This week’s blog is re-posted with permission from Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA. Aaron is the founder and president of Event Garde, a professional development consulting firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Website: www.eventgarde.com.

There’s a rule known as the Pareto Principle. It teaches us that 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results. The additional 80% of our efforts will only yield an additional 20% of results. The first thrust of effort then is the most productive use of our time. The latter thrust is very costly.

Attracting new members is challenging in an increasingly competitive marketplace.  If marketing has been on the back burner for your organization until now, are a few simple things you can do to start stepping it up:

There are some powerful online event registration software products out there, packed with fancy features and tools that let you do far more than just accept registrations on the web.

Whether you realize it or not, it’s likely that your software can do more to help you increase your signups. So the question is: are you taking advantage of all the tools that are available to you?

The phrase “member engagement” is big in the association world. But what does it really mean, and how do we measure it?

Member engagement runs deeper than member satisfaction. You would use the word “satisfaction” to describe a member’s attitude toward your organization. But engagement covers both attitudes and behaviors, and gives you a measure of your relationship with your members. Retention is all about building strong relationships, so it’s really important to know where you stand with your members.

Here are five things (besides the obvious review of your business plan) you should consider doing before January rolls around 

#1 – Review Your Service Contracts