Earlier this week, Associations Now profiled a recent report from McKinley Advisors, Business Model Innovation, in which they identify five innovation elements that can provide the revenue that fuels your association’s ability to achieve your mission:
- Value – rethink your value proposition
- Revenue – pursue new pricing strategies
- Community – provide opportunities for relationship-building, both online and in-person
- Reach – expand your thinking beyond just your members
- Operations – get your own house in order to support all this
These are all good points.
But how do you actually do those things?
One possibility: lean startup methodology.
Lean startup allows you to jump start your innovation practice and non-dues revenue via a structured process that can help you to learn whether you’ve identified the right audience, whether you’ve selected a problem that’s both real and significant for them, and whether your audience is willing to use – and pay for – your great idea to solve their problem.
Remember: It doesn’t matter how quickly you’re moving if you’re headed in the wrong direction.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
Audio to Text says:
The reminder that speed is irrelevant if you’re headed in the wrong direction really hit home. Lean startup can definitely help associations avoid investing time and resources into ideas that don’t actually address members’ real needs.