FOREWORD
This guide is intended for use in the establishment and functioning of national coalitions of services in
CARIFORUM.
There is no single model for services coalitions that would be appropriate for each member state.
Despite the many similarities of the services sector across the region, the context, resources and
priorities, as it relates to a coalition, vary. This guide will offer strategies and best practices in various
areas of coalition development. It is not an exhaustive guide; the role of a coalition is extensive.
Communications, however, has been addressed in depth. While communications is critically important
to a coalition, it is the author’s experience that it is not given the priority it requires.
The guide will address the following areas:
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10 First Steps in Establishing a Coalition
Membership Structure
Board Structure and Role
Association Support
Coalition Sustainability
Communications – Establishing a Communications Strategy
Communications – Raising Awareness and Establishing Credibility
Best Practice Features for a CSI Website
Useful E-Tools for a Coalition and its Membership
The best practices elaborated in this guide are based on the nine years of dedicated experience of the
author in supporting coalition development in Barbados, regionally and internationally. Material from
“Harnessing Services Trade for Development: A Background and Guide to Service Coalitions1” has been
incorporated and elaborated on.
1
Hustler, Michelle A. “Harnessing Services Trade for Development: A Background and Guide to Service Coalitions”,
International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty (ILEAP), 2010.
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10 First Steps in Establishing a Coalition
A practical starting point in the process of establishing a coalition is in the reflection on key guiding
principles. The below principles were originally noted in Kihuma, Job K. “Creating a Services Coalition:
An East African Roadmap2” and are equally relevant to the Caribbean experience.
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Be guided by need and purpose;
Individual member’s needs should converge at the coalition;
Committed and effective leadership are a must;
Governance structures must be formalized and institutionalized;
Maintain a clear strategic plan to guide activities;
Ensure benefits to members outweigh cost of membership;
Maintain a sound financial and management system;
Develop an effective communication strategy;
Build networks and alliances;
Remain relevant.
Whether the process of establishing a coalition is initiated by the public or private sector, the following
points will apply:
1. Identify a Champion
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Ideally both a private and public sector champion should be identified;
The role of these persons would be to generate support for the establishment of a coalition,
including raising awareness on the importance of a coalition and generating financial support
from corporate sponsors, government and donors;
The champions do not need be the same persons as the drivers (those persons who are doing
the groundwork; see below), but rather should be high-profile leaders, credible and persuasive,
with the ability to deliver their messages at a high public and private sector level;
The champions should have a clear understanding of the roles and possibilities of a coalition, in
order to be effective at conveying the need to establish the organization. Ideally, within the
private sector, the champion should be a successful services exporter.
2. Form a Taskforce
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Establish a taskforce of service providers willing to donate their time to the establishment of a
coalition. This is a taskforce of doers;
The taskforce should ideally be comprised of representatives from the government, key trade
associations (e.g. legal, accounting, engineering), large services companies, and champions of
national leading services sectors;
2
Kihuma, Job K. “Creating a Services Coalition: An East African Roadmap”, International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, 2004.
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The taskforce should also include persons willing to donate the services relevant to establishing
a coalition – attorney-at-law (to assist with the incorporation procedures, bylaws), marketing
specialists, management consultants, IT specialists;
Organize regular meetings of the taskforce.
3. Assess Willingness/Support of Private Sector
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Depending on resources, host a forum or visit all professional associations and leading services
companies. Discuss the role of the coalition;
Gather information regarding the challenges of services sectors and service providers both
nationally and with respect to exporting;
Gather feedback on the types of offerings a service provider would wish from a coalition;
Consider inviting a representative from an existing coalition to discuss their own success and to
generate enthusiasm at a discussion forum;
Ensure buy-in on the importance of the coalition. Do this in writing;
This assessment can be undertaken by university students or taskforce members who are able
to donate the time.
4. Identify a Driver
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Identify drivers, if none have been identified. The role of these persons will be to do the ground
work for the coalition. Consider using university students, if there are no private sector
volunteers;
The role of the drivers will include conducting surveys, organizing meetings, developing initial
databases, conducting research, preparing press releases and other marketing material and
generally supporting the champions and the taskforce.
