The Regenerative Product Portfolio
Diversify Offerings, Grow Revenue, and Optimize Impact
Summary
The most successful associations are strategically-focused, deep in purpose, and in tune with where the world is going. These associations emphasize the magic trio of compelling vision, robust engagement, and focused value (products, programming, content, etc.).
The outcomes? Strong connection, healthy membership, and diversified revenue.
Members don’t want more stuff! They want connection and a steady stream of relevant content, experiences, connections, and programming to help them solve problems, challenge their thinking, and keep them strongly attached to their community.
This is an article about using the Growth-Share Matrix to categorize an association's products or services into four quadrants based on their market share and market growth rate. All associations need a product portfolio, properly designed, to get the best, focused offerings to members hungry to engage.
Product portfolios aren’t collections of stuff. They are engines of value.
This is how the product community works. The Product Community is a product development learning community designed specifically for associations.
A Wobbly Value Proposition
“Create an organization that is regenerative by design, fair and just, where its contributions are greater than the sum of its parts.”
Ines Garcia
Regeneration positions our associations for relevance. The OED describes regeneration as “restored to a better state.” I like to think of it as an engine of continual renewal.
Developing and actively managing a product portfolio is an investment in innovation so we can identify patterns of engagement, diversify revenue, and manage risk.
This is accomplished by continuous discovery with our communities in order to deliver the right programming at the right time.
But, associations are at risk due to a wobbly, outmoded value proposition. Regeneration is a call for clarity, continuity, and alignment. Here’s why:
Membership is down, relying on an outdated value proposition. Young professionals aren’t joiners and the supper club is graying.
Publications, reliable identity drivers of a bygone era, no longer garner the reach or revenue they did in the past (due to loss of advertising in the print version). The concept of industry rag as membership benefit has waned, plus there is readily available content freely available on the web.
Annual meetings only reach about ⅓ of membership in a good year and can garner up to 60% of annual recurring revenue (a massive risk if it doesn’t run or numbers are low). People don’t like virtual events and no one I’ve ever met has purchased a conference recording!
The umbrella of learning, infused throughout the portfolio in lots of ways – webinars, podcasts, newsletters, trends, institutes, courses, certificates, etc. – is perhaps a spark of possibility.
Sponsorship is important, but unpredictable due to relying on the uneven health of the above four offerings.
What is an association to do? I have written about how to navigate this existential crisis.
Playing to Win. How to develop an association-wide winning strategy.
Leading the Growth Association. A guide to strategic focus and growth readiness.
How to Create a Product Portfolio. The nuts and bolts of organizing your offerings for maximum reach.
Ten Product Ideas. A practical guide to extending current offerings into new products.
Leverage for Scale. How to create a product taxonomy to tag and describe offerings.
This article focuses on the power of investing in the product community. The word product is a proxy for offerings. It is the value we create. With strategically-focused value, we intentionally design for connection.
It shows we are in tune with member needs and have made the right investments to ensure we are prepared to anticipate, respond, and pivot. It demonstrates that we want to create the association of the future.
When we invest in value creation our shared outcomes are: strong connection, healthy membership, and diversified revenue.
Let’s look at a tool to better understand our current state so we can position our associations for focused, strategic evolution.
The Growth-Share Matrix
“This is the urgency: Live!
And have your blooming in the noise of the whirlwind.”Gwendolyn Brooks
The Growth-Share Matrix (GSM), developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is a simple tool used to categorize an association's products into four quadrants based on their market share and market growth rate. Each quadrant represents a different strategic approach for managing these products. Here's a description of the matrix and how it applies to a fictitious apple grower's association:
Cash Cows (Low Growth, High Market Share):
Description. These are offerings with a high market share in a slow-growing market. They generate steady and significant cash flow.
Example for the Apple Grower's Association. The annual event, regional events, and membership often fall into this category. They have a large market share in their respective areas, but the market for these services is largely stagnant.
