Associations

Communications quiz for associations

Emma McDonald January 28, 2016

3 min read

When it comes to communication how does your association measure up? Take this short quiz and find out.

How often do you update your website?

How would you describe your website?

a) Our website reflects the professionalism and vitality of our organisation and is the first place our members and the wider community turn to for news and information about our industry.
b) Our website is quite good in terms of content but the design is a bit dated and I am not sure many people actually use it.
c) Our website could be better. It’s not very easy to navigate, the content is average and not that many people visit the site.
d) We’re quite small, so I’m not sure we really need a website.

What is in your print or e-newsletter?

a) Extensive industry news, past events, upcoming events, updates on our advocacy efforts and details of new member benefits.
b) Some industry news and general information on events.
c) Some information about what’s been happening in the office and the industry.
d) Newsletter? What newsletter?

What is the most talked about event on your association’s social calendar?

a) We have quite a few events but probably most talked about would be our annual Conference and Exhibition.
b) Our monthly networking functions.
c) Biannual members’ lunch.
d) AGM.

How does your association promote your industry?

a) Hosting major industry events, having an association-endorsed industry journal, and regular media releases.
b) Involvement in some industry events and some media releases.
c) We’ve done some research into market trends, which we haven’t done anything with yet.
d) Isn’t that up to our members?

What is the biggest constraint on your association’s communication?

How effectively do you use your database of contacts?

a) We have an up-to-date database with contact details of current and prospective members. We also record areas of interest to our contacts which allows us to target our communications.
b) We record the contact details of members and lapsed members but we don’t do a lot of list building of prospective members or record a lot of information about our current members’ interests.
c) Our database is pretty old and it hasn’t been updated for awhile. We know a lot of the details are wrong based on the amount of returns we get from mail-outs.
d) We’ve got an Excel spreadsheet where we record member contact details.

Do you have an integrated marketing and communications strategy?

a) Whether in print, online or at tradeshows, our communications reflect the values and mission of our organisation to ensure we reach new and existing members.
b) Our involvement in major industry events highlights our industry leadership, but our use of print could be more effective.
c) The image created across our print and online presence is varied – it’s not integrated.
d) Do we really need to integrate things? Sounds difficult and time consuming.

How do you plan your communication?

a) We have a co-ordinated communications schedule that outlines the direction we want to take over the coming year, across a range of media, our industry journal and presence at industry events.
b) We know which dates we are going to send information, which we have ready in advance.
c) We assess our communication on a week-to-week basis.
d) We do some planning for what to write in our emails.

What is the main goal of your communications?

ANSWERS

How did you go?

The more A answers you scored, the better!

Circle any B, C and D answers you scored and make them communications priority areas to work on this year.

+ posts