by
Bonnie Koenig, President, Going International, Chicago
As my
colleague Carolyn Lugbill, CAE, wrote in June’s “Global Exchange” column,
associations can maximize their chances for success in establishing international
chapters by beginning with a series of questions to assess countries for
potential success. The next step in the process is to take the answers to these
questions—the basis for your initial market analysis—and develop targeted
criteria to guide the association’s growth plan.
After your initial market analysis is completed, other factors more specific to your association should be considered. Following are two such primary considerations.
Start
with your strategic plan. If
your association has already developed some outreach goals as part of its
strategic plan, your targeted international growth criteria should mirror those
goals, as shown in the example under “Implementing Your Criteria.”
Consider
the relative infrastructures of your association and prospective chapter. Examine whether the association and proposed
chapter are prepared to meet the needs of industry professionals in the
proposed country. Consider whether your association’s chapter formation guide
is international in scope and can be customized to meet the prospective
chapter’s needs.
Implementing
your criteria
The
following example of a fictitious organization (a composite based on several of
my clients), the Targeted International Growth Association (TIG), illustrates
how growth criteria can be linked to the strategic plan and the readiness of
the organization’s infrastructure.
TIG’s strategic plan
includes the following outreach goals:
* to be the premier spokespeople and leading
resource worldwide for the industry; and
* to
encourage acceptance worldwide of TIG industry standards.
To
implement this vision, TIG could potentially expand anywhere in the world, but
the organization understands that to grow effectively, it must choose its areas
of growth through targeted criteria. TIG decides it will choose countries
according to the following criteria:
Evidence
that the industry is established or has potential for growth. An affiliate’s ability to thrive is dependent
on having a large enough pool of potential members from the outset. Clearly, sometimes no is the appropriate
answer. TIG allows a group of
interested colleagues in Brazil, for example, to explore the idea of a new
chapter but determines that the pool of potential members is too small there.
A
clear opportunity for TIG’s industry standards to be accepted. If
a large number of members in the country are interested in having TIG’s
standards accepted there, TIG will accomplish more through its efforts in that
country.
Existing
recognition of the interested professionals as industry leaders in the region. Leaders with local credibility will
generally be the most successful recruiting colleagues.
Being
willing to say no
Again,
an organization must be willing to decline a group’s request to form a chapter
if it does not meet the established criteria.
To return to the scenario, TIG is approached by a number of colleagues
to start a chapter in China but informs them that while TIG would be happy to
exchange information with them, forming a chapter would be premature. Nevertheless, considering the developing
business environment in that country, chapter possibilities will be worth
reevaluating in the future.
As
appeared in the American Society of Association Executive’s Association
Management magazine, August 2003