Dogs (Low Growth, Low Market Share):
Description. These are products with a low market share in a slow-growing market. They typically don't generate much profit and may need to be reevaluated.
Example for the Apple Grower's Association. The monthly publication, weekly newsletter, membership, job board, and webinars often fall into this category. They may not have a significant market share and the market for these offerings is either uneven or not expanding.
Question Marks (High Growth, Low Market Share):
Description. These are products with a low market share in a rapidly growing market. They have the potential for growth but require careful consideration and investment.
Example for the Apple Grower's Association. The AGA’s fellowship program, podcast, and interactive app delivering weekly trends from the field fall into this category. While they are innovative and have growth potential, they currently have a small market share. AGA should consider investing in these to capture more market share as apple industry trends evolve.
Stars (High Growth, High Market Share):
Description. These are products with a high market share in a rapidly growing market. They are the growth engines.
Example for the Apple Grower's Association. In our scenario, there are no Stars. AGA should aim to nurture and develop its Question Marks into Stars by building a mini-strategy to develop and promote the most promising ones.
The GSM helps the apple grower's association identify how its offerings are performing in terms of market share and growth. It suggests that AGA should continue to leverage its Cash Cows, reconsider or improve its Dogs, invest in its Question Marks, and work towards developing Stars to ensure long-term financial sustainability.
The GSM is a useful tool for the following reasons:
Simplicity. It provides a clear visual and easy-to-grasp representation of a portfolio, helping to create a shared understanding for staff and volunteers.
Strategic Focus. It helps us allocate resources and prioritize investments based on the growth potential and market share of each offering.
Portfolio Analysis. It encourages us to assess our portfolio holistically by taking into account current performance and future growth potential.
Risk Identification. It highlights potential risks, such as not having any "Stars," which can prompt us to develop new offerings to stay competitive.
Like with most strategy tools, there are cons:
Two Factors. It only considers market share and market growth, neglecting profitability, competition, and demand. This can lead to misguided decisions.
Static Analysis. It assumes that market conditions remain constant. In our rapidly changing world this may not be true, making the matrix less adaptable.
No One-Size-Fits-All. Every association is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. The matrix doesn't account for these variations.
Neglect of Potential. Focusing solely on existing market share might cause associations to miss emerging opportunities in untapped markets.
Unreliable Data. Most associations struggle with good data to identify patterns and gauge performance. This may result in mis-plotting an offering on the GSM.
Balancing our product portfolio is crucial because it allows us to spread risk and potentially reap rewards from different market segments.
Leveraging current offerings and catering to younger, diverse professionals is essential for staying relevant and appealing to a changing demographic. This can involve updating existing services, embracing technology, and aligning offerings with the evolving needs and preferences of the target audience.
While the GSM can offer valuable insights, it should be used in combination with other strategic tools. The absence of stars underscores the importance of innovation and diversification in the portfolio, while maintaining a balance and catering to the needs of a younger, diverse audience is vital for long-term success and sustainability.
Portfolio as Value Engine
Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, molecules, microscopic entities all come in communities. The singular cannot really exist.
Paula Gunn Allen
An organized, consistently pruned, and strategically-focused product portfolio is a value engine that keeps members insatiably connected. Furthermore, it shifts membership from a passive, risk-averse, benefits model to a robust outcome of exciting content, events, and programming.
To synthesize my article, here is what makes the regenerative product portfolio work:
There is a deep value for creating a seamless member experience.
There is a leader with a guiding vision.
There is a diverse and energetic community willing to focus.
There is a strategy.
There is a core body of knowledge.
There is active and robust content creation and reuse.
There is a way of measuring impact.
There is a system that makes it easy to find things.
There are healthy feedback loops.
There is investment in capability to solve for purpose.
Properly designed, co-created, and aligned with volunteers, investing in value creation will keep members forever connected. Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny.
About the Author
James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning.
Please contact me for a conversation: james@productcommunity.us.