5. Planning of Logistics and Operations
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Review coalition best practices;
Determine a name, mission, objectives, and core values;
Determine membership categories and criteria;
Prepare bylaws for the organization that will outline governance structures, voting procedures,
membership categories and criteria;
Determine the core activities of the coalition;
Discuss the benefits for each of the stakeholders. As above, be sure that the benefits of the
coalition outweigh the costs. In addition to being ‘a voice for the services sector’, coalitions in
developing countries include benefits that can more directly result in increased exports,
earnings and market share;
Prepare a short-term action plan for the coalition, but allow room for changes in dates, project
additions and omissions. Be flexible. While it is important to plan ahead, this sector is very
dynamic. Specific plans will change based on the work of other business support organizations
both nationally and those doing business in your country, trade negotiations, the projects of
international donors or funding agencies, the focus of government and the energies of the
private sector;
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Locate office space. Consider utilizing space at the national Chamber of Commerce or request
office space from the Government, if no funds for such expenses are available;
Consider structure and staffing. A coalition must have at least one professional staff to function
effectively (i.e. ‘the driver’);
Consider seeking advice from other coalitions and organisations providing technical support in
this area (e.g. Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions);
6. Secure financial support
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Prepare an information package and funding proposal to secure financial support. This can
include seed funding to take the initial steps required to pursue longer-term funding. At
minimum, include financing for a manager and an assistant and the funds necessary to
undertake an aggressive PR campaign, which should seek to raise awareness of the role of the
coalition and build support for the organization;
Reach out to both public and private sector actors, including large services firms operating in the
country/region, the local government, bilateral and multilateral donors, private philanthropic
bodies, diaspora, etc;
Secure at least 3 years funding before launching a robust work programme (ideally 5 years). The
rationale here is that without a solid base to scale up activities over the first 3-5 years, it will be
very challenging to garner the requisite credibility and trust of beneficiaries;
7. Formalize
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Before launching the coalition ensure that all procedures are formalized, with special attention
to membership procedures. It is essential for the CSI (Coalition of Service Industries) to have a
professional tone from the outset and not appear to be driven by the ad-hoc interests of the
main drivers. Formalising procedures minimises the possibility of the latter and strengthens the
perception around the CSI’s ability to deliver as an organisation;
Consider a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to govern the relationship between services
associations and the coalition. The MOU should cover the general scope of the relationship
(what the coalition will do/what the association will do) and outline topics such as the
assignment of association point persons, terms for sharing information with the coalition
following Annual General Meetings (AGMs) or changes in contact details;
Ensure that important trade in services data is captured from Individual/Company members as
part of the membership procedure of this category. This process avails the ideal time to
commence both a qualitative and quantitative survey of services providers (data that will prove
invaluable for the CSI to properly target effective services and offer support to its members);
8. Develop a communications strategy/public relations
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One of the most important roles of a coalition is communications. Trade in services is not well
understood and the sector is diverse and fragmented. While the usefulness of a manufacturing
or agricultural association will not be questioned, the role of a services coalition will be. It is
thus very important that the message of the coalition and of the services sector is consistent
and frequent, raising awareness about the importance of services, the role of a services coalition
in particular and the intentions to launch a coalition in the country/region of interest;
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To start, early and targeted newspaper articles can help to stimulate discussion and generate
needed attention on services issues (this can help to attract financial resources);
Develop a website and brochure that explains the role of the coalition, membership categories
and procedures and outline clearly and comprehensively the member benefits for both
individual/companies and service associations;
9. Launch the Coalition
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Host a coalition launch;
Invite key public and private sector leaders;
Invite national business support organizations;
Invite national and regional media and ensure some articles on relevant issues appear prior to
the launch (see also communications strategy above);
Secure high-profile public and private sector speakers (ensure their availability for media
interviews);
Prepare speaking notes regarding the importance of the services sector and trade in services for
the speakers;
Prepare a press kit for the media with a press release, brochure, etc;
10. Coalition Functioning
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Host a General Meeting;
Adopt by-laws;
Elect a Board of Directors;
Appoint Government representative to sit on Board;
Incorporate the organization;
Hire a paid professional staff;
Ensure sound financial management systems. Consider adopting a project-based accounting
approach;
Monitor. Evaluate. Report. The coalition will be called to defend its existence, especially if it
relies on government funding;
Membership Structure
This chapter will address issues related to membership structure. Again, it should be reiterated that no
two coalitions are the same, nor should they be, however a better understanding of the issues,
especially in the preliminary stages of coalition establishment will result in a better elaboration of early
corresponding solutions.
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Four possible membership categories will be discussed briefly below: Association, Company, Affiliate
and Student.
Association: An Association Member is generally a professional association - a non-profit organization
related to a specific services subsector (profession) and seeking to advance the interests of that
subsector, individuals engaged in that subsector and the public as it relates to that subsector.
Associations are important members of a services coalition namely because:
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They serve to organize the services sector;
They serve as sectoral focal points – as its voice, ears and eyes in its development.
It is important that the coalition sets out criteria for association members in their bylaws that will
facilitate and encourage the association to perform the roles noted above.
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An association should be registered. Registration ensures that an association has a legal identity
and can undertake both association and coalition activities in an easy and transparent fashion.
Ideally, an association should seek to become incorporated; however the fees involved and the
length of time this process sometimes entails can be deterring. As the participation of
associations in the activities of a coalition is critical, registration should suffice as a minimum
membership standard of this group;
An association should have standards for membership and therefore should not function simply
as a ‘club’ of interested persons. Associations should be encouraged to adopt the highest
international standards, both to ensure competitiveness of the sector and to avoid potentially
underpinning future mutual recognition of qualifications, which a lack of competitive standards
might effect;
An association, in order to remain a member of the coalition, should be obliged to host an
Annual General Meeting in every two year period. This is to ensure that a defunct coalition no
longer shares voting privileges;
An association should have at least three members. This is to ensure that an individual does not
form an association in order to obtain voting rights or to serve on the Board;
Generally associations have very limited resources and as it is in the coalition’s best interest to work
closely with these services sector focal points, consideration may therefore be given to waiving any
membership fees for this category of membership, or for implementing low membership fees for this
category. Instead, fees should be sought from the larger Company Membership category. Associations
should pay for unique services being offered, such as membership in the Association Incubation and
Support Unit (see Association Support).
Company: While all Caribbean coalitions include an association category in their membership, very few
include a company category. It is in this author’s opinion that Company Membership be strongly
considered as a membership category for the following reasons:
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The majority of services associations in the Caribbean are very weak. Lacking staff and
communications strategies, an association often has challenges in disseminating information to
their membership, as necessitated by a coalition. This limitation in function impedes a coalition
in its communications efforts. The possibility also exists that information will not be distributed
transparently via associations.
Company members would be required to pay membership fees providing an opportunity to
collect greater membership fees with the inclusion of this membership category;
There is an opportunity to collect important trade data with the inclusion of this membership
category;
It should also be noted that associations themselves do not generally participate in training or
export promotion activities rather it is the individuals or companies that make up an association
that engage in these types of activities. Full inclusion of Company Members in the activities of a
coalition enables a coalition to better reach its objectives with respect to development and
export promotion;
A coalition cannot insist that services providers affiliate themselves with an association should
they not wish to do so. Joining an association, in most cases, is not mandatory to practicing in
most professions. Insisting that an individual/company become a member of an association
before they can benefit from the services of a coalition, might not be in the best interest of that
individual/company;
Assigning a service provider to one category might not accurately reflect their service offerings,
as services and service providers are becoming increasingly dynamic and diversified.
