What Our Client Needed
Over a two-year period, our client’s corporate membership was declining which resulted in a 63% decrease in membership dues revenue. This was primarily due to a global economic downturn. As corporate marketing budgets tightened, corporate membership dues declined. During the economic downturn this association learned that corporations viewed the organization primarily as an academic organization and, therefore, believed it held little value for industry in the scientific field.
With Malachite’s leadership, this association discovered that it needed to determine what the industry’s perceived value of the society was, then work in partnership with industry stakeholders to develop a strategy and programs that would be beneficial for members in academia and industry.
What We Created
Malachite recognized that the association was uniquely positioned to serve the global translational regenerative medicine and research community as a network hub for scientific standards and policy. Malachite led the association through the strategic planning process. Together, they identified a critical need for greater strategic alignment with industry members.
The association established an industry task force (ITF) to address current and future roles for industry within the Society. The objectives of the ITF were to gather information and prioritize the efforts for a new commercialization committee and construct innovative platforms that would foster constructive collaborations between industry and the Society.
The ITF recommended that the new commercialization committee’s responsibilities would be:
- Fostering new relationships with therapeutic and stem cell societies.
- Developing educational workshops and forums to cross-educate and standardize practices.
- Creating industry subcommittees to address priority initiatives with clear benchmarks and global implementation.
- Establishing a framework for a greater industry community within, opening doors for industry to share the new vision for commercialization of cell therapy, emphasizing the regenerative medicine space.
How It Worked
Malachite worked with the association and industry to execute the priority initiatives. In the first four months of their collaboration, industry was better represented in the society. This created a win-win and all parties had full buy-in. In less than one year corporate membership revenue grew by 333%. Malachite’s strategic planning process was the driving force behind development of long-term strategy. The strategic plan now allows this association to maintain and grow a critical revenue stream.
