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Association Management

Without participation in your trade association, your industry’s companies are missing out. Let our experienced team swell your ranks with a captivated and committed membership. And when your group is ready to convene, TMG will make sure your event runs seamlessly, smoothly, and professionally. Whether you need a little help with a particular problem, like planning an event, or would like us to design a customized turnkey solution for all your association needs, TMG is here to help.

Our professional services include:

Event Planning

Your members want more and better programming, and The Markens Group can facilitate the value-packed conferences and meetings they’ll remember and come to expect. We have extensive experience in the entire event planning process, from contract negotiation and event promotion to on-site management and member evaluation.

As event planners we can:

  • Identify and engage moderators and speakers
  • Solicit vendor sponsors for additional revenue
  • Provide members with easy online event registration
  • Design, write, produce, and distribute marketing materials such as programs, fliers, posters, and banners
  • Organize and manage registration and on-site activities
  • Organize and manage off-site functions such as special outings, plant tours, etc.
  • Facilitate banquets and awards ceremonies
  • Provide audio and visual support
  • Provide speeches and stage support to moderators and key leadership
  • Design presentations for special events as needed
  • Supply additional on-site staff as needed
  • Manage outside vendors such as photographers, florists, etc.
  • Create, distribute, collect, and analyze event evaluation forms.

Executive Director Services

The Executive Director is responsible for assuring that all work is completed in a timely manner and in accordance with all laws and regulations, including antitrust monitoring. The Executive Director oversees all work and is responsible for the delivery of quality services to our association partners. Additional responsibilities of the Executive Director:

  • Manage the day-to-day requirements of meeting your association’s goals and commitments
  • Participate in all board meetings
  • Communicate with the Board on a regular basis
  • Provide support and participate for committees as required
  • Be the public face of the association
  • Oversee the smooth execution of your association’s programs and procedures
  • Be the lead voice for growing membership and increasing participation

Board of Directors

TMG will be responsible for managing all executive and committee meetings on behalf of your association. We will prepare all documents, notices and minutes, and will participate in these meetings to the extent desired by the board.

Association Headquarters

TMG will provide your association’s office and assign a dedicated individual to manage your account.

  • Your association’s mail will be delivered to TMG.
  • We will answer all your calls in your association’s name
  • We will provide dedicated email addresses to be managed by your account executive.

Marketing & Communications

TMG’s creative team will write and design both printed pieces and online marketing initiatives. We will build your organization’s brand from the ground up, incorporating logo design, collateral materials, web design, and construction.

Crafting an image in the media means more than sending out press releases. TMG will develop and implement a public relations campaign that will enhance your organization’s favorable position in every pertinent trade media to help you maximize your growth potential.

Whether it is magazines, newsletters, member directories, benchmarking reports, direct mail campaigns, member packets, conference programs, or books, our award-winning designers will create eye-catching publications either in print or digitally that not only inform members but also enhance your association’s brand. Our staff writers can also research and write professional white papers, educational materials, magazine articles, blogs, speeches, and letters. We also have the technical expertise to set up and maintain your organization’s social media postings (such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), website updates, and weekly newsletters.

Speaker Management

Today, members are turning to associations for educational programming. The best way to deliver? Recruit sensational speakers who give your members new knowledge and motivate them to use it!

The Markens Group can help in every step of the way. We:

  • Identify speakers
  • Negotiate contracts
  • Collect and/or create biographies, photos, and other promotional materials
  • Manage all logistics from the time the contract is signed, to the day of the presentation, and any follow up work afterwards

Sponsorship Procurement

Sponsorships are a win-win for everyone. They fuel your association’s financial engine. They provide members with content while educating them about the latest products and services in their industry. And they connect your members with suppliers who can offer these services.

Whether you already have a robust sponsorship program or you are looking to start one, we can help you:

  • Design or refine your overall sponsorship strategy
  • Create sponsorship packages that will maximize value for the sponsor, members, and the association
  • Identify and solicit sponsors
  • Manage execution of deliverables throughout the term of the sponsorship
  • Monitor and measure the success of the program

Administrative Services

Located in Springfield, MA, TMG has over 4,000 square feet of class “A” office space that is configured for optimum interaction and efficiency.

We have two conference rooms overlooking the Connecticut River that can each accommodate up to 14 people for Board or committee meetings, and feature full multimedia support, such as speakerphones, A/V, computer access, and internet hookup. For larger conferences or meetings, we have access to free training rooms in our building.We also have a fully functional reception area and an administrator who performs general reception duties. Our logistics center has high-volume copying, printing, and distribution capabilities.

TMG provides a range of general administrative services, including:

  • Association mailing and email addresses
  • Receptionist, office space, and office equipment such as photocopiers, faxes, etc.
  • Dedicated phone lines answered by a professional receptionist during normal business hours (EST)
  • Complimentary use of conference rooms during normal business hours for members

Financial Management

At The Markens Group, we’ll manage your books with the utmost care. We provide a full range of financial services, including budgeting, invoicing, collections, purchasing, accounts payable, and investments. We will develop your annual budget and regularly prepare and publish financial statements for board review. We’ll also manage financial transactions, facilitate annual accounting audits, and develop and maintain a membership dues renewal process.

Strategic Planning

To ensure that an association meets its objectives and drives the implementation and management of both strategy and change, TMG can design a set of performance metrics that contain both leading (predictive) indicators and lagging indicators (such as surplus last period). Based on this information, TMG can help determine what any association can accomplish in the coming year(s), who is responsible for effecting the changes, and outline completion deadlines.

We suggest that we facilitate a two-day strategic retreat with members of the Board and other key stakeholders, during which we would make decisions together about what is working and what is not, what is value-added and what is not, who the key members and prospects are, and what we feel would make your association attractive to them. At the end of the session, you would receive a strategy map, a better-honed value proposition, and an operating/tactical plan.

Membership Services

At the heart of any successful association is a thriving and engaged membership, and at TMG we’re experts at finding members, retaining them, and keeping them satisfied. Our membership retention, renewal, and recruitment services include:

  • Identifying and cultivating potential members
  • Facilitating a more efficient member application process
  • Maintaining prospect and member files, contact information, and payments
  • Processing membership applications
  • Designing and implementing membership promotion and incentive plans
  • Developing membership marketing collateral materials
  • Providing periodic membership updates
  • Conducting annual surveys of member wants and needs
  • Communicating with members to gauge satisfaction

Website Design & Social Media

Today you make your first impression with potential members through your web presence. The Markens Group can help you coordinate your website’s content management system and regularly manage your site’s content. We have the data storage and broadband capacity to ensure immediate and consistent access to the information you need to conduct business efficiently and professionally. We can even help with a full website redesign if need be.

Additionally, TMG can create and carry out a full social media strategy that will engage your membership across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and more.