The challenges foreseen in including a Company membership category and possible rebuttals to the
challenges are noted below.
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Including Companies as coalition members might discourage the establishment of associations
and therefore impede the very important organization of the services sector;
The implication here is that associations will be established simply to take part in the activities of
a coalition. If this is indeed the case, it is unlikely that the association established simply to
become a member of a coalition will be a well-functioning association and will not serve its
purpose in effectively organizing the services sector. Association formation should be driven by a
need and a will separate to the participation in a coalition.
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The coalition will be acting in competition to service associations;
An association serves individual service providers, what is being discussed is the inclusion of
companies as coalition members, therefore as an association and a coalition serve different
target groups, no true conflict should exist. Membership in a coalition should not replace
membership in a sector association, but rather enhance this membership.
A coalition should seek to organize the services sector by forming associations, assist associations in
membership recruitment, strengthen these associations to play a meaningful role in national
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development and export promotion and empower the associations to lobby effectively on behalf of
their members. At the same time, a coalition should also seek to develop the international
competitiveness of service companies and encourage and enable them to export. Both associations
and service providers can be served by the coalition, thereby enabling the coalition to most
effectively meet its objectives. A well-functioning coalition should not draw potential members away
from the sector association rather demonstrate why being a member of such an association would
be even more valuable.
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Board/voting structures will become complicated.
This point will be addressed in the next chapter on the structure of a coalition Board of Directors.
Affiliate: To avoid duplication of efforts, poor inter-agency communication and potential tensions, a
formal relationship with national/regional business support organizations, the chamber of commerce
and academic institutions should be implemented.
Student: As entrepreneurship is deemed to be a mindset, the message of entrepreneurship and export
should be offered early - to students. Inclusion as members, therefore enabling easy access to
information, will serve a coalition’s objectives in the long term.
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Board Structure and Role
As it relates to regional coalitions, only associations currently have the right to vote (at one vote per
association) and only associations (a representative thereof) are eligible to sit on the Board of a
coalition. At present, the coalitions in the region that incorporate a Company Member category, do not
allow these members voting rights. While it may appear most logical and easy to simply assign such
rights only to associations, this is not necessarily the best solution in the long term and will likely pose
challenges in the future of the organization. In this respect, it is important to recognize that governance
elements such as this may require fine-tuning as the CSI evolves and grows.
The result of not allowing companies to sit on the Board/vote (which are unarguably affiliated with
coalition via training, networking and export promotion initiatives for example) is the sentiment of
companies of being excluded from important processes of the organization and more importantly, the
loss of the coalition in securing the valuable input of entrepreneurs and exporters. Note – there is no
guarantee that representatives of associations serving on a coalition’s Board have any experience in
exporting or entrepreneurship – critical skills in being able to guide the vision of the organization.
As the development of the services sector is still a relatively new realm and its impact far-reaching and
dynamic, the composition of the CSI’s Board of Directors should ideally be drawn from a variety of
sources – including associations and individual operators (companies), as well as possibly public sector
representatives and even representatives from academia.
Ideally a coalition’s Board should comprise as follows:
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influential persons who can encourage government support, financially and otherwise, as well
as ensure robust private sector participation;
practitioners, not necessarily representatives from associations, who have experience in
exporting, as well as policy development and/or services negotiations;
sectoral leaders who can help devise sectoral strategies to enhance competitiveness;
an influential government representative whose role it is to raise awareness about the coalition
across Ministries/Departments/Agencies, and who can work to help ensure that the services
sector remains a primary focal point for the government and to actively support the continued
funding of the organization.
Consideration might be made to the election of a set number of Board Members from associations, who
will in turn appoint other Board Members (Companies, Affiliates, Students) based on the current needs
of the organization. This will ensure not only that the best Association Members are serving on the
Board (by enhancing competition by reducing Association seats on the Board), but that the human
resources needed to drive the coalition forward are acquired.
Another issue that should be considered with respect to voting rights is the vote ‘weight’ of large
associations versus small associations. Is it just to allow, for example, an association of accountants
(which tends to have many members) the same voting privileges as an association of reflexologists
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(which will have much fewer members)? A coalition might consider a ‘weighting’ of votes – i.e.
associations of 3-49 members = 1 vote, 50-99 = 2 votes, etc.
Role: The Board’s role vis-à-vis the coalition secretariat should also be clearly defined. As much as
possible, Directors should not be involved in the day-to-day management of the coalition. The Board
should establish general policies and strategies for the organization. The Board should also be
responsible for funding and should interface with the government and other funders on a regular basis.
Trade in services in a relatively new area. Board members might require training in certain areas upon
assumption of their role and staff, who is actively engaged with the service sector, should be consulted
as much as possible on coalition initiatives.
To support the Board’s efforts, committees should be established with a mix of Board representation
and well-qualified members to ensure that relevant and valuable input will be made. No committees
should be established for the sake of establishing a committee if suitable committee members are not
also identified. Committees require clear and achievable terms of references and objectives.
Committees, as much as possible, should include staff representation. Consider committees such as
fundraising, public relations, member expansion, export promotion and lobbying, as well as those along
a sectoral and/or activity-cluster basis.
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Association Support
Typically, in most member states, there are relatively few professional associations established. Of
those, even fewer are actively and effectively serving their membership. Associations face similar
challenges as a coalition in terms of financing and generally do not have the resources available (human,
financial) to serve as meaningful focal points for the sector. As would be expected given the resource
constraint, associations normally do not have strategic plans or work programmes to shape their service
offerings or guide the activities of the group. Activities of an association typically include the hosting of
an annual general meeting, association networking events and lobbying efforts as necessary.
