How can SITE quantify & communicate the science and business case for incentive programs beyond just the travel reward itself?
We have made this a priority in our strategy plan for 2024. We realize with growing costs, sustainability mandates and safety concerns, our industry needs powerful data on the business case for incentives.
While SITE focuses primarily on incentive travel, we include data in our Incentive Travel Index about non-travel incentives and also leverage research from our partners like Incentive Marketing Association, Incentive Research Foundation and the Incentive Federation. All of this research will help us create a holistic resource on how incentive programs drive business results.
What’s the vision for SITE in new and emerging markets?
Global growth is complex and requires a substantial investment of time and resources — so we need to have a targeted strategy.
Currently, we have 2,700 members dispersed across 90 countries, with 57 percent of our membership in North America. Considering that we are a relatively small association, our global footprint is very distributed.
Our current model is to expand into new markets by starting chapters; but without a critical mass of members, these chapters struggle to create engagement. We are working to shift our approach to target a specific region for expansion instead. We will start by identifying a high potential region and analyze what benefits resonate most with that region (e.g., education, certification, networking). We will then reach out to existing organizations within the region (including tradeshow organizers, other associations, and industry media) that we can align with to introduce these partners more formally to SITE.
Can you tell us more about the 2024 strategy to grow corporate end-user members?
Corporate end-users are an important constituency for SITE, and it’s our priority to increase the number of corporate members we have in 2024.
We are currently partnering with several associations that have high percentages of corporate planners to extend SITE’s benefits to them. Additionally, we are convening a small cross-sector advisory board to better understand what corporate planners need today and how SITE can help meet those needs. Their feedback will help us create new benefits and reposition our current ones that we hope will be more relevant to this audience.
What are some ways you are going to grow the young leader community this year?
Young leaders (anyone under 35 years old) can enjoy exciting opportunities with SITE, as workplaces continue to skew younger and new generations represent the future of our association and industry.
We currently focus on Young Leaders through a dedicated position on the SITE International Board of Directors and on many chapter boards, lower membership dues for some, and the annual SITE Young Leaders Conference. Last year, the Young Leaders community also featured on several webinars, led sessions at industry conferences, and re-launched a mentorship program with SITE’s Women in Leadership community.
To continue growing our Young Leader community and attract new emerging professionals to SITE, we will continue to evolve our educational offerings, offer lower-priced options for events, support students through an academic scholarship offered by SITE Foundation, and create a university outreach toolkit aimed at new university graduates.
