06/11/2025

Report: Association Business Models Need Retooling

Leaders must think about holistic changes in terms of audience and revenue

A new report challenges association leaders to expand beyond member-focused adjustments and think more broadly about their potential customer base.

Business Model Innovation: Fuel for an Association’s Mission was published last month by the consultancy McKinley Advisors. The report recommends that leaders look at their revenue model through the lens of five elements: value, revenue, community, reach and operations. Together, the report says, those elements encompass "a revenue-centered mindset, a deep understanding of your markets and the ways you serve them, the products and services you offer and how you manage and deliver to best effect."

That kind of holistic approach, said Meena Dayak, MA, practice director at McKinley Advisors, represents a break from association’s typical approach to its business model, which is to make marginal changes to discrete products or services.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.