Weak associations pose a challenge to a coalition, in that coalitions must assist in strengthening the
associations in order to develop the membership qualities necessary to best enable the coalition in turn
to perform a meaningful role.
A coalition should consider offering administrative and developmental services to associations, to
further support a coalition’s objective in ‘organizing the services sector’.
Developmental Support
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Ensure that the relationship between a coalition and its association members, including mutual
obligations, are well understood, recognizing that an association’s leadership changes on an
annual basis. Elaborate a Memorandum of Understanding or other similar contract to ensure
this clarity. Encourage association members to appoint a ‘point person’ for coalition
interactions as the president of an association is not always the ideal person to serve this role;
Undertake lobbying activities in collaboration with an association or a cluster of associations. A
coalition’s skill and experience in effective lobbying, in tandem with its well developed
relationship with the public sector and its position as ‘the voice of the services sector’, will
ensure greater success with lobbying efforts than an association alone;
Assist the private sector in forming services associations. It is useful to develop a manual on
best practices in forming an association to guide interested private sector stakeholders in the
process;
Provide opportunities for associations to develop their networks through the elaboration of
networking events. Consider full-membership, but sector focused networking events to raise
awareness on the strengths of a particular sector;
Support associations in collecting data from their membership. In turn, collect information on
associations (size, standards, challenges, market interests, needs);
Develop proposals on behalf of associations, sectors or clusters that will aid in its development
for government and funding agencies;
Offer training opportunities for associations in ‘best practices’;
Offer awareness building opportunities to associations, for example encourage associations to
participate alongside the coalition at trade shows, offer speaking opportunities to associations
at relevant events, display association marketing material at trade shows, trade missions and
other relevant events;
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Encourage and assist associations in marketing the strengths of their membership. These
activities might include:
o Developing a skills database;
o Developing an industry promotional piece;
o Publicizing success stories;
o Developing a website (train associations to build websites using free website building
tools);
Support associations in establishing relationships with parallel associations in the region;
Assist associations in establishing export committees that will feed into negotiation processes,
encourage the development of supporting policies, provide market information and generally
comment and support trade-related matters.
Administrative Support
Recognizing that few associations have a secretariat available to them and are therefore not functioning
at full capacity, consider offering administrative services to these members as a means of supporting the
association and generating revenue as well.
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Contact details of an association typically change with the election of a new secretary of the
Board. A coalition can provide more permanency to the association by offering the association
the use of the fixed mailing address and telephone number of the organization;
File management can be mishandled by associations with no fixed file storage location. The
coalition can provide file management services to ensure that no documentation is misplaced;
A coalition can provide a range of administrative services including; email and correspondence,
database management, call-answering, mail forwarding, photocopying/printing, research and
marketing, event planning, etc;
A coalition can allow associations to rent its Board Room for meeting purposes.
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Coalition Sustainability
The issue of organisational sustainability is invariably one of the greatest challenges for a coalition in a
developing country. This is due to the fact that:
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the private sector does not clearly understand the services sector or the opportunities in trade
in services (and hence see the value of the coalition);
the Government is typically attached to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors;
the emphasis on services is often policy or negotiation related (with inadequate attention to
helping existing or potential services providers produce/export more services);
the full benefit of a coalition is poorly understood with few successful developing country
models to refer to;
convincing a government, donor or private firm to provide financial support requires
overcoming the above challenges;
developing into a financially self-sufficient body requires demonstrating to your beneficiaries
that your services are worth paying for.
To overcome these challenges:
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the benefits of a coalition vis-à-vis all the stakeholders need to be clearly and comprehensively
defined in all promotional materials;
the coalition as a service to the government needs to be clearly explained and demonstrated.
Consider how existing coalitions can assist in advocating to the government. Consider seeking
support for the establishment of a coalition from the Global Services Coalition by way of a
lobbying letter.
establish a fundraising committee of high profile business persons that will be able to encourage
the business community to support the coalition.
generate funds wherever possible. Consider sponsorship for all activities. Charge break-even
fees. Barter services wherever possible.
host a regional or international event to generate brand recognition and funding. Consider
partnering with relevant international institutions (e.g. International Lawyer’s and Economists
Against Poverty (ILEAP), International Trade Center (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD), etc.)
encourage funding agencies, government, regional bodies to consider the coalition in
undertaking consultancies. Prepare a profile to reflect this line of activity.
develop publications for members, business support organizations or regional organizations.
consider activities that international funders would sponsor. Send proposals to these agencies.
consider a special category of members that would enjoy additional benefits such as US
Coalition of Service Industries’ (USCSI) Chairman’s Circle.
be creative. Consider for example, monthly business networking events or silent auctions with
prizes donated from members.
undertake activities that are time consuming but not necessarily expensive – such as association
building, lobbying, public relations, training.
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on-going public relations must always be undertaken to ensure that the work of the coalition is
well noted.
Worthy of consideration is the model of EduNova. EduNova is an umbrella body for Nova Scotia’s
education sector that aggressively pursues export opportunities on behalf of its membership, serving as
a joint bidding mechanism and developing consortiums from within its membership to win bids.
EduNova benefits from a fee in this effort from the project financiers.3
Additional information on coalition sustainability can be found in de Villers, Div and Villinger, Georg.
“Sustainability of Coalitions of Service Industries in the Caribbean”, Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (GIZ), 2012.
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See www.edunova.ca.
