through joint
membership programs
 Using local members, volunteers and credential holders as
spokesperson for the association
 Ensuring all association areas are assimilated to arrive at new
campaigns so information is used holistically
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19. 10 Step Quality Test for Your International Strategy
1. Does your strategy differentiate you from
competitors or potential entrants?
2. Do you have an advantage in market
position or capability?
3. Do you have a business plan with proper
detail to support strategy & operations?
4. Does your strategy leverage trends
impacting local customers?
5. Is your customer insight fresh?
6. Do you embrace risk and know what’s
acceptable for growth?
7. Do you have commitment to your strategy
and does it have flexibility?
8. Are your plans biased: too “hindsight
Out of 2000+ firms focused” or “authority blind”?
9. Does your strategy include
65% pass only 3 or fewer! implementation plans (e.g. resources:
people, partners, policies/procedures, and
technology)?
10. Do you have action plans (what, who, how,
when) to better ensure execution?
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20. Contact Information
About This Presentation
Tarnbir Kaur, CAE
tarnbir.kaur@mci-group.com