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The countdown is on to 2010 — will your association be ready? If it hasn't already done so, it's time for your organization to wake up and review the data. U.S. Census Bureau projections indicate that the population picture for the United States will look dramatically different by 2010. For example, the bureau projects that between 2000 and 2010, both the Asian and Hispanic populations will have grown by more than 30 percent.

If your association's diversity plan is already in place and being tested, then your organization is likely already addressing changing demographics and learning some ways to revise your marketing strategy to attract burgeoning groups of potential members. However, while associations have made progress in diversity marketing, some in the association community wonder if they're moving fast enough to take advantage of these emerging member markets. Mauricio Velásquez, president of the Diversity Training Group, Herndon, Virginia, has consulted with numerous associations about addressing diversity in their organizations both internally and externally. "Associations are [generally] ineffective at attracting a diverse membership," says Velásquez. "They are having difficulty because they are not in touch with the new member marketplace."

In contrast, most convention and visitors bureaus have reviewed the demographic data and moved quickly to address them. "CVBs really understand the importance of diverse groups," says Larry D. Alexander, president and CEO, Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. "There is not a CVB that would ignore diverse groups because the economy drives everything we do."

CVB leaders have devoted significant resources to developing plans for aggressively marketing their destinations to emerging groups of new customers. Through trial and error, they have achieved success in attracting diverse communities to their destinations. Their lessons learned might benefit your association as you make critical decisions about how aggressively to pursue diverse markets.

Understanding the economics of diversity
Few people will argue that being inclusive is not the right thing to do. However, CVB executives make it clear that they are not engaging in an altruistic, cultural project when courting diverse ethnic groups. "Diversity increases your market share and your bottom line," says Tanya E. Hall, executive director, Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress, a division of the Philadelphia CVB. "Prior to the creation of MAC, Philadelphia hosted six PCVB-booked multicultural conventions in 1986. In 2004, more than 100 PCVB-booked multicultural meetings and conventions took place, comprising nearly 15 percent of the overall PCVB bookings — 17 times greater than before MAC's inception."

Further north, the Detroit Metro CVB's "Top Gun" for 2004 is its multicultural and religious meetings and conventions account executive, Shelia Neal, who booked more meeting business than anyone else. "Our efforts are driven by the magnitude and importance of a particular market to us," says Alexander. "For example, we have a large African-American population here, which helps in marketing our destination to African-American visitors." The Detroit CVB is also developing campaigns to address the Italian, Latin-American, Mexican-American, Middle Eastern, and Polish communities.

Having a targeted marketing plan in place is key to taking advantage of the economic benefits that diversity can bring. "Associations are leaving money on the table because they haven't identified the groups they want to pursue, and they have no plan for outreach," says Velásquez. "A new boutique, ethnically diverse association will succeed because it is addressing new needs." To identify and pursue more diverse member markets, most associations will need to put a comprehensive diversity plan in place if they have not already done so. "It would be short-sighted not to evaluate and address diversity issues," says Alexander. "Every association that has a dependency on membership dollars has to broaden its perspective." (For more information on diversity programs, read "Beyond the Rainbow" in the April 2004 issue of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT.)

Expanding your efforts
Fortunately, most associations will not be starting from scratch when addressing diversity in their marketing. Many have existing programs in place upon which they can build. "I don't think I've seen any associations get to where they want to be with diversity," says Hall. "However, associations are newer to this area of marketing, and efforts are being made by organizations that I believe will yield results." Hall and her colleagues share these strategies for expanding your group's diversity marketing efforts or programs:

Put a diversity strategy in place. "Intentions are wonderful, but what are you doing?" asks Velásquez. "Some associations only pursue diversity when their membership numbers are down. You need to be more proactive than that." Implement policies and procedures to support your efforts in all areas of your organization.

