November 25, 2005

More on Competition

Posted by Kevin | Print This Article

Is competition in the association world a force for innovation, or a wasteful spinning of wheels?

In comments a few days ago to my post on the positives of association competition, Jeff said:

But competition can also be quite wasteful as well, particularly when the size of the total market is relatively small … [By this, I] mean the size of the market the associations themselves create.

… I’m also a bit more concerned these days about our use of the word “nimble.” What exactly do we mean by nimble? … My interpretation of a “more nimble competitor” is an organization that is able to more quickly create new value for customers. But I’m not sure if that is your intended meaning …

First: Jeff’s definition of “nimble” is exactly what I meant. Nimble is not a governance structure, but a mindset. (Though governance can have a lot to do with enabling that mindset.)

Second: Jeff’s right, two (or more) associations serving the same industry or profession offering the same types of meetings, publications, etc. is pretty wasteful. Eventually that industry or profession is going to get tired of it and demand a merger of some sort. So you wind up with one association offering the same types of meetings, publications, etc.

Third: Associations’ primary competition, in my opinion, is not coming from other associations, but from for-profit companies offering innovative services to the association’s market. There are a few choices an organization has in this situation:

1) Hold meetings to talk about it.
2) Try to sign a deal with them.
3) Try to duplicate what they’re doing.
4) Create new services and products that don’t already exist.
5) Or some combination of the above.

I like #4 — which ties in with Jeff’s remark about “Blue Ocean Strategy.”

Fourth: Without competition, associations are unlikely to create new products and services. Even getting to that point, however, requires associations to recognize that it’s okay to be competitive. Many association execs have collaboration and consensus hardwired into their genes, and need to understand that a desire for those very-admirable-goals does not preclude a desire to create in order to compete. It’s okay to want to win, as long as you’re doing so by creating value and not through political bickering and one-up-manship (which does not serve any market well).

Fifth: Let me repeat, I’m not denigrating collaboration. Jeff’s comment about the three C’s — “cooperate where appropriate, collaborate where possible, compete where necessary” — is a reasonable mantra, for all organizations, not just associations.

Sixth: All this said, associations’ biggest competitors are not other companies or associations, but “doing nothing.” (Of course, the same is true for all organizations.) To grow and to better serve our members, associations will need to create new products and services that are surprising and fulfill needs that customers may not even know they have. Coming up with a new slogan to sell the same “stuff” is not a strategy for thriving, or even surviving.

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