Strong Chambers for the Future

One of the most popular electives at Institute for Organization Management (IOM) is "Strong Chambers for the Future."

Chambers of commerce are essential organizations that play a vital role in the economic development of their communities.

They provide a variety of services to businesses, such as networking opportunities, advocacy, and education.

In order to remain strong in the future, chambers of commerce need to focus on the following:

• Reinventing their value proposition: Chambers need to re-evaluate what they offer businesses and how they can add value to their members. This may involve providing new services, such as business consulting or workforce development, or expanding their reach to new audiences.

• Building relationships with key stakeholders: Chambers need to build strong relationships with key stakeholders, such as government officials, economic development agencies, and other businesses. These relationships will be essential for chambers to advocate for their members and to secure funding for their programs.

• Using technology to their advantage: Chambers need to use technology to their advantage in order to reach more businesses and to provide more efficient services. This may involve using social media, online networking tools, or cloud-based software.

• Staying relevant in a changing world: Chambers need to stay relevant in a changing world by adapting to the needs of their members. This may involve focusing on new industries, developing new programs, or expanding their reach to new geographic areas.

By focusing on these areas, chambers can ensure that they remain strong and relevant in the future.

Here are some additional tips for chambers of commerce that want to be strong in the future:

• Be clear about their mission and purpose: Chambers need to be clear about their mission and purpose in order to attract and retain members. Their mission should be concise and easy to understand, and it should be something that businesses can get behind.

• Be customer-focused: Chambers need to be customer-focused in order to provide the best possible services to their members. This means understanding the needs of their members and tailoring their services accordingly.

• Be innovative: Chambers need to be innovative in order to stay ahead of the competition. This means developing new programs and services that meet the needs of their members.

• Be collaborative: Chambers need to be collaborative in order to achieve their goals. This means working with other organizations, such as government agencies and economic development agencies.

Stay focused on what you do well to ensure that your chamber is strong and relevant for the future.

What Are You Going to Stop Doing?

We need to ask this question more often.

It doesn’t have to be at the end of each year. It could be at your next board meeting.

Remember, we can't be all things to all people.

Do your chamber a favor, go back five years and right write down all the new programs or initiatives you’ve started on the left side of a sheet of paper.

Now write down all the things you’ve stop doing on the right side of that same sheet of paper.

I’ll bet that the left side has a lot more items than the left. Why? Like our peers across the country they’ve had five new chairmen each with their own special project that they support.

In fact, we’re doing more with less. We’re on that conveyer belt of life. Doing the same thing over and over because that’s the way we’ve always done it.

I challenge you to add more items to the right side of the sheet. It may allow your chamber to appropriate the proper resources to the programs you decide to keep and they may become more successful.

Not only should you review what the chamber should stop doing but what are you personally going to stop doing to free up your time and burnout?

I fall in the same trap you do. I feel I must read every email, article or book for work. Well, you don’t need to read them all, just the important ones.

Your homework assignment, identify which important thing you need to focus on and put the rest in the circular file.

It’s liberating!

Strong Chambers: Share Your Value

I wrote an article recently that highlighted the impact a local chamber can have on their members.

Are you communicating that value?

Are you promoting that fact?

Do you make a conscious effort to communicate the following values on a regular basis?

What would you add to the list?

• Advocate for them at the local, state and federal level;
• Introduce their business to potential customers;
• Offer networking opportunities;
• Offer volunteer opportunities; and
• Let’s not forget those discount programs on shipping, office products and insurance just to name a few.

Your chamber should be the one stop shop for the business community. Are you structured that way? Do you have that reputation?

Speaking of reputations, I’d like to reference a study conducted in 2012 by The Shapiro Group titled, The Real Value of Joining a Local Chamber of Commerce, that stated:

1. When consumers know that a business is a member of the local chamber, they are 49% more likely to think favorably of it.
2. Consumers who are told that a business is a chamber member are 51% more likely to be highly aware of it and 57% more likely to think positively of it’s local reputation.
3. Consumers are 80% more likely to buy goods and services, in the future, from a company that they believe is a member of the local chamber of commerce.

Strong chambers in strong communities.

That’s a win/win proposition!