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Communications – Establishing a Communications Strategy
While, arguably, the most important role of a services coalition is communications, limited resources
coupled with stakeholders’ demands regarding the elaboration of deadline driven projects often results
in communication efforts not being given ample priority. Maintaining visibility with stakeholders is
fundamental in encouraging support for the activities and objectives of the coalition.
Communications includes raising awareness on matters relating to services and trade in services, for
example, trade news and information, sectoral information, success stories, trade/business/funding
opportunities and events, amongst other information. Communications also includes the marketing
efforts of a coalition and the ‘dialogue’ between stakeholders and the organization.
It is important for a coalition to develop a communications strategy. This need not be a complicated or
lengthy process. It need not result in an extensive and complex document. It need simply be a tool to
ensure that communications is predictable, ongoing and effective. Communication strategies should be
prepared not only as an element of the organizational strategy, but on a project basis as well.
Before any communications is undertaken, contemplate the following questions:
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What are the coalition’s objectives in communicating? What is the organization trying to
achieve? How does it hope that the audience will react? What will be different as a result of
the efforts? After defining objectives, endeavour to refine into measurable outcomes.
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Consider, ‘Who is the audience?’ and develop specific communication strategies for each
audience. Prioritise the CSI’s communication efforts – for example focus on effective dialogue
with members before pursuing dialogue with the general public. Concentrate the efforts
nationally before engaging internationally. Use the limited human resources as strategically as
possible.
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Create compelling messages that will best motivate the target audience to react in-line with the
organization’s communications objectives. Be positive and persuasive and ensure that the
responsive action that is being encouraged of the reader is clear.
To expound, the audience of a coalition will include its members, the government, the general public,
supporting funding agencies, partners, the press, etc. Determine the organization’s objectives in
communicating with each audience, but equally, consider the objectives of the audience as well in order
to better persuade them in consuming the message and reacting as anticipated (the WIFM - “What’s in
it For Me” – marketing principal). Establish how the message will be conveyed to each party – not only
in the communication tools applied, but in the use of language as well – for example, do not use ‘trade
policy language’ when addressing the business community. Communicate regularly – but do not over
communicate! Assign resources and hold these resources accountable for communication successes
and failures. Consider hiring a staff member responsible exclusively for communication efforts.
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Know your tools – well! In this information age, the number of communication vehicles is
continuously increasing. Consider which tool would best suit each audience. Do not wait until
the communication pieces are required before developing them, but rather begin preparing
communication tools immediately.
Listed below are communication vehicles a coalition should consider incorporating a communications
strategy.
Ongoing Communication Strategies:
1. Website – See Best Practice Features for a CSI Website.
2. E-newsletter - An e-newsletter is an ideal tool to support consistent communications. Ideally,
prepare an e-newsletter on a monthly basis. It is not necessary to develop a verbose, lengthy
piece. Given the competition for readers’ attention that the internet engenders, due to the
amount and speed of information it provides, overly-long newsletters may be put aside
indefinitely for “later reading”. Further, it is said that 65% of email marketing efforts are read
on a mobile phone. Do not make the information overly-dense with excessive images and text.
It is more effective to develop an e-newsletter that complements the CSI website and serves to
generate traffic to the site (where the website serves as the primary information source).
Catchy headers and a few telling sentences to draw in the reader, in addition to the link to a
specific website article and world-class layout is really all that is necessary.
a. Maximize on the resources of the Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions (CNSC).
Share the articles, opportunities, events and news pieces that the CNSC has sourced or
written.
3. News Column – In the Caribbean, where there are limited media sources and where developing
good relationships with traditional media outlets is not exclusive to large firms or business
support organizations, it is useful to maximize on the ‘general public’ audience through the
establishment of a monthly news column in the country’s leading newspaper. It is not however
necessary for the coalition staff to write the column themselves, rather a coalition should invite
sector leaders to contribute articles and simply provide clear guidelines that will ensure a
consistency between authors/articles.
4. Facebook – In the Caribbean, Facebook is the most widely used communication tool (see Table
I). Facebook allows for the ongoing consumption of bite-sized information, encourages dialogue
between the coalition and it stakeholders and enables the organization to maintain a daily
presence. As noted in the Best Practice Features for a CSI Website article, ensure that, if
Facebook is being used by a coalition, it is done so thoughtfully and effectively. Do not send RSS
feeds directly to the coalition’s Facebook page. This bombards readers’ newsfeeds and
encourages deletion. Do not simply post links to news articles. This does not encourage twoway communication. Control the information posted – only the most interesting and most
relevant should appear. Control the number of posts per day. Post during peak periods – at the
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start of the work day, after lunch, before the end of the work day to better maximize on the
number of stakeholders that will view the post on their newsfeeds.
a. Facebook is an important tool for engaging audiences. Encourage dialogue through ‘fillin-the-blank’, ‘question-of-the-day’ or Facebook-poll posts (for example The market I am
most interested in exporting my service to is ___________? Be specific and explain
why!)
5. SMS Marketing – SMS Marketing (text messaging) is an effective tool but should be used
sparingly - to market important events for example. While the message will reach its target
audience in a most effective manner, unsolicited text messaging is not well-received. It would
be useful to develop an ‘opt-in’ SMS list, securing permission from stakeholders to use this form
of marketing. Given the high penetration of Blackberrys in the Caribbean, equally consider the
establishment of an opt-in BBM group.
6. Email – Keep in touch with national, regional, international partners. This includes
regional/international coalitions, funding agencies, regional business support organizations
(Caribbean Export, Office of Trade Negotiations, Caribbean Association of Industry and
Commerce), the Global Services Forum, the International Trade Centre and of course the
Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions, amongst many other partners. Let them know what
the organization is doing. Find out what initiatives they are undertaking. Determine if there are
where the organizations might collaborate. Emailing partners on a quarterly basis will serve well
in enhancing the coalition’s network and ultimately in sourcing opportunities and information.
