Professional Retail Store - September/October 2014 - (Page 10)

Executive Director's Column By the Numbers " We value your comments and are continuing to improve the ways we communicate with you and offer you programs so that we can continue to exceed your expectations. " PATRICIA DAMERON PRSM ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR T his past summer, the PRSM Board of Directors met with me and my staff directors to lay the groundwork for our 2015-17 Strategic Plan. You will be hearing more about the plan after it's finalized, but during that session we shared membership data and info on your use of PRSM's programs and services. Some of that data came from primary members who completed a quick survey earlier this spring. Thank you for taking the time to respond. That snapshot, along with other data we've collected from conference evaluations, focus groups and other sources, has given us a fairly good picture of your interests, needs and PRSM use patterns. Of course, a good survey always leads to more questions, which we'll continue to explore with you in the months ahead. Just as with your business, data is important to us because it helps us us understand how we can improve and to serve you better. I'd like to share some facts we know to provide you with a current profile of your association and its members. ABOUT OUR MEMBERS > Of our 950 company members, 28 percent are retail and 72 percent are vendor companies. On average, each company has 3.5 individual members. We're always working to change this balance by adding retail members. > 27 percent of our individual members are female and 73 percent are male. We have members of all generations. > The fastest growing segments of our retail membership are apparel, grocers/convenience stores and property management. > 63 percent of our retail member companies manage less than 15,000 sq. ft. > 25 percent of our individual retailers have been PRSM members for more than ten years. 57 percent have joined within the past five years. > 54 percent of our retailers have the title of manager; 23 percent have a director or vice president title, with the VP title increasing at the greatest rate. > 47 percent of our vendor members are executives/business owners. > The primary reasons retail members join PRSM are peer networking and to stay current on industry issues. The primary reasons for renewing? To learn best practices and for peer and vendor networking. 10 I PROFESSIONAL RETAIL STORE MAINTENANCE I www.prsm.com > The primary reason vendor members join and renew is for business development opportunities. > 20 percent of our individual members are actively engaged with PRSM, and we always have a waiting list of members who want to volunteer for committee assignments. ABOUT PRSM > The most popular PRSM program is the National Conference, which is the largest industry event for retailers and suppliers in North America. Our most well attended event was the PRSM2013 National Conference, held in Dallas, TX. > Benchmarking data is ranked as the second highest priority for member services. But you tell us you want "snapshot or dashboard data," not lengthy reports, and you want us to collect it in short surveys. > 61 percent of the readers of this magazine say they share their issue with one to five co-workers, and 48 percent save each issue for future reference. The topics of most importance to readers are: best practices, vendor management and sustainability/ environmental issues. > 54 percent of you are opening our electronic communications on mobile devices. Mobile traffic is also the fastest growing media for connecting with PRSM. > The best attended educational sessions at PRSM2014 National Conference were on business management topics such as capital and expense treatment, smart data and vendor management. > PRSM is a financially healthy association. As you would expect, we spend our money judiciously so we can exceed your expectations within the resource limits we have. Unfortunaely, we'd need several additional magazine pages to discuss all the implications of the data we have! And we always want to know more. We truly value your input and are continuing to improve the ways we communicate with you and offer you programs so that we can continue to exceed your expectations. In this issue of the magazine, you'll find a column on page 72 that highlights facts and provides a high-level overview of the most frequently asked questions we receive. If you have questions you've always wanted to ask us, send me an email at pdameron@ prsm.com and I'll respond. Include in the subject line: "I've always wanted to know this." Thanks! l http://www.prsm.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Professional Retail Store - September/October 2014

President’s Message
Executive Director’s Column
New PRSM Members
Association 101
Business in Canada
Technology Roundup
PRSM News
Roofing Warranties
Fire Protection for Rolling Doors
Retail Events
Self-Performing Lighting Contractors and the Loch Ness Monster
Boma Every Building Conference
The Need to Reevaluate Network Security
Proper Handling of Hazardous Waste
PRSM Whitepapers
Key System Management
Inside PRSM
Advertisers’ Index

Professional Retail Store - September/October 2014