Blog

  • 2011 Association Benchmark Report Reflects Strong Membership Growth Over Past Two Years.

    FOR RELEASE: August 5, 2011 Contact: Don Elder 703.768.8979 mediawise@att.net 2011 Association Benchmark Report Reflects Strong Membership Growth Over Past Two Years. ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Marketing General Incorporated (MGI) 2011 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report assesses membership growth trends among associations and other membership organizations. The report is grounded in a survey of 650 association […]

  • Marketing General Inc Announces New Client Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

    FOR RELEASE: August 1, 2011 Contact: Don Elder 703.768.8979 mediawise@att.net Marketing General Incorporated Announces New Client Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. ALEXANDRIA, VA — Marketing General Incorporated announces that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), located in Frederick, Maryland, is its newest client.  AOPA is the largest general aviation association in the world, with […]

  • MGI Tipster – Volume 10, Issue 7

    July 13, 2011   |   Vol. 10   |   Issue 7 Lists – Strategies and Tactics A Marketing Fundamental Of all the tactical choices a successful direct marketer may make—whether recruiting members, selling subscriptions, or promoting an event—arguably the most critical is selecting appropriate prospect lists. List choices can make or break a campaign because they are the links between offer […]

  • MGI Tipster – Volume 10, Issue 6

    June 21, 2011   |   Vol. 10   |   Issue 6 Research and Discovery Why Research? Market research is often a poor stepchild when membership organizations plan out their spending priorities. Research is typically seen as expensive and of questionable value. Indeed, they can be both. Our experience at Marketing General has shown us time and again that when research is […]

  • Research reveals real value.

    Delivering membership value is the keystone of membership growth. If an organization has little or no actual or perceived value, why should anyone join? So it’s critically important that association leaders not only have a value statement that sets their organization apart from others, but that they know precisely what their members truly value most […]

  • MGI Tipster – Volume 10 Issue 5

    May 17, 2011   |   Vol. 10   |   Issue 5 Managing Organizational Growth Strategies This month’s MGITipster takes a respite from our usual discussion of membership development and instead examines a common management issue—coordinated strategic planning. Too much work, too little success Many top executives work harder than they have to. They are often so caught up in day-to-day operational […]

  • MGI Tipster – Volume 10 Issue 4

    April 21, 2011   |   Vol. 10   |   Issue 4 Grow or Shrink: Testing Your Way to Success Membership organizations cannot renew their way to growth. Even with a 100% renewal rate, which is impossible to achieve, membership will remain flat without a successful program to recruit new members, and that takes planning, patience, and pragmatism. Setting the stage for […]

  • Why Research?

    It is not uncommon to hear association leaders question the need for research. “We know our members,” I hear them say. “We understand what our members want and we don’t have the budget for research anyway.” But at Marketing General we have found again and again that when research is done correctly, it often results […]

  • Marketing General Inc Announces New Staff Promotions

    ALEXANDRIA, VA – Marketing General Incorporated (MGI) announces the following staff promotions: – Scott Seril, from Account Director to Senior Account Director – Santo Scrimenti, from Account Coordinator to Account Executive – Regina Shea, from Production Manager to Assistant Production Director “The most important lesson we’ve learned in nearly 33 years serving the association industry […]

  • Marketing General Inc Announces New Staff Appointments

    ALEXANDRIA, VA – Marketing General Incorporated (MGI) has announced the following new appointments: Account Management – Stacia Bontempo, Account Supervisor – Theresa Kramer-Burgess, Account Supervisor – Monica Williams, Account Supervisor – Carol Cohen, Senior Account Executive – Darenda Downing, Senior Account Executive – Joe Curtiss-Lusher, Account Coordinator – Arina Polekina, Account Coordinator Art Studio – […]

  • Is it Time to Hire a Marketing Agency?

    To outsource or not to outsource is often a hot topic within many associations and membership organizations. The arguments on why current staff should do the job are pretty well know, so I wanted to share some reasons why I believe it can make good sense to bring onboard a marketing agency. Here are five […]

  • MGI Tipster – Volume 10 Issue 3

    March 16, 2011   |   Vol. 10   |   Issue 3 The best of the Marketing General blogs Blogs have become a widely accepted information source that promotes interactive discussions among multiple authors. We thought our MGITipster readers might appreciate knowing more about the MGI blog so we have selected a sampling of topics with links to the full posting. In […]