Assessing Your Products, Objectively

It's a common story among associations: At a board or committee meeting, a volunteer offers a suggestion for a new product that he or she says is all but guaranteed to generate excitement among members and substantial revenue for the association. Energized by the suggestion, the group eagerly moves ahead with the product, unaware that in a year's time it will largely go unsold.

Now, here's how AMC is rewriting the story:

The Knowledge Advantage
At a board or committee meeting, members gather to discuss a new or existing product, or possibly their entire product line. It will be an efficiently and professionally run meeting because each member comes well armed with objective data provided by AMC staff. The information, a result of careful product analysis by a member taskforce or committee, was generated using a formal assessment tool common to the business world and easily adapted to associations' unique needs. With knowledge at the ready, the board engages in thoughtful and fact-based discussion and decisions on their products.

The Product-Development Process
AMC uses a formal product-development process to help its client partners generate revenue through new product development and make informed decisions about its existing product line. The 7-step process helps evaluate and screen a new idea; develop a plan; and then create, test, and launch a product. One important component of the process is a tool that provides quantitative data to help determine whether the product should be developed, can meet members' needs, and be profitable. By weighting outcomes differently, the same tool can be used to discontinue existing products, an often difficult decision for many association leaders.

How It Works For AMC Clients
Several AMC partners have successfully used the product-development process and tool. The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) formed a taskforce to evaluate its entire product line and, as a clear sign of its success, the AAHPM staff is now formulating guidelines for product reassessments every 3 years.

During the process, a diverse member taskforce that included physicians representing various subspecialties, modified the tool by consolidating several of the steps. The end result was a board able to make informed decisions on products—a key goal of AAHPM's strategic plan to promote knowledge-based decision making. The methodology has become so ingrained in the association's culture that it is used for developing new AAHPM programs as well.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) used the tool to assess whether to publish a second edition of a book. The tool was modified to incorporate clinical language used by NANN members, and outcomes were weighted with an emphasis on profitability. Now, like AAHPM, NANN plans to form a member taskforce to assess its entire product line.

Word of this business-like approach is spreading. Next, another AMC client, the American Pain Society, is considering using the tool to develop a new product.