Some context, please

Some context, please

A pet peeve of mine: A report about associations (e.g., marketing benchmarks report) where the report defines associations by the number of members, but fails to discriminate between trade associations and individual associations. In other words, the report will talk about "associations with fewer than 500 members" as if a trade association with 450 members is somehow the same as an individual membership organization with 450 members.

I have worked with trade associations with fewer than three dozen members that had a budget and staff three times the size of a professional society with 2,500 members. I think you see my point; the number of members without context makes for pretty useless comparisons or benchmarks.

Just something to keep in mind if you're ever creating or reading benchmarking reports.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Tell them why you want the data

November 9, 2022

Tell them why you want the data Because data is so easy to collect these […]

Don’t get hung up on something minor

November 2, 2022

Don’t get hung up on something minor I’m a problem solver. I love to solve […]

Be flexible, especially for unusual requests

October 26, 2022

Be flexible, especially for unusual requests One of the great benefits of off-the-shelf association management software (AMS) […]

“Her eyes were bigger than her stomach.”

October 19, 2022

“Her eyes were bigger than her stomach.” When I was a child, my siblings used […]

Once you buy crap…

October 12, 2022

Once you buy crap… “When you buy something cheap and bad, the best you’re going […]

It could always be worse

October 5, 2022

It could always be worse Because most of us don’t have the benefit (like I […]

It’s all about managing expectations

September 28, 2022

It’s all about managing expectations I placed an order online on a Friday and the […]

Experience is the best teacher

September 21, 2022

Experience is the best teacher Experience is the best teacher. Every one of us has […]

Don’t ask for what you don’t need!

September 14, 2022

Don’t ask for what you don’t need! Recently I received a bill from a doctor’s […]

It is never done – so celebrate!

September 7, 2022

It is never done – so celebrate! A client of mine recently had their official […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top