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2020 SWOT Analysis
targeted communications and marketing, a customized online member portal and creation
of greater value in membership incentives to appeal to associate members. Losing members; members engaged in specialized ag organizations; losing connectivity with younger members; farmers who have less needs or interest in Farm Bureau structure could negatively impact our membership and insurance revenue.
• Ineffective Communication. Many communications channels for diverse audiences; inconsistent communications process within organization causes inefficiencies; lack of collaborative marketing/communications leads to redundancies and inconsistent messaging/branding; lack
of communication makes organization look unorganized and cause crisis; challenges trust and accountability.
• Resistance to Change/Organization Agility. Refusal to adapt and innovate; unwillingness to step outside of the organization for IT; desire to go back to a way that was successful in the past; become stale; primarily a reactive organization; don't move fast enough of meet changing needs of members; not willing to "look outside the box"; challenges relevancy; projects that embrace technology and change are kicked down the road; organizational decision-making is slowed by our structure; decisions made outside of the structure takes away ownership from stakeholders; our structure can limit the ability to adapt; we struggle letting things go.
The following WEAKNESSES do not represent a consensus among all divisions and centers, and management recognizes them as important:
• Limited Representation of Diverse Agriculture. Struggle to embrace the diversity of the sector; viewed as catering to traditional farmers and not representing farms of all types and sizes.
• Waning Involvement in the Policy Development Process. Our process is slow and inflexible; we react to issues slower than other groups; our process is hard for new/uninvolved members to participate; changes are made in our policy that are not always reflective of our membership.
• Integrated Family of Companies Plan of Work. We could maximize efficiency, vision and productivity in all areas with one, integrated Family of Companies’ plan of work; maximize collaboration and acknowledgement of value in all parts of the organization.
What greatest opportunities exist or are on the horizon that will help Michigan Farm Bureau more effectively meet its mission going forward?
The following OPPORTUNITIES represent consensus among all divisions and centers:
• Consumer Awareness and Education. An increased interest in food availability (related to COVID19 and beyond) presents an opportunity to educate and influence both elected officials and consumers; new MFB web presence; good relationships with media provide an opportunity to get more positive news out in front of people; use our associate member relationships and connections with food processors to connect farmers and consumers; work with food processors to access research, market testing/messaging and trust-building tools.
• Communications Technology. Update our digital presence; implementation of Salesforce and migration of iMIS; growth of social media reach; expansion of video for storytelling; email marketing; targeted content marketing; data collection/curation of cell numbers and emails; learning data systems that evaluate and target member needs.
• Partnerships. With other state Farm Bureaus andAFBF; insurance packages for direct marketing operations; acquiring interstate operations capability through GLALS; management services for commodity groups; improved partnership with MABA; strategically outsourcing areas outside
of our mission; opportunities to expand sponsorships; potential alliances with other natural- resources-based industries (mining, commercial fishing, etc.); team up with other organizations outside of agriculture.
• Embracing Remote Collaboration and Learning. Maximize skills we are learning during COVID19; opportunities to reduce travel, cost and volunteer time, while increasing the value proposition; reduce overhead expenses and create better work-life balance.
OPPORTUNITIES