Other Communication Strategies:
7. Press Releases – As above, as newspapers are an effective means of targeting a large audience,
initiatives of the coalition should be highlighted publically. This will ensure a wider
understanding of the activities of the organization and buy-in from stakeholders with the
assurance that the organization is ‘doing something’. Press releases do not need to be written
immediately before or after an event, when resources are focused on the event itself. A general
press release can be written weeks in front of an activity and sent to the press on its conclusion,
with simply an addition of a relevant quote.
8. Press Kits – It is highly useful develop a press kit to offer media in tandem with a press release,
as well as to other general interest groups. A press kit could include the coalition’s brochure,
background information on the organization, general facts/statistics on the national service
sector, staff/Board information (including titles and contact details). A press kit will aid the
media in developing meaningful news pieces.
9. Video – Youtube remains the third most frequented website after Google and Facebook. This
suggests that persons prefer/enjoy consuming information in video format. Consider
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developing a brief commercial-type production (up to 60 seconds) outlining the role of the
organization for inclusion on the coalition’s website and to play before relevant coalition events.
10. Email Marketing – Email marketing can be undertaken in addition to the e-newsletter to market
specific initiatives of the organization. Email marketing, e-newsletters and even event
management, should be undertaken via an email marketing service (i.e. MailChimp, Constant
Contact, Vertical Response). The advantages of email marketing services include reliable
delivery, tracking and monitoring of emails and mailing lists, professional templates.
11. Public Speaking Engagements – Public speaking engagements are a great means of enhancing
the credibility of an organization, thereby encouraging buy-in from service sector stakeholders.
Be aware of service-sector related events nationally, regionally and even internationally and
endeavour to secure a role on the speaker’s panel.
12. PowerPoint Presentation – A coalition will be called upon to deliver presentations to various
stakeholders – members, trade representatives, government representatives, partners.
Typically, an organization will wait until they are asked to make a presentation before they
develop one. Develop a professional looking template in line with the organization’s branding
and prepare background slides (organizational background, objectives, membership, etc.). This
will serve to provide consistency amongst presentations delivered by the organizations and will
provide a starting point on which to elaborate presentations as well.
13. Internal Communications – Do not overlook the organization’s internal communications
systems. An internal communications strategy is equally, or more important, than its external
communications efforts. Be sure that there is a system for communicating and sharing
information between Board Members and staff, between manager and staff and between staff
members.
Be assured, that only a ‘seen’ coalition can encourage the support necessary to ensure its success.
Remember that, in the case of communications, “Consistency is key!”
Do not forget to evaluate the communications efforts using measurables (many electronic
communications tools have reporting mechanisms built in). Determine what worked and what did not
work and continue to improve.
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Communications – Raising Awareness and Establishing Credibility
Raising awareness on the importance and quality of the services sector is one of the primary messages a
coalition should communicate. Establishing credibility for the national services sector will result in
increased support to the coalition as well as increased exports.
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Establish a partnership with the national investment agency. Ensure that information on the
range and quality of services is communicated to possible investors and promoted via the
investment agency’s website and promotional material;
Provide statistics, success stories, information of the range, quality and key sectors:
o On key governmental websites (Ministry of Trade);
o To trade officers stationed abroad;
o For Government official speeches (be aware of important speaking engagements
abroad);
o In in-flight magazines;
o To diaspora;
o To inbound trade missions;
Success stories are important in encouraging other service providers to export and in promoting
the value of the services sector. Collect success stories, even those not directly attributable to
the efforts of the coalition. Ensure that these success stories are heard – newspaper, television,
radio, speeches;
Establish an awards programme for successful service providers. It might be useful to partner
with other agencies in this initiative (Small Business Associations, Chamber of Commerce,
Investment Agency);
Host a national/regional/international trade in services event. Ensure that services providers
have the opportunity to showcase their services at the event;
Partner with the national manufacturer’s association in establishing a services section at
national trade expositions;
Develop a services directory;
Convene open networking events. These events should not be limited to services providers
alone as all sectors require the services of service providers to support their businesses;
Participate as much as possible at international trade events. Secure speaking roles. If
attendance is not possible, determine if distribution of materials at the event is possible.
A point to note, not only does credibility need to be established, but also defended. A coalition should
be on guard and counter any negative press, particularly negative information in the international press.
It is easy to monitor international news via email alerts.
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Best Practice Features for a CSI Website
While this chapter will discuss best practices for services coalition websites, it will not address the
technical aspects, which, keeping with the pace and trends of technology, are subject to change quickly
and are better examined by professional web developers.
The primary purpose of a website is to communicate in order to forge new and develop existing
relationships. Effective communication depends on several factors: as it relates to a CSI website, some
of these factors are identified below.
1. Visitors to a CSI website will be primarily CSI members and those who have an interest in the
national/regional services sectors, the coalition movement or very specific related issues.
Maximum readership is limited. Therefore, generating traffic via search engines alone is not
adequate and overly focusing on search-engine-optimization is not essential. The world-wideweb competition for possible search subjects like “services coalitions” or “St. Vincent services
sector”, etc. is small.
2. Therefore, traffic to the website needs to be generated through targeted marketing, such as
email or Facebook4 campaigns. This adds to the human resource requirements involved in
managing a CSI website as both web updates and web campaigns need to be developed hand in
hand. Social media integration should be considered, but this process must be well managed
(see 9).
3. A website is not effective if it is not updated frequently. A static website will impact negatively
on the credibility of the organization. There is no need to be overly-ambitious in incorporating a
multitude of website applications and functionality if the time and resources necessary in using
these functions and in keeping the site updated are not available. In this case, it would be more
effective to develop a static site for basic information and use email campaigns and Facebook as
more manageable communication tools.
