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That's why I've posed the question.
I can only speculate.
Brian www.mibservices.co.uk said:
So whats your speculation then Phil?
I think my views on why change is necessary is well documented but to summarise, quite simply, it's because they had to.
The new digital age means that what trade associations could previously sell, i.e. intellectual property and technical information, is now available from an abundant array of resources......and at no, or little, cost.
From reading the article it looks like BALI are moving forward. They have created 3 new employment positions specifically to focus on providing better technical support to their members and also to go out and spend more time meeting their members face to face. Is this not a good thing ?
Change is a good thing. The problem for BALIs members - and the landscape industry as a whole - is that change has taken so long.
We already know that BALI is churning a high proportion of its membership - see here: http://www.landscapejuice.com/2011/09/balis-agm-minutes-hint-at-tou...
BALI's challenge - and bear in mind its cost base has now increased with its latest appointments - is its historic membership churn and its inevitable increase in sales and administration costs.
I'm on record by saying it's not sustainable...I'll maintain that stance.
Steve London Stone said:
I'm assuming BALI is gambling on face to face interaction trumping digital interaction in the longer term.
I guess they're changing in response to the digital age, rather than embracing the digital age fully themselves.
Will the new strategy pay off? Only time will tell.
Regards the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' comment, for any business operating in a dynamic and evolving market, that maxim doesn't ever really apply.
you took the words out of my mouth Steve.....
whatever all of these association's do they can't win, maybe changes should of happened a few years earlier but they was riding it out to see if things improved and as it happens they have not improved enough so they are implementing changes
I think that's fantastic news for the BALI members and you have to give praise otherwise the opposite end of the spectrum is you want to put the last nail in their coffin and that's certainly not good for the industry
PS.. I am not a member of BALI the APL or the SGD but I have utmost respect for what they stand for and achieve for the horticultural industry as a whole and that can only be beneficial for everyone long term
We recently joined BALi as affiliate members. We have not really had the chance to fully explore the possibilties that it can offer our business yet, but we do plan to get more involved with things come the Autumn time. In the limited dealings I have had with them so far I have found them to be helpful, supportive, informative and consistent with communication. I cant ask for much more than this and as long as the service levels stay the same as we become more involved then BALI will have a very happy customer.
I was enjoing a beer last night with a friend of mine who runs a landscape business and who is also a BALI member. He reckons that being a BALI member accounts for about 4 decent sized landscaping projects a year for his business. He has also won BALi awards in the past which he says are a great selling point when he is trying to build relationships with garden designers.
Another one of my customers was recently telling me that since joining BALI a couple of years ago he has seen a notable increase in his workload.
I can only give an opinion on BALI based upon my experience, so I am sure that other people might have different opinions.
Also responding to the points raised by Ian. I am not sure that you have to choose between digital or face to face interaction. Businesses should be utilising all the different forms of interaction avaailable to them. Relying upon one medium and being closed to all others is a sure way to fail. Of course the internet is changing the way business operates but we should never forget the human element of being able to speak to a person on the phone or face to face.
>>>>>>>>Regards the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' comment, for any business operating in a dynamic and evolving market, that maxim doesn't ever really apply.<<<<<<
Great comment by the way
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