Some context, please

Some context, please

A pet peeve of mine: A report about associations (e.g., marketing benchmarks report) where the report defines associations by the number of members, but fails to discriminate between trade associations and individual associations. In other words, the report will talk about "associations with fewer than 500 members" as if a trade association with 450 members is somehow the same as an individual membership organization with 450 members.

I have worked with trade associations with fewer than three dozen members that had a budget and staff three times the size of a professional society with 2,500 members. I think you see my point; the number of members without context makes for pretty useless comparisons or benchmarks.

Just something to keep in mind if you're ever creating or reading benchmarking reports.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Data integrity reports

July 9, 2025

Data integrity reports I speak and write a lot about data integrity reports. So I […]

The most important training tip

June 25, 2025

The most important training tip I’ve been sitting in a lot of database training sessions […]

Be careful about getting tangled

June 18, 2025

Be careful about getting tangled “We had done a lot to tangle ourselves up.” – […]

Discipline. Always discipline.

June 11, 2025

Discipline. Always discipline. I’ve been producing a newsletter in some form for over 25 years […]

Simpler is better

June 4, 2025

Simpler is better Recently, a client of mine was discussing how they manage membership reinstatements. […]

Baby steps

May 28, 2025

Baby Steps A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You have […]

Sometimes what you’re using IS the best option

May 21, 2025

Sometimes what you’re using IS the best option I love technology and I’m inherently lazy, […]

Do they hate the system?

May 14, 2025

Do they hate the system? When an association asks me for help finding a new […]

Artificial Intelligence is the next revolution in data management

May 7, 2025

Artificial Intelligence is the next revolution in data management I’ve been in the data management […]

There’s always gonna be something

April 30, 2025

There’s always gonna be something I’ve been consulting for 26 years now and I’m still […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top