4. Note the following statistics regarding Facebook (in many Caribbean countries 100% of persons
using the internet have a Facebook presence) and strongly consider the leading role this easy-touse platform should play in your marketing/communications efforts.
5. The website design should be clear and uncluttered - easy to read, navigate and use.
As the website’s main target audience is its members, member-specific features and functionality must
be considered.
4
Facebook is presently being utilized in the Caribbean by numbers well exceeding those of any other social media
platform. See Table I for further information.
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6. Efficient member/partner management is a key challenge for coalitions as there tends to be
numerous stakeholders involved in coalition efforts (associations, private sector companies,
public sector officials, business support organizations, regional organizations, international
donors, etc.), which makes management of this information challenging. A good CSI website
should incorporate member management functionality (data management) and allow for
members to join, as well as pay for membership (and other services – such as workshops, trade
missions) via the website (this therefore requires e-commerce functionality).
7. Micro-site capability will allow members, in particular service associations, to have a presence
and to run campaigns via the coalition website. This will enable the coalition to provide the
valuable service of ‘enhanced visibility’ to its members, enable the association member to
communicate in a more effective manner with its own membership (and therefore serve a more
valuable resource to the coalition), as well as provide a possible source of income to the
coalition.
8. Both public and private discussion forums to discuss issues of relevance amongst membership
should also be incorporated. The two, to allow a distinction between members and nonmembers, where there is value perceived in becoming a member.
Other functions of a CSI website should include:
9. Social media integration should be thoughtfully utilized. Do not send RSS feeds directly to your
Facebook page. Control the information posted – only the most interesting and most relevant
should appear. Control the number of posts per day. Post during peak periods – at the start of
the work day, after lunch, before the end of the work day.
10. A document management application with simple to use search features should also be
included on a CSI website. Use this area to post archived newsletters, trade information such as
relevant trade agreements, etc.
11. An interactive ‘blog’, is a good way to discuss issues related to competitiveness. This does not
need to be managed in-house, even if resources are available. Ask a member or members who
are involved in business development to submit bi-weekly articles on issues related to
competitiveness – enhancing networking skills, effective use of ICT, heeding cultural differences,
etc. This is a good method to include membership in the activities of the organization, enhance
credibility of those participating and engage in dialogue with members on topics they can easily
relate to.
12. Include integrated survey applications to collect information from members, but do not
compose lengthy surveys, as they will not be participated in. Try very simple methods for
information collection. For example, one question surveys, “Are you interested in the Canadian
market? / If yes, what services would you like to provide?”
13. Include an events function and advertise relevant events of members (training session, sector
awareness days, entrepreneurial promotion events, etc.). Again, this provides value in
membership and might also be a source of income for the coalition.
14. Certainly include a news/coalition news area, but be sure that this is kept up to date!
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15. Posting the titles of opportunities, but only allowing members access to the details is another
way of providing value and incentive regarding membership and reflects the standard objective
of a CSI to provide or facilitate export opportunities.
16. Success Stories are encouraging and services providers need all the support and encouragement
they can get. Track stories of micro and small enterprises that were successful in exporting and
share them as much as possible.
17. Endorsements from members and high profile persons are also effective in generating
credibility for a coalition. Collect endorsements from members when you have provided
assistance to them and post the most relevant on the website. A coalition needs to constantly
prove its value to the services sector.
18. Posting links to business support partners and other coalitions keeps the overall mission of
supporting the services sector/economy in focus.
19. E-newsletter functionality should also be incorporated where email addresses can be captured
directly from the website and applied to the distribution of information and in directing the
same persons back to the website.
20. Photo galleries are relevant only if information on the pictures is also provided. Who is in the
photo? What was the event? Where and when did it take place? What were the objectives or
outcomes of the event? Picture galleries that do not include this information add no value and
are therefore not necessary. Instead, attach pictures (the best ones and more than one) to
relevant news articles.
21. Google analytics should be incorporated to measure website traffic and collect statistics to
assist in continually optimizing your website.
22. Multi-user access control capability should be applied allowing different users the opportunity
to login and post content to authorized sections within the site.
Remember that:
“Marketing is about relationships and not about the medium.” ~ Ben Grossman, founder of BiGMarK
And, “If you’re going to do something, do it right.” ~ Mom.
Not keeping a website up-to-date will be more harmful than good, no matter how great the website is.
Complicated websites that are difficult to use will not encourage staff to update and will limit the
number of persons able to make these updates (as extensive training will need to be undertaken in
order to use). Only apply the features that you will in fact use and maintain. Remove the features that
you do not use from public visibility. Keep it SIMPLE! Keep the dialogue ongoing and predictable.
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Summary of CSI Website Functionality
Social Media Integration (Facebook, Twitter)
Site Search
Member Management (On-line Registration)
E-Commerce
Micro Sites
Public and Private Forums
Document Management
Interactive Blog
Integrated survey functionality
Events Calendar
News/Coalition News
Tips/Quotes
E-Newsletter
Opportunities
Success Stories
Endorsements
Links
Photo Gallery
Google analytics
SEO
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TABLE 1:
CARIBBEAN
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Monserrat
Netherlands Antilles
Puerto Rico
St. Barthélemy (FR)
Population 2011 (est.)
