International members made up roughly 20 percent of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals’ membership in 2015. But, just three years later, 40 percent of SMRP’s members reside outside of the United States. While the expansion happened quickly, it could not have happened without a well-though-out and multifaceted strategy. The four-part approach that SMRP took is one that other associations looking to successfully go global should consider.

Improved Branding

Knowing that if an association wants to go global, its branding must appeal to a global audience, SMRP rebranded in 2017 to ensure the new global audience it was looking to acquire could easily understand its mission and vision.

In SMRP’s case, the rebrand included a logo change and a new framing of its messaging. While its old logo was easily identifiable by existing members, new audiences could not decipher the meaning of the SMRP acronym. To fix this, SMRP’s new logo includes both the full name and acronym of the organization in a modern design.

When it came to messaging, SMRP updated its boilerplate and website content. The new text consistently establishes SMRP as a global organization, often noting how many international members and certificants actively participate. Prior to this, many people knew SMRP as a society only for professionals in the United States.

New Programs

Another area that SMRP improved was its educational offerings. In the past, its education focused on in-person participation, whether through its annual conference or chapter events. Put simply, there was not a value proposition for international members to join. In three years, SMRP introduced four new programs to engage international members:

• Professional development webinars. Each year, SMRP hosts 40-plus live webinars, which allow participants to attend virtually, and saves all recordings in its online library. In fiscal year 2018 alone, 1,400 people attended live webinars, and more than 4,100 people viewed the recordings.
• Approved Provider Education Program. SMRP introduced its Approved Provider Education Program in 2015 to vet and endorse companies providing high-quality education aligned with SMRP’s body of knowledge. Since many SMRP- approved providers conduct training globally, it allows international members to participate in education opportunities aligned with SMRP in the countries where they live.
• SMRP Exchange. Members were consistently requesting increased networking opportunities in SMRP’s annual member survey. To address this need, SMRP launched the Exchange, which allows members to post discussions, share resources, and learn best practices from anywhere at any time.
• International event. SMRP will host its first international symposium in 2019 in Lima, Peru. The event will allow local members to become more involved with SMRP, from attending sessions to serving on the event committee. I addition, the organization will continue to target different locations and hold events outside of the United States annually to provide increased in-person opportunities.

SMRP rebranded in 2017 to ensure the new global audience it was looking to acquire could easily understand its mission and vision.

Agreements with Other Organizations

Since thousands of professional associations exists, look for like-minded organizations serving members in various regions of the world. But don’t see them as competition. Instead, establish relationships with these organizations that allow you to engage with a new audience, leverage new benefits, and grow your membership.

SMRP participates in two global associations, whose members also consist of similar maintenance and asset-management organizations that work together to share best practices and develop resources. Being a part of these associations served as a launchpad for developing formal memorandums of understanding with their members, which allowed SMRP to exhibit in new parts of the world and share member benefits across organizations.

Metrics Tracking

Making changes and introducing new opportunities will support growth, but need to make sure to track metrics to measure success. SMRP utilizes a dashboard, or balanced scorecard, to track progress against measureable objectives monthly. The dashboard allows SMRP staff and its board of directors to understand what works well and what needs attention. It also gives SMRP an opportunity to shift resources to help move toward the strategic goals and initiatives of the organization.

While international growth takes time and resources, it’s not impossible. However, for it to be successful, associations must identify areas of improvement, develop goals and objectives that align with those areas, introduce new opportunities and execute any necessary branding changes, and then track their progress.