Get commitment at the board level. "There is room for improvement within the association ranks," says Alexander. "There needs to be more commitment from the top down, beginning with the association's board." Melvin Tennant, CAE, executive director of the San Antonio CVB, agrees: "You have to have commitment from top management that diversity marketing is important." To get that commitment at the highest level of the organization, the San Antonio CVB includes board members in targeted marketing programs, inviting them to staff a trade show or to review targeted marketing materials in the development stage. "Pulling board members into the process is important," he says.

Research the marketplace. To better understand your market for members, ask: Where do your members come from today? Where will they come from in five years? What's the cost of every person who doesn't join?

Be aware of changing demographics. Data are available from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as other sources. Some CVBs and associations are conducting their own research. "It can be challenging to gather the data, but you have to do it," says Alexander. The Detroit Metro CVB conducts regular surveys, including a major economic impact and visitor profile survey every other year. This includes in-person and phone interviews with visitors and hotel industry professionals. "In addition to basic demographic information such as age, race, and income, we ask them what they did, where they stayed, how they got there, and so forth," says Alexander. Gathering this information helps the CVB better target its message.

Study what other associations are doing. Your colleagues may well be your best source of information about how to effectively address diversity in your organization. (See sidebars "Inclusivity Is Imperative" and "Engineering Diversity" for two case studies.)

Start small. "Diversity marketing doesn't have to be expensive," says Velásquez. "You can do pilots regionally to experiment before you launch a national campaign." Hall concurs: "Outreach to multicultural markets does not equate to extra expense. It could mean being more inclusive with what you're already doing. For instance, previously [the Multicultural Affairs Congress] and the [Philadelphia] CVB individually published annual membership directories. In 2004, MAC and PCVB combined resources to create a new joint membership directory giving meeting, convention, and tourism customers the opportunity to gain greater exposure to a diverse database of contacts and customers. This simple initiative promoted the unification of our meeting and tourism resources and conveyed to our customers the importance of the multicultural market's buying power."

Massage your messages. Your association has to address the market it's pursuing. If the population is not the same, the messages can't be the same. For example, you might consider developing specific publications, such as the African-American, Asian, and Hispanic visitors' guides featured on MAC's Web site. "Mass marketing does not work any more," says Hall. "Customers have choices, and you have to speak their language if you want them to do business with you."

Provide training for staff. Diversity is everyone's job. It works one person, one relationship at a time. It is important that staff at all levels understand how diversity affects their work. Alternatively, don't be afraid to tap staff for ideas. If your association has done a good job on its internal diversity goals, you have cultural diversity on your staff and ethnic representation that you can engage in planning sessions.

Take your time. Don't be in hurry; you'll make mistakes. Once you've identified potential markets that you're not reaching, test the waters first. Use a combination of approaches — including paper and electronic surveys, telephone interviews, and focus groups — to identify needs and preferences of particular groups.

Building your community
Expanding your association's network of vendors, organizations, and leaders is critical to the success of your diversity program. To build credibility in new markets, associations must follow the example of CVBs and establish a presence in the communities that they wish to engage. "You have to create community and show value in what you have to offer a specific community," says Alexander. "When we make a pitch to a particular group, we tailor our presentation to them." For example, instead of showing a generic sales video or proposing a standard tour during all conventions, the Detroit Metro CVB customizes its bid presentation videos and conference events to appeal to the diverse ethnic or religious groups considering having their conventions in the area. One group may be more interested in touring or hosting an event at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, and others might want to visit or host an event at the Holocaust Memorial Center or the soon-to-open Arab-American National Museum. The goal is to demonstrate that the group is welcome and will be comfortable holding its meeting in Detroit.