Internet Usage,
Latest Data
% Population
Penetration
Facebook
Subscribers
Percentage
of
Internet
Users
who Subscribe to
Facebook
15,094
6,940
46.00%
6,100
88
87,884
65,000
74.00%
29,020
45
106,113
48,760
46.00%
48,760
100
313,312
155,820
49.70%
155,140
100
286,705
188,000
65.60%
114,240
61
25,383
14,620
57.60%
9,720
66
51,384
30,420
59.20%
24,540
81
11,087,330
1,605,000
14.50%
n/a
72,969
27,500
37.70%
22,800
83
9,956,648
4,116,870
41.30%
2,233,360
54
108,419
33,040
30.50%
29,640
90
405,500
155,740
38.40%
125,860
81
9,719,932
1,000,000
10.30%
202,820
20
2,868,380
1,581,100
55.10%
629,440
40
397,166
170,000
42.80%
125,680
74
5,140
1,200
23.30%
n/a
199,800
95,420
47.80%
95,420
100
3,989,133
1,486,340
37.30%
1,486,340
100
7,367
n/a
n/a
n/a
St. Kitts & Nevis
50,314
22,140
44.00%
22,140
100
Saint Lucia
St. Martin (FR)
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos
US Virgin Islands
161,557
142,900
88.50%
48,300
34
30,615
n/a
n/a
n/a
103,869
76,000
73.20%
40,000
53
1,222,505
593,000
48.50%
435,240
73
44,819
14,760
32.90%
10,620
72
109,666
30,000
27.40%
8,340
28
TOTAL CARIBBEAN
41,427,004
11,660,570
28.10%
5,903,520
51
www.internetworldstats.com
24
Useful E-Tools for a Coalition and its Members
The internet has evolved from primarily text based, to incorporating audio, video and animations, to
becoming a place where things are done – a place where business is done. From sending emails, to
editing photos, to conference calling, to information management and sharing – and much more –
businesses can be run more efficiently and effectively applying web-based tools.
Application software, or simply ‘app’, is computer software designed to help the user perform specific
tasks. In a 2009 iPhone commercial, the phrase “there’s an app for that!” was coined, intimating that a
software solution exists for every challenge.
Nose-job apps, singing cat apps, fearless flight apps (to console those scared to fly), shaving apps (try on
facial hair), hygiene apps (the bathomatic), face-remixing apps, body-piercing apps, alcohol monitoring
apps are among the endless applications in circulation. It is no surprise that there are also apps
available that would well-serve a coalition.
A resource-constrained coalition should become familiar with the web-based solutions (applications and
websites) that would best serve both the organization and its member associations as well.
Outlined below is an indicative collection of ten applications in various categories that may prove useful.
1. File Sharing and Storage – Dropbox enables users to store their files on the internet in the same
fashion in which they would store their files on their computers. This ensures that the files are
not lost if there is a hardware failure and that the files are accessible from anywhere in the
world. Dropbox also allows for a very simple sharing of files. This is useful if one has many files
to send to another person.
www.dropbox.com
2. Email Marketing – There are many email marketing services being offered. MailChimp is a good
one. Email marketing services allow for the easy management of mailing lists – for example the
construction of multiple lists, monitoring of the persons who actually opened the
communications piece, monitoring of faulty email addresses. Email marketing services also
provide detailed reporting. This allows for a better understanding as to who/how many
persons are in fact receiving and reading the coalition’s communications. Some quick tips
regarding email marketing: the information should not be dense, sender name should be easily
recognized to avoid being mistaken for spam, subject line should be relevant and catchy to
encourage reading (most people decide if an email is interesting by previewing it and not by
opening it), inserting a person's name into an email increases open rates by as much as 10%.
www.mailchimp.com
3. Web Conferencing – Skype boasts 124 million users. Its features includes video calls, group
calls, low cost Skype calls to landline/mobile phones, instant messaging and file sharing,
amongst other features. Skype has recently added the “share screen” function to its features
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enabling users to allow other users to ‘view’ their laptop screen. This, for example, enables
users to easily deliver presentations online.
www.skype.com
4. Photo Editing – For easy photo editing try Picnik. This free service is useful when, for example,
it is necessary to adjust photo size for the website. Crop, resize, fine-tune, rotate and many
special effects are among the service’s many features.
www.picnik.com
5. Project Management – Managing multiple projects effectively is a day-to-day activity of a
coalition. Podio is a useful project management tool that enables staff and members to work
together in an efficient fashion. It is easy to use and allows for the customization of project
tools because managing a workshop, for example, is different than managing a communications
strategy.
www.podio.com
6. Presentations – SlideRocket has modernized the PowerPoint presentation, enabling users to
create modern, world-class looking presentations. Access the projects from anywhere, easily
collaborate on its design with colleagues, share presentations easily (no more sending large files
via email) and best of all, measure your presentation’s effectiveness through SlideRocket
analytics.
www.sliderocket.com
7. Accounting - Wave is a free online accounting application for small businesses that removes the
tedium of manual entry through bank transaction imports.
www.wave.com
8. Form Survey Builder – Creating forms in word processing applications is time consuming for
both a coalition and the form recipient. Wufoo collects information (think: contact forms,
online surveys, invitations, membership forms), compiles the data and provides reports. Forms
can be embedded onto websites or Facebook pages. Payments can even be made through
Wufoo. (Wufoo can be integrated with MailChimp).
www.wufoo.com
9. Website Building – Weebly 'drag-and-drop' website builder is about the easiest website builder
there is. While the flexibility is limited, the many templates and relevant widgets will enable
associations to have professional looking and very easy to maintain websites for free.
www.weebly.com
10. CRM – The stakeholders related to a coalition are wide – members, government, partners,
services providers, etc. It is very important that this network is well managed and synchronized
amongst coalition staff. A coalition should have CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
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tools in place. Batchbook is "the social CRM”, enabling a coalition to keep track of business and
social networks. Shared address books, custom data management, communication history,
reporting, are some of the many features of the services.
www.batchblue.com
Also be aware of services, applications or websites that might be useful to members, for example, printon-demand books, CDs, DVDs, fabric and even board games services for those in the creative industries.
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