How do your views on association staffing, meetings, and membership compare to those of fellow executives?
Marketing General released the 4th Edition of its Association Economic Outlook Report last week, which includes the perspectives of roughly 400 association professionals and consultants. The report is helpful to association professionals looking to benchmark their 2024 forecasting and plans against others in the association sector. This week's blog features twelve quick stats:
General Outlook
- 36% are very optimistic or optimistic about the economic outlook for their association in 2024.
- 35% expect economic factors to challenge or disrupt their operation.
Membership
- 58% of associations saw an increase in member engagement in 2023.
- 82% of associations expect an increase in member engagement in 2024.
- 48% expect inflation to result in increases to their dues and products.
Staffing
- 32% of associations plan to hire additional staff in 2024.
- 45% believe they have too few employees but hesitate to hire in 2024.
- Due to inflation and rising costs, 24% of associations are relying more on outsourcing or planning to extend contracts.
- Half of the associations report that all or most of their employees will continue to work remotely.
Meetings
- 61% of associations plan to only offer in-person events in 2024 – this is up from 39% in 2022.
- Fewer than 1% plan to offer only virtual events in 2024.
- Compared to pre-pandemic levels, 42% of associations have seen an increase in attendance and 35% have seen a decrease.
Access your copy of the Association Economic Outlook Report to see how the outcomes and expectations of other associations compare with your own.
MGI is widely respected throughout the association and nonprofit community as a thought leader, a trusted resource, and a preferred partner. Additional information about MGI and the full report is available at https://go.marketinggeneral.com.