07/02/2019

Daily Buzz: Education Offerings for Industry Partners

Inviting them to join your community pushes its mission forward

Industry partner, affiliate, vendor, or supplier members—whatever your association calls them, if you fail to engage with this member segment, you’re missing an opportunity.

“Many of you are thinking, ‘No, they’re not our focus.’ Strictly speaking, that’s true, but educating supplier members has benefits for your membership culture and association,” writes the WBT Systems team on its blog. “Ideally, an association’s members would do business with fellow members. This practice would strengthen the membership culture and tie all segments of your membership more tightly together.”

The problem: Many industry partners don’t know how to develop those kinds of relationships. That’s where an affiliate education program comes in.

“Vendor education programs serve two purposes: They help members gain a better understanding of the industry they serve, [and] they teach members how to more effectively network and build relationships,” the team says.

When vendors feel like part of your professional community, they’re more likely to support your association’s mission, volunteer, sponsor an event and renew their membership.

Please select this link to read the original article from Associations Now.