When it comes to buying groups, franchises or co-ops, conventions are generally the one way for the corporate entity to gather the members in one location and lay out the company’s agenda for the next six to 12 months. They are also a great place for vendors to interact with the membership by showing them some of their latest products and services—many of which are exclusive to that particular organization.
Conventions have also become a great way for the members themselves to get together and network with one another to discuss best practices as well as problems they are having and seeing if another member has gone through a similar situation and how it was handled. As a result, more groups are allotting more time at their conventions for the sole purpose of allowing the membership to network with itself.