You Don’t Have to Show Up (but it helps…)
Often times I’m told by members contemplating the suspension or cancellation of their membership that the reason for doing so is because they don’t have time to attend Chamber meetings. To me, this line of thinking begs the question, “How do you accurately assess the value of a Chamber membership?”
In business, it’s a necessity to secure a return on investment. Chamber memberships are no different. We in the business of running Chambers like to view membership as an investment in one’s organization. Further, we wholeheartedly believe that organizations not realizing an adequate return on their membership investment should drop their membership and look for other ways to further the success their business.
Chambers of Commerce largely exist to help their members achieve higher levels of success. This pursuit can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but for us at the Sidney-Shelby County Chamber, we like to categorize our services into three buckets. The first bundle of services seeks to help our members achieve higher visibility in the local marketplace for sales, employment, and general awareness. The second bundle of services provides members with discounts on some of their ordinary operating costs such as business insurance, employee health & welfare benefits, workers comp premiums, payroll processing, document destruction, and more. Bucket three offers a number of programs and professional development opportunities that contribute to the leadership, technical, and subject matter expertise for employees at member companies. Some of the specific programming in these three buckets of service offer a very calculable return on member investment. Most, despite their equal yet intangible significance in value, are more difficult to monetarily quantify.
The bottom line is this; you don’t necessarily have to show up to realize value from your Chamber membership. Of course the hearts of Chamber Directors everywhere are warmed by the sight of packed meeting rooms overflowing with human energy. That’s how many traditionally define the value of a Chamber membership. That’s historically what business networking has been all about. In reality though, people today are very busy, schedules are tight, and achieving a work-life balance is increasingly difficult. The true value of a Chamber membership is not necessarily attributable to how many mixers you attend, but rather how your organization truly benefits from its affiliation with the Chamber.
Collectively as member based organizations we have to do a better job of helping our members maximize and appreciate the value of their membership. We have to be constantly on the lookout for ways to add value to their membership investment. The collective strength and well-being of our Chambers is predicated on a diverse and successful membership base. Chambers endeavor to be meaningful partners in helping our member organizations thrive and achieve higher levels of success. Remember though, the real value of a Chamber membership is not always defined by showing up, but yes, it does help.
Often times I’m told by members contemplating the suspension or cancellation of their membership that the reason for doing so is because they don’t have time to attend Chamber meetings. To me, this line of thinking begs the question, “How do you accurately assess the value of a Chamber membership?”
In business, it’s a necessity to secure a return on investment. Chamber memberships are no different. We in the business of running Chambers like to view membership as an investment in one’s organization. Further, we wholeheartedly believe that organizations not realizing an adequate return on their membership investment should drop their membership and look for other ways to further the success their business.
Chambers of Commerce largely exist to help their members achieve higher levels of success. This pursuit can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but for us at the Sidney-Shelby County Chamber, we like to categorize our services into three buckets. The first bundle of services seeks to help our members achieve higher visibility in the local marketplace for sales, employment, and general awareness. The second bundle of services provides members with discounts on some of their ordinary operating costs such as business insurance, employee health & welfare benefits, workers comp premiums, payroll processing, document destruction, and more. Bucket three offers a number of programs and professional development opportunities that contribute to the leadership, technical, and subject matter expertise for employees at member companies. Some of the specific programming in these three buckets of service offer a very calculable return on member investment. Most, despite their equal yet intangible significance in value, are more difficult to monetarily quantify.
The bottom line is this; you don’t necessarily have to show up to realize value from your Chamber membership. Of course the hearts of Chamber Directors everywhere are warmed by the sight of packed meeting rooms overflowing with human energy. That’s how many traditionally define the value of a Chamber membership. That’s historically what business networking has been all about. In reality though, people today are very busy, schedules are tight, and achieving a work-life balance is increasingly difficult. The true value of a Chamber membership is not necessarily attributable to how many mixers you attend, but rather how your organization truly benefits from its affiliation with the Chamber.
Collectively as member based organizations we have to do a better job of helping our members maximize and appreciate the value of their membership. We have to be constantly on the lookout for ways to add value to their membership investment. The collective strength and well-being of our Chambers is predicated on a diverse and successful membership base. Chambers endeavor to be meaningful partners in helping our member organizations thrive and achieve higher levels of success. Remember though, the real value of a Chamber membership is not always defined by showing up, but yes, it does help.
