Peering into STLE’s future
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report December 2009
A new study reveals that our members are loyal—but they expect us to adapt to a changing marketplace.
One interviewed member said: ‘There is a certain recognition and respect that is conferred on me due to my affiliation with STLE.’
STLE has been reaching out to its corporate supporters this fall in order to better understand what motivates and drives members—and, specifically, corporations—to support and become engaged with the society. The economic upheaval that’s affecting all businesses and associations makes this type of communication and critical thinking both timely and exceedingly important. To assist us in this effort, STLE is working with McKinley Marketing Inc., a highly regarded consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning for associations.
A main component of the research consisted of telephone interviews with STLE members, including corporate representatives and individuals who came from organizations that offered varied levels of corporate support to the society. Overall, 32 telephone interviews were conducted with individuals from a broad cross section of companies. Some were multibillion dollar enterprises, others had fewer than 25 employees.
A market research study based on these interviews was presented by McKinley Marketing to the STLE Board of Directors in October. The six key points made in that report are:
1.
Maintaining relevance in an increasingly crowded marketplace is a critical issue for STLE.
2.
Members continue to view STLE as an industry authority and a top provider of information and education.
3.
The fields of tribology and lubrication are changing rapidly, and members expect STLE to keep up.
4.
Members crave education in traditional and new formats. As one interviewee stated, “As long as STLE keeps a strong educational component at their core, they will remain relevant.”
5.
STLE members can be a powerful word-of-mouth marketing channel.
6.
Members seem open to an expanded corporate membership option.
These report themes lend themselves to further discussion as STLE considers its strategic direction. That task has been assigned to the Executive Committee and senior staff. The board will be presented with specific proposals in late January.
As I have reviewed the survey results and verbatim comments from the interviews, some of the statements seemed to capture the essence of why STLE has been a successful organization for the past 65 years. Several people expressed a sense of loyalty to the organization and a desire to see STLE adapt to the changing marketplace and remain their primary source of information, education and networking benefits.
Here’s what one member had to say: “There is a certain recognition and respect that is conferred on me due to my affiliation with STLE. It’s a place to go to learn new things, and if you have a problem you can start there to find the answer and use the experience of other members.”
I look forward to sharing more information about this project in the months ahead, as STLE works to better serve the needs of all our corporate and individual supporters in the tribology and lubricants business sector. The expected outcome is simple: to capitalize on and enhance STLE’s brand equity as we refresh and grow the organization in terms of membership numbers and value of member services. If you have thoughts or questions relevant to this planning process, please contact me at STLE headquarters.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.