During my long career in industry, I have come to appreciate the differences between strategic versus tactical marketing. As consumers, we are the recipients of tactical marketing strategies that are executed by businesses every day. We see messages on social media, advertising on websites, and targeted emails promoting different products and offers. In addition, marketing tactics include a public relations campaign, where companies typically engage with specialized firms that help those companies gain visibility of their products and services in news articles and stories, as well as with research and analyst firms such as Gartner and Forrester. A successful tactical marketing campaign uses consistent messaging across all platforms, creating visibility across multiple channels in a consistent manner. INFORMS uses a variety of tactical marketing strategies to increase engagement; however, I believe that the messages could be more consistent.
Consistent messaging is an output of a strategic marketing activity. Has INFORMS ever created and committed to a long-term strategic marketing plan? In my vision statement for the INFORMS election, I indicated that I would collaborate with the INFORMS Board and staff on several activities, most of which are strategic in nature. I’ll restate them here and indicate the importance of each of these strategic activities.
Determine the distinctive competencies of INFORMS as a professional organization, as compared to other organizations. What makes INFORMS different from organizations such as the Institute for Industrial Engineers (ISIE), American Statistical Association (ASA), American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), and other similar organizations?
I’ve discussed this concept in a previous article that you can find here.
Determine the member value proposition, especially for people in industry. What products and services can INFORMS offer to industry professionals that will make joining INFORMS worthwhile?
INFORMS offers many products and services to members, including discounts on conferences. When you renew your INFORMS membership, the marketing department lists several benefits of INFORMS membership. However, when I look at these benefits, I’m not convinced that INFORMS members view some of those as real benefits of membership! An effort needs to be undertaken to not only understand the benefits perceived by the existing members of INFORMS, but to also understand what benefits non-members of INFORMS would find valuable that would entice them to become members. This is a fundamental strategic marketing activity that I hope to undertake if elected.
Decide on a label that describes what our members do. It could be Operations Research, Analytics, Data Science, AI, or something else. Be consistent in using this label in all communication activities.
I would argue that the INFORMS Strategic Plan puts forward a nebulous identity that labels what our members do. At the bottom of the plan, you will find these words: “The full breadth of disciplines in the INFORMS community … includes operations research, analytics, management science, economics, behavioral science, statistics, artificial intelligence, data science, applied mathematics, and other relevant fields.” If we can’t find one label that describes and unites us, how can we have a consistent marketing message that lets people know what makes us special?
If I am elected as the next Vice President of Marketing and Communications of INFORMS, I will work hard to make sure that a strategic marketing plan is in place. It will define what differentiates our members and our profession from others, and what makes INFORMS the place to be for people with similar interests. With an appropriate strategic marketing plan in place, we can then define promotional strategies that communicate a consistent message across multiple platforms. That will increase the awareness of the value INFORMS members bring every single day.