What's The Top Reason Your Members Join?

We’re all busy running our chambers in an effort to deliver value to our members.

What’s your priority?

What do your members want?

I suspect new business opportunities and a friendly business environment.

As reported in a September 2012 toolkit by Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.), there are five main areas where chambers focus their resources:

  • Advocacy
  • Networking
  • Business education
  • Support the local community
  • Economic development

I talked recently about staying focused when recruiting new members. You should equally stay focused on determining what your member’s want.

Ask them what they want, what they’re willing to pay for and then deliver on their answers.

Don’t be afraid to drop a program or two!

For more information on how to conduct a needs assessment and links to survey tools go to this previous blog post HERE.

Social Capital: What Are You Worth?

Network = net worth!

In today’s world I’d suggest this means two things:

1.   Who’s in your inner circle?
2.   Who’s in your Outlook contacts?

Today, you must also include your “social media” network.

Do you have a presence on the Web with a blog, Twitter account, Facebook or LinkedIn, to name a few?

It’s so easy to link them all together with today’s social media tools.  That’s your new network.

Your network is your net worth!

Yes, not only is the rolodex important, but now it’s important to have a reputation in the social media space and be recognized as a leader that goes above and beyond those inner circles and that's why you should be using social media to raise your profile.

What’s nice about the social media space is that your network goes with you wherever you go.  You take a new job across the country - that network goes with you.  That network can help you solve problems and generate new ideas for your new organization.

Also, think of it as an extension of your resume.  I think we can all agree that social media is here to stay in whatever format you choose to participate.  Be a curator of chamber knowledge and share that with your colleagues.

In essence, you’re creating your own brand that transcends any current chamber job you may currently be employed in today.  That’s powerful.

You’re worth it, invest in your future and in the future of your local chamber, grow your net worth by expanding your presence in the online space.

Your network is your net worth and that network has no geographic lines!