"We have taken a full circle approach to diversity by building strong relationships in the local community," says Hall. "We maintain a leadership role in our local hospitality community by working with hotels, vendors, and organizations to encourage diverse contracting and employment practices. We also operate under the belief that you have to develop and implement a complete diversity program that resonates with the organization's board, staff, and vendors." Ethnic organizations can count on MAC to highlight the specific cultural and business opportunities available to the group should they choose to hold their meetings in Philadelphia. For example, Hall's willingness and ability to suggest local Hispanic-American vendors with whom the National Council of La Raza, Washington, D.C., could partner during its July 2005 convention demonstrates the CVB's commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. The San Antonio CVB takes a similar approach. "Being candid and open is the best policy," says Tennant. "Engage the local community in your diversity efforts. We often get leads for new business through our conversations with local leaders. It's all about market specialization; you have to go where the potential customers are."

Some important steps you can take to meet potential customers from diverse communities:

Get a third-party opinion. Someone from the cultural community that you're targeting can help you tailor your messages. "We were the first CVB to create a multicultural congress," says Hall. "To do this, we pulled together advisory and focus groups to focus on why a particular group — in this instance, African-Americans — would want to come to Philadelphia."

Offer relevant programming. "If you want to market your association to a particular group, you should consider offering educational programming that addresses issues of interest prevalent in that community," says Hall.

Says Tennant, "One of the best ways for associations to reflect openness is through their programs." As such, he encourages associations to "examine all aspects of their programs and strive for diversity among their presenters."

Join other associations and network. Your goal is to gain increased access to and understanding of the particular group that you would like to target for membership. Consider reaching out and building relationships with minority organizations through cross-marketing and joint meetings. "We belong to the National Association of Black Meeting Planners and the International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals," says Hall. "Joining these groups helps us establish a presence in their communities."

Tracking your progress
As you build your community and develop your diversity marketing initiatives, think carefully about how you'll measure results. "You need to have methods for tracking your efforts," says Velásquez. Posting "pictures on a Web site is a nice gesture, but is that a measurable action item?" For example, consider whether your goal is to increase membership or attendance at meetings or both. Perhaps your association will identify as a goal increasing the number of minority vendors at your next trade show.

Regardless of your goals, it's important that you build into the process accountability for achieving them. "It's feasible to develop key performance measures that reflect corporate policy on diversity," says Tennant. "There has to be accountability." He notes that the San Antonio CVB's research budget has increased significantly so that it is able to study its target markets and measure its success at reaching them.

For example, say the CVB wants to attract Mexican-American leisure visitors from the Chicago area to its destination. The CVB's marketing team and advertising agency will launch a campaign and then measure market penetration before and after potential visitors receive targeted marketing materials from the CVB. In addition, the CVB conducts a leisure visitors survey every other year to benchmark its results against other destinations.

Reaping the rewards
Diversity initiatives can yield significant, measurable results, which is no surprise to Detroit's Alexander, whose commitment to promoting diversity in associations is evidenced by that CVB's three years as the exclusive sponsor of ASAE's Diversity Executive Leadership Program. DELP is designed to help individuals from underrepresented segments of the nonprofit community advance in the association management profession. DELP scholars are selected from among nominees submitted by local, state, and regional societies of association executives. Among other benefits, they receive one-year complimentary memberships in ASAE, complimentary registrations to the ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership Annual Meeting & Exposition, and complimentary registrations to two other Center educational programs.

"The inception of DELP in 1997 provided an opportunity to raise the importance of the issue of diversity," says Alexander. At the annual DELP reunion, Alexander gets to catch up with the 26 DELP graduates who have completed the program to date. "Many of them have gone on to positions of higher responsibility and leadership after completing the program," notes Alexander. "The program is successful, and we are committed to continuing it and making it grow."

As more associations enter the multicultural marketing arena, the stage is set for implementing programs similar to DELP. Alexander encourages associations to approach diversity marketing as an opportunity they cannot afford to miss. "This is not an area where associations can play catch-up," says Alexander. "Organizations have to get started, stay on track, and move forward."

Apryl Motley is senior editor of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT.

Related sidebars

Inclusivity Is Imperative

Engineering Diversity

Online exclusive

Factoring in Future Demographics

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