Is Your Growth Plan Too Close to Home?

Your next opportunity may be beyond your borders.

INSIGHTS

10/27/20267 min read

This is a challenge many associations may recognize. Growth planning often begins with familiar audiences because those are the markets where organizations have the most data, established relationships, and confidence in their ability to deliver. There is nothing wrong with strengthening an existing market. But when future growth projections depend almost entirely on reaching more people within the same audience, associations may be overlooking opportunities that already exist beyond their traditional boundaries.

As 2027 approaches, the question is not whether every association should expand internationally. It is whether its current geographic footprint reflects where the greatest opportunities actually exist.

The Scenario

An illustrative leadership conversation

The association's leadership team was reviewing its growth projections for 2027. Membership acquisition targets were higher, education revenue was expected to increase, and the marketing team had proposed new campaigns to reach more professionals. But almost every assumption behind the forecast was based on the same domestic audience the association had served for decades.

When the CEO asked whether international growth had been considered, the response was familiar: entering new markets would be expensive, operationally complicated, and difficult to justify without a local presence. Yet the association already had international learners purchasing its courses, professionals outside its home market pursuing its credentials, and employers in other countries referencing its standards. The demand was not entirely new. What was missing was a strategy to understand and develop it.

The Research

50.20% Of surveyed associations reported international operations in 2026, compared with 66.08% in 2023.

Source: ASAE, International Strategy and Operations Insight Update, May 2026.

The opportunity: A more selective international environment may reward associations that understand local demand, build credible partnerships, and pursue clearly defined opportunities.

The findings suggest that associations are reconsidering how they grow internationally, not simply whether they should. Rather than committing immediately to new offices, extensive infrastructure, or broad geographic expansion, organizations are placing greater emphasis on targeted opportunities, established relationships, and approaches that balance potential returns with operational risk.

This is particularly relevant when considered alongside ASAE's broader 2026 State of Associations report, which found that nearly two-thirds of surveyed associations were pursuing partnerships and more than 60% were diversifying revenue.

Together, these findings raise an important strategic question: If associations are seeking new sources of growth while becoming more selective internationally, could partnerships provide a more practical way to connect the two?

International opportunity does not have to begin with launching a membership campaign in another country. It may begin with an employer seeking professional development, an educational institution looking for an internationally recognized credential, or a local organization interested in collaborating around shared professional standards. The challenge is identifying where an association's existing expertise meets a genuine market need, and determining the most appropriate way to respond.

For 2027, international growth may be less about expanding an association's physical footprint and more about extending the reach, relevance, and commercial potential of what it already does well.

International Growth Is Changing, Not Disappearing

Recent research suggests that associations are taking a more cautious approach to international expansion, but this does not necessarily mean they are abandoning global opportunities.

ASAE's May 2026 International Strategy and Operations Insight Update, based on responses from more than 200 senior association and association management company leaders, found that the proportion of surveyed associations reporting international operations declined from 66.08% in 2023 to 50.20% in 2026.

Geopolitical instability emerged as the leading challenge, cited by 57% of respondents. Associations also identified regulatory and legal complexity, travel barriers, budget constraints, and limited staff capacity as obstacles to international activity. Among associations already operating internationally, 54% planned to maintain their existing activities over the following 18–24 months, while 37% expected to expand. This represents a shift from the 2023 findings, when expansion plans outpaced maintenance.

At first glance, these results might suggest that associations should concentrate on their domestic markets. But a closer reading reveals a more nuanced picture. ASAE found that collaboration and partnership opportunities had gained importance, becoming the leading area identified for future international expansion, ahead of membership. The Middle East and North Africa also remained among the higher-ranked regions for future growth, despite geopolitical uncertainty.

3. ACCESS — Who could help us reach the right audience?

One of the most significant barriers to international growth is not always demand. It is access. An association may have valuable expertise but limited relationships with employers, regulators, educational institutions, or professional communities in another country.

This is where local partnerships can play an important role. The right partner may help validate demand, navigate the professional landscape, build credibility, and connect an association with audiences that would be difficult to reach through marketing alone. Partnerships should nevertheless be evaluated carefully. Shared objectives, responsibilities, commercial expectations, brand protection, and accountability must be clear from the outset.

