How does an association start thinking about going global—or reaching and helping its professional counterparts in different countries? In a nutshell, it's all about strategy.

"Being global is wonderful thing to strive to be," says Matt Miller, Chief Operating Officer at NACE International, the Worldwide Corrosion Authority, which is headquartered in Houston and maintains offices in Malaysia, China, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. "You just need to be very strategic about what you’re doing and why you're doing it."

An organization can't just add "global" or "international" to its name and suddenly be a global or international association, says Miller. "It's one thing to be global," he says. "And it's another thing to behave globally."

By not having any strategy or any defined goals, the good thing is that you'll never fail. You'll just kind of wander aimlessly in the general direction.—Matt Miller, NACE International

But just how does an association behave globally? By implementing a global strategy, Miller says, and that begins by asking several key questions. For example:

• Why does your association want to expand globally?
• What are the goals underpinning the decision to expand internationally?
• What is your value proposition in markets outside the U.S.?
• What areas of the world are likely to be most profitable for the association?
• What are your metrics for success: membership numbers, active credentials, or some other measure?

"By not having any strategy or any defined goals, the good thing is that you'll never fail," Miller says. "You'll just kind of wander aimlessly in the general direction."

Strategy in Action

Although NACE International has offices in North America, South America, the Middle East, and Asia, most recently the association has focused its efforts on China.

"For NACE, there's a specific reason for targeting China," Miller says. "There's diverse industry in China—a lot of manufacturing." For an association focused on corrosion, there's huge opportunity in China's shipbuilding and coating inspection industries, among others. As China works to build its infrastructure to become a developed nation, Chinese companies will need to rely on the best practices and other knowledge resources and services that associations, including NACE International, can provide.

"China's not the best fit for all associations and businesses in general," Miller says. "You need to evaluate [your goals] and calculate what you expect to get out of it."

To measure its success in China, NACE International is focusing on metrics like growth in its training and credentialing programs there. Through these programs, the association helps its Chinese members advance in their careers, provides them knowledge and expertise, and helps them develop a competitive edge. And for the organization, increasing numbers of credentialed professionals in China looks like global success.

Or to put it another way, NACE International is behaving like a global association.