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Suzanne Carawan

By: Suzanne Carawan on March 27th, 2015

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Invitation to Inbound Lunch Bunch Program

Lead Generation & Growth Strategies | Content, Social & Digital Marketing

mailto:demo@example.com?Subject=HighRoad Solutions - interesting article

We have launched a new initiative called the Inbound Lunch Bunch. A series of monthly, informal get-togethers held at ASAE's JW Marriott Conference Center, the program aims to bring together like-minded people interested or practicing inbound. Each month, we'll cover a new topic and have designed the one hour block to be interactive and fast-paced. We will break into groups based on self-selected level of understanding of inbound so that you can easily network with peers and hopefully, find yourself an inbound buddy.

I'm a big fan of using the Buddy System for inbound. Over the last year, I've developed a group of inbound buddies where we can bounce ideas off of one another, support each other through the epiphanies and the frustrations (usually which start with "are you kidding me? why didn't we do this sooner?????") and just talk inbound smack. David Martin, VP Content & Marketing at the Electronic Retailing Association, has agreed to be my inbound buddy for the program so you know it's going to be exciting. If you don't know Dave, you not only should, but will. He's a dynamic guy who has no problem in calling things for what they are and cutting through the red tape to innovate. He's been the driver to move ERA from a push marketing to an inbound marketing mindset and is reaping the rewards from increased board support.

Dave and I truly are lunch buddies. We first met at Fiber Optics Training when we both took "interesting" jobs at a global telecom called JDSU in Germantown, MD. He was working on incredibly expensive third party products that could hook into fiber optic networks and I was working on building their global channel program. We instantly connected as we were the few people who weren't engineers and who thought it was hilarious that we found ourselves sitting through days of training learning how to use the SmartClass fiber optic tester to troubleshoot signals. Being thrown into a totally new environment, with an interesting assortment of people who were often disgruntled (one guy a cube or two away would drop the f bomb every time he hit period on a sentence--and he did it with relish) due to recent leadership changes and organizational restructuring.

Both put into positions to bring change and to help grow programs, Dave and I would literally peel out of the parking lot to go to lunch and do a reality check. Are we crazy? Did that just happen? Can we see this through? Will this change work? Will we be stopped? Wait, what if it does work? It can work! IT HAS TO HAPPEN!

This was typically the pattern of our conversations (and continues to be the case today). A good lunch buddy is an oasis of hope & support in the middle of a workday; that oasis is especially critical if you are in an organization that is undergoing change and/or is suffering from organizational sickness. A great lunch buddy leaves you feeling that you can do it and while it might be hard, it's going to be totally worth it because the change you're bringing is creating health, makes sense and is the right thing to do.

Dave and I put this year-long program together to invite you to be our lunch buddies. Come join us to laugh at the reality we often find ourselves in, to question, to get curious and to celebrate the journey of change that inbound inevitably brings. We hope you become regulars at our table and that we can work together to innovate how associations are communicating with and understanding members. (We're also big on helping organizations create great jobs that people actually want to do because they're intellectually fulfilling).

(Also, if you are totally new to inbound and want to participate, we have several webinars available on-demand at HighRoad U. Just look for the topic of "Inbound Marketing" and browse our resources)

April 2nd is the first Lunch Bunch kickoff  and here's the agenda:

  • Welcome & Intros
  • Spotlight Topic:The Inbound Methodology: What It Is & Why It Works
  • U Need to Know in Inbound: Where are Associations Today? Who's Doing it & Why?
  • Interactive Thinking Lab: Where are U Today? Where could U Be Tomororow (What's Blocking U?) 
  • Inbound in Action: ERA Sucess Story

Additionally, if you like to plan ahead, here are the topics for 2015:

  • May: Using Content to Attract
  • June: Anatomy of an Inbound Membership Campaign
  • July: Lead Generation for Exhibitor & Sponsor Sales
  • August: Developing Personas for Inbound
  • September: Forms, Call to Actions & Landing Pages
  • October: Website Personalization
  • November: Campaign Measurement
  • December: Content Strategy Planning for 2016

We already have 40 people registered for the Lunch Bunch program and there's always room for more! 

 HighRoad's Inbound Lunch Bunch