The final months of the year offer something organizations don’t always take advantage of: time to get ahead.
Maybe there’s an opportunity to grow your membership or client base. Your website could do a better job of attracting prospects. Your branding and messaging need a refresh. Or next year’s biggest event could be the chance to reach new audiences and build stronger relationships.
The question is whether those opportunities are part of your 2027 plan yet.
If you wait until January to figure that out, much of Q1 could be spent deciding what to do. By the time plans are in motion, you’re already into Q2.
Q4 is the time to look at what worked this year, where there’s room to grow and what needs to happen now to make the most of 2027.
Budgets are being finalized. Boards are setting priorities. Next year’s event commitments are already being made. Those decisions should reflect what the organization wants to accomplish in 2027.
Here’s where Kelsey Tweedly, Vice President at CMA, says you can start.
1. Membership and Where There’s Room to Grow
Membership numbers only tell part of the story. The bigger question is whether members are finding value in what the association offers.
An association may be growing its membership while missing opportunities to engage existing members. Longtime members may be renewing without taking full advantage of their benefits. Events and volunteer programs may be attracting the same familiar faces, leaving room to bring more people into the fold.
Sometimes, improving membership starts with simplifying the structure itself.
That’s where the Association of Medical Media (AMM) found itself. AMM had accumulated overlapping membership tiers and unclear pricing. CMA simplified both, and within a year, AMM added 12 member companies and grew to 905 individual members, a 16.3% increase.
But structure is only part of your review.
Who joined, renewed or left this year? Which benefits are attracting interest? Are members getting involved beyond paying their dues?
And what could the association do differently to attract and retain more members?
“The goal isn’t to change your association just for the sake of changing it,” Tweedly says. “Look at what’s working, where engagement is slipping and where there’s room to improve. Does your membership program still make sense for your organization and your members?”
2. Your Marketing, and Whether the Pieces Work Together
Most organizations can list what they’re doing: a website, a newsletter, social media, maybe a campaign.
Fewer can say how those pieces feed one another, or which efforts are actually helping them reach their goals.
The New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) provides one example. CMA connected the association’s social media, media relations, weekly email and website content so each channel supported the others. Over a one-year period, social media engagement more than doubled. Email-driven website traffic also grew, from about 7,000 to more than 60,000 visits, and media placements increased by nearly 20.
Tweedly says a strong media placement shouldn’t disappear after it’s published. It can become social content, drive readers to the website and give an email audience something worth clicking. A conference session can become a blog. A frequently asked customer or member question can become content that helps the organization appear in Google and AI-powered search results.
There’s also room to improve what’s already in place. Your website may be outdated, your social media may not be reaching or engaging the right audiences and your content may be hard to find. Your brand may not even reflect how your organization has grown and evolved.
“If someone searched Google or an AI tool for your products, services or expertise, would they find you?” Tweedly asks. “And if they did, would they understand how you’re different?”
A year-end review can show what’s working, what’s fallen behind and where stronger connections could make your marketing more effective.
3. Your Events, and What Happens After They End
Attendance is a good place to start, but the headcount doesn’t tell the whole story. What did the event actually help your organization accomplish?
Look at who attended, what drove registrations and whether you reached the audiences you hoped to attract. Did sponsors and exhibitors see value in participating? Were there opportunities to improve the attendee experience? Feedback, registration data and post-event surveys can help answer these questions and shape plans for the following year.
But the value of an event shouldn’t end when everyone goes home.
Sessions can become content, speakers can become sources of thought leadership and photos and videos can support marketing long after the event ends. Attendees can become members or customers, while sponsors can develop into longer-term partners.
Whether you’re looking to grow an existing event or launch something new, planning ahead creates opportunities to build a stronger event identity, reach new audiences and set the stage for long-term success.
For instance, when investment bank KippsDeSanto & Co. launched a leadership conference, CMA developed the event’s brand and “Beyond the Horizon” theme, carrying it through promotion, event materials and programming. The conference attracted 300 attendees in its first year and 700 by its third, an example of how a recognizable event identity can support efforts to grow an audience.
Reviewing the event now can also help shape a more realistic budget. Growing attendance may require more promotion. Increasing sponsorship revenue may require additional outreach. Improving the attendee experience may require changes to technology, programming or vendors.
“Events can create opportunities to attract new audiences, strengthen relationships and expand sponsorships,” Tweedly says. “The key is knowing what you want to accomplish and what needs to happen now to make it successful.”
Plan Before the Budget Becomes the Plan
A year-end review can reveal opportunities that weren’t on the radar when planning began, including ways different initiatives can better support one another.
A stronger website can support member recruitment and event registration. A conference can generate content that supports marketing long after the event ends. And more consistent outreach can help organizations stay connected with their members, customers and prospects.
Before the budget is final, take a look at how these opportunities fit into your larger goals for 2027. Not every opportunity needs to become a priority. Focus on what will have the greatest impact, what your internal team can realistically handle and where additional expertise or support may be needed.
January will always bring new challenges and opportunities. But there’s no reason to wait until then to start working toward your 2027 goals.
If your year-end review uncovers opportunities worth pursuing, CMA can help turn those ideas into a plan and provide the support needed to bring them to life. Reach out to learn how.