The test: Which local relationships could give us credible access to an opportunity we cannot effectively develop on our own?

4. RESILIENCE — How exposed is our growth plan to one market or revenue model?

Geographic diversification is not automatically a safeguard against risk. International operations introduce their own uncertainties, and expanding without adequate preparation can increase complexity. However, relying heavily on a single domestic market can also create vulnerabilities, particularly when membership growth slows, professional demographics change, or economic conditions affect core revenue streams.

Associations should therefore assess concentration across both geography and business model. The goal is not expansion for its own sake, but a more balanced portfolio of opportunities that supports long-term sustainability.

The test: If growth in our home market slowed significantly over the next three years, where else could we realistically create value and generate revenue?

What This Means for Associations

Four Questions to Challenge Your 2027 Growth Assumptions

Before setting another year of domestic acquisition targets, association leaders should examine whether their growth strategy reflects the full potential of their professional community.

1. DEMAND — Where is interest already emerging beyond your home market?

International demand may already be visible in your association's data, even if it has never been formally evaluated. Look at where your educational content is being accessed, where credential candidates are located, which countries generate website inquiries, and whether international professionals participate in webinars, events, or digital communities.

These signals do not automatically establish commercial viability. But they can reveal markets worth investigating, particularly when several indicators point toward the same professional need.

The test: If we mapped every international interaction with our association over the past 12 months, what opportunities might we discover?

2. RELEVANCE — Which of your existing offerings could travel further?

International growth does not always require creating an entirely new product or service. An established certification may address skills gaps in another country. An educational program may support employers developing their workforce. Research, professional standards, or specialist knowledge may have value for institutions beyond the association's traditional membership base.

The important question is whether the offering responds to a locally relevant need. Language, regulation, professional practices, pricing, and recognition may all affect its suitability.

The test: Which of our existing capabilities could solve a meaningful problem for professionals or organizations outside our home market?

From International Ambition to a Practical Growth Strategy

These four questions can help associations move beyond the assumption that international growth requires a large financial commitment or a permanent local office. For some organizations, the right next step may be market research. For others, it could be an institutional partnership, a targeted education initiative, or a pilot with a defined professional audience.

A practical 2027 plan should establish what opportunity is being pursued, why that market matters, how the association will reach its audience, what capabilities are required, and how success will be measured. Importantly, international growth should not be treated as a separate ambition disconnected from the association's mission.

The strongest opportunities are often those that extend the impact of capabilities an association already possesses.

Question for Your Next Board Meeting

If we were building our association's growth strategy from scratch today, would we choose to concentrate on the same markets and audiences we currently serve?

Ask the board to consider where the association's expertise could create value beyond its existing membership base. Which markets show evidence of unmet professional needs? Which offerings could have wider relevance? And what would it take to validate one promising opportunity without making a disproportionate commitment?

The purpose is not to secure approval for immediate international expansion. It is to ensure that geographic assumptions are being challenged before the 2027 growth plan is finalized.

Talent at Work Perspective

An association may have limited brand awareness in a country but significant opportunities to work with employers or institutions. Equally, strong interest in a credential does not necessarily translate into demand for a conventional membership model. Local intelligence and relationships help identify these differences before resources are committed.

Our role is to connect an association's strategic objectives with the realities of each market: understanding demand, identifying relevant stakeholders, developing partnerships, and translating opportunities into sustainable activity.

As leaders prepare their 2027 plans, we would encourage them to ask not simply where they could expand, but where their association's expertise could create the greatest value beyond its existing reach. Because international growth does not always begin with entering a new market. Sometimes, it begins with recognizing an opportunity that is already there.

At Talent at Work, we believe associations should approach international growth through the lens of opportunity, not geography alone.

A market may be large, economically attractive, or strategically important, but that does not necessarily make it the right market for every association. What matters is the intersection of professional demand, the relevance of the association's offering, access to decision-makers, and the ability to execute locally. Our experience working across the Middle East, North Africa, and India reinforces the importance of understanding these distinctions.

In some markets, individual membership may provide the strongest entry point. In others, the greater opportunity may lie with employers, professional education providers, institutions, or organizations seeking internationally recognized standards and credentials. This is why we encourage associations to look beyond traditional membership acquisition when assessing their international potential.