Why bring courses, meetings, and other chapter activities to remote locations?
- Because there are often pockets of community banks located outside the chapter's central activity area, and either underserved or not served at all.
- Because serving an underserved or totally unserved segment of your financial services community is an effective way to increase chapter membership.
- Because it will help you to serve your entire chapter demographic.
- Because as Credit Risk Certification (CRC) becomes more well-known and widely accepted, bankers in remote locations will need continuing education credit hours and chapter programming to maintain their certification.
- Because reaching out to members and prospects in remote locations is an effective way to increase chapter participation from both members and nonmembers.
- Because one of the biggest reasons banks do not join The Risk Management Association is distance from the nearest local chapter, or lack of a chapter.
- Because local activities provide added value to a bank's RMA membership!
- Because it's a great way to program around regional topics specific to your own area.
- Because, today, people don't have the time they once did to travel an hour or two to get to an event.
- Because members shouldn't have to seek out RMA chapters, chapters should seek out members.
- Because time out of the bank—especially at community banks—is a major reason both members and nonmembers do NOT attend an educational event.
- Because it's an effective way to widen the reach of your programming and provide value to your entire RMA chapter membership!
Ideas Worth Considering:
- Community Bank Round Tables are often better supported in the suburbs.
- If your area attracts tourists, try scheduling an educational event on a Thursday or a Friday. Quite often, participants will want to stay over and "see the sights" after the course. Offering the program near a weekend allows them to take a mini-vacation after their course.
- Programs and Open Enrollments are equally effective in serving remote locations. Don't limit yourself to just co-sponsoring Open Enrollments.
- Don't over-reach and saturate your market. Hold just a few events each year to satisfy your more distant members.
- Try offering brief hour-long lunch gatherings in rural areas and include a 20-minute RMA message. Often, these gatherings allow enough networking time to be well worth the effort.
- Are there specific remote markets served? Agriculture, tourism, or beach and resort communities, retail firms, or even manufacturing markets can all have a need for specific programming. They may be best served by a specific niche topic or round table discussion.
- Local colleges, SBDC's, Economic Development Centers, and other regional providers are often very helpful when it comes to programs, educational events, as well as suitable and affordable facilities.
A Few Suggestions:
- Consult with your surrounding RMA chapters about the possibility of sharing the responsibility in certain remote locations-perhaps even undertaking a joint venture.
- Try joint ventures with other Associations that may already have a presence in the more remote locations.
- Use a regional bank with offices in remote locations for help finding a local professional who can suggest relevant programs, facilities, and interests.
- Establish one or two "foot soldiers" in the remote location. They should be able to help you to put on Open Enrollment courses or offer other relevant programs. Offer them a place on your Board of Directors and make them responsible for putting on one or two events per year. You should still require that they request Board approval and support for all events.
- Survey a sample of community banks that fit your targeted demographic. Find out what programs interest them and their employees? Research whether their markets have more credit or business banker staff members.
Are there regional banks present in the remote area you've targeted? Investigate whether there's anyone at such a bank who's well-suited to become an RMA champion, and who could effectively help out by distributing upcoming flyers and information throughout their bank.
For more information and for additional resources, please contact William Githens at bgithens@rmahq.org or 215-446-4124 or contact the Regional Manager for your area.