Association Marketing

I've centered a few blogs to date around the notion of agenticity within organizations. And there's good reason for it. If you're not at least exploring agentic teams within your operations, there's risk you'll be left behind in terms of competition, capacity, and culture.

The need for agentic operating models, particularly for associations and nonprofits where teams are slim and hats are many, is well established at this point. The grey area lies in the process orgs take to get to an AI-first position.

Not to worry. If there's a org-specific framework needed, HighRoad has your back. Here's a solid program for building and establishing an AI agentic operating model within your association or nonprofit.

In the enterprise for-profit world, sales teams often get droves of leads generated by often sturdy marketing teams. Some are sales-quality standard. Some are not. But the key is that there's steady volume and a systemized qualification in place from the marketing team. Sounds great, right?

Not so much for associations and nonprofits.

It's been an ongoing challenge for association sales and marketing teams to build proper smarketing programs based on association and nonprofit org charts and business models. Marketing teams are often focused on dues and program revenue—where's there's a conversion, not a close (i.e. membership , events, etc.). And Sales teams are focused on sponsorship, advertising, and other corporate programs. Both put in a great deal of effort but often don't work together on mutual goals. 

Until lean marketing & communications teams get more team members who are solely dedicated to feeding the top of the funnel, or sales teams add marketing resources under their budget line, this problem won't be solved.

This is where AI comes in. 

To some, an AI agentic operating model can seem intimidating. It's easy to picture Will Smith's early 2000s I, Robot film, where pools of willful machines took control of humanity. While that was a cool movie, that's not what we're talking about here. Not by a mile.

When we talk about AI agentic teams, the word "teams" is key. The human is still the dominant and strategic force relying on its AI counterpart to perform the more executional, reactive, and operational tasks. Humans have their place in stewardship. Agents have their place in planning and execution. Both work together based on mutualized goals. 

For associations, AI agents monitor member behavior, trigger engagement workflows, update records, and generate leads for acquisition. All with defined guardrails and human oversight. But what does it take to go from tipping your toe in the pool of agenticity, to transforming your org into a fully AI-Agentic Operating Model? Let's take a look.

The modern workplace is more diverse than ever, serving up an alphabet soup in the workforce. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, each generation brings unique values, skills, and perspectives to the mix. Navigating these dynamics requires understanding and empathy at all levels.

When it comes to any sector, industry, or business type, leaders should recognize the blended experiences and expectations of their team members, fostering an inclusive environment that values each individual's contributions. 

But where large enterprises and for-profit conglomerates are working with swaths of generational employee segments, associations and nonprofits are built on volunteer board and committee structures with often leaner professional staff. This changes the scenery when it comes to team dynamics.

AI maturity in associations and nonprofits isn't a one-and-done scenario. Checking the box off with AI adoption pilots just doesn't cut it.

For associations and nonprofits, AI transformation is defined and tied to one very simple thing - delivery. Whether member-driven or mission-driven, orgs can only define themselves as AI-mature if they've leveraged AI within every corner of their operations to deliver, and continue delivering, on their promise. 

Yes, operational efficiency plays a huge role in influencing productivity, driving revenue, reducing staff time, and relegating more administrative and otherwise repetitive tasks to automation. But, in the end, the most mature organizations get to tout that AI has influenced real decision-making on programming, new member models, member engagement, legislative movements, etc. - all factors that contribute to driving value to constituents. 

While every org is going to carry a different flavor, there are standard signals that indicate an association or nonprofit is AI mature.

We’re marking an important milestone for HighRoad: 20 years of partnering with associations to help them grow through smarter use of data and technology.