Chamber Leadership: technology

Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts

Innovate or Die

There has been much said about this subject. I've been in the room when chamber executives talk about how the sky is falling.

Let me be the first to tell you a little secret, the sky is not falling!

We have more opportunities today then we've ever had with the advances of technology and how that has only made our jobs easier, not harder. We can communicate faster and cheaper with our members than ever before.

At the end of the day, we're in the relationship business.

Innovate really means deliver what your members want and that can and will change from time to time. Are you doing an annual needs assessment survey? If not you should.

Determining What Technology Will Support your Chamber's Mission

It was stated in a technology session I attended the other day that we've had more technology in the last five years then in the previous 50 years.

I've been around long enough to know the difference between an "off the shelf" versus a "proprietary" version of an association management system.

I'm a fan of "off the shelf" as a solution.

Let me explain!

In my experience, the more you try to make your system a proprietary system, the more money you'll spend and the longer it will take to get the system up and running. In addition, it will probably take longer to make future updates/changes.

Let's file this under the less is more way of thinking.

We all want a system that works all day, every day. Think electricity! You hit that switch and it works.

Isn't that what you want with your association management system?

Besides, technology is changing so fast, let your technology partner do the upgrades, based on their clients' feedback, from all sizes of chambers and then you can make the appropriate upgrades in a timely fashion.

Again, proprietary systems will need special programming (think more money, time delays).

It's nice to know that your technology partner will just automatically make the upgrades.

Think how Microsoft works on your computers. Same philosophy applies, they're getting feedback from customers across the world and they send periodic updates automatically to your computer to optimize its function.

In my opinion, "off the shelf" is definitely the way to go!

For a great blog for ongoing information on database management please visit Wes Trochlil’s blog HERE.

Are You Still Running Programs That Lose Money?

If you are, stop!

Those are resources you could be spending on programs that make money, and could potentially make more money.

For a previous blog post on How To Stay Ahead of the Competition go HERE.

While it can be tough to drop programs that have a sentimental value, it's time to move on to bigger and better things.

Technology has made us change the way we communicate with our members.

Have you done a complete review of your program of work since this new technology has hit your chamber?

There's nothing wrong with an annual review of your program of work.

You may even consciously decide to keep a program that is losing money. But, you've made that decision for a reason and it's defensible if anyone asks why the chamber continues to do it.

Never forget to run your chamber like a business. Because if you don't, you run the risk of being out of business.

Your members should expect nothing less from you and their chamber!

For a previous blog post on program based budgeting go HERE.

Technology vs Shoe Leather

I think we can all agree that the technology revolution throughout the past five years has really changed the way we do business.

Especially now with social media and all that it affords us in communicating to the masses.

All these new technologies allow us to communicate in a timely, and for the most part, efficient way.

The big question, for me, is are we better off with the relationships we have with our members now or before we had social media?

Hence, the title of this blog post.

I would suggest the days of walking around and meeting our members on their turf made or left a bigger impression on them as members of our chamber then any communication we could make through social media.

While technology is great, let's not be afraid to wear out a little shoe leather and re-engage our members on their turf, not ours.

At the same time you might get some candid feedback that they're not willing to share through electronic communications, but happy to share in a face-to-face meeting.

There's no substitute for face-to-face meetings.

Just a thought!

What Blogs Do You Follow?

In the old days, I bet you read up to two papers a day, two magazines a week and a couple of books each month to keep up-to-date on current events and every day management issues.

Enter the technology age.

Now all you have to do is follow six blogs and you're covered.

And today's technology makes it simple!

You can follow the blogs you want through an RSS feed to your personal blog or feed it to your Twitter account.

Isn't technology great? It's also fun and for the most part, free.

Here's a list of blogs I follow and have delivered to me directly every time there's a new blog post by the author or organization:

Not only will this save you time and money, but you can set it up that you get what you want and avoid all the white noise that can come with social media.

Only subscribe to what you're interest in and what will help you do your job better.

For a link to the top 150 nonprofit blogs go HERE. For a great resource on how to grow your blog go HERE.

Membership Shift

In Sarah Sladek’s book "The End of Membership as We Know It," she discusses three shifts that will have a major impact on membership organizations.

While there have been many books written on membership, some with a doomsday approach, this book, for me anyway, just confirms the fact that you need to adapt to change and be relevant to your members.

The three shifts discussed in her book are:

Economic recession;
Demographic change; and
Technology

And by the way, that's not a new concept.

She goes on to talk about how we need to solve problems and provide solutions for our members. That's not a new concept either.

I assume you're already doing that!

So while something’s change, others stay the same.

Remember, it's been said here before that you can't be all things to all people/members. Decide on what kind of chamber you want to be and deliver on that promise/brand.

What is your brand? For a previous blog post on that go HERE.

If you can't answer that question, you need to go back to your board and members and survey them to see what they want out of their chamber membership.

That's called a needs assessment survey and for a previous blog post on that go HERE.

Once you know what their needs and wants are, fulfill them!

One thing I do know that's not going to change is the need to be a strong advocate for your members before different levels of government.

Explain how the chamber is in the business of advocating and solving problems for their small business which in turn will help grow their business.

Be an advocate!

Board Meeting Tech Tools

As we delve deeper and deeper into the technology needs of meeting tools, I recently came across an article with many tips.

As chamber executives, we’re always looking for ways to do things more efficiently and saving money at the same time is always a nice bonus!

We’ve all heard of Google docs, Dropbox, Skype and conferencecall.com, but what about some of the lesser known tech gadgets?

I researched minutes.io and was fascinated at the ease of use this program delivers.

With up to 12 board meetings a year, why not have a tech tool that can help us deliver "the minutes" in real time vs. going back to the office and trying to remember the conversation from your handwritten or typed notes.

You may have found a better tool, but if this is something you’ve been struggling with, writing timely minutes, check out this tool at www.minutes.io.

Finishing your minutes in minutes! Now that’s something to write about.

For a comprehensive list of neat board tech tools go to www.askbethz.com/tools.

Social Media: Is It Just White Noise?

I ask this question every chance I can with chamber execs across the country.

And, I get the same three answers:

1. I don’t know;
2. The puzzled look on the face; and
3. Everybody is doing it, we need to be doing it.

Our members only have so much time in the day. They are trying to run a business.

Have you asked your membership if they want you to communicate with them via social media? Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, Ning and Twitter? Just to name a few.

For information on tools to conduct a needs assessment surveys go HERE.

Setting up and managing these social media sites can be a full-time job. In today’s economy, small staffs and possibly no expertise on the technology, what’s a chamber to do?

Solution/s?

Conduct a needs assessment of your membership and ask them what they want. If you’ve got a small staff with no expertise, get a college intern to set it up and teach you how to do it.

Social media is very user friendly and can be fun. The key is turning it into a moneymaking entity for your chamber.

There’s no question social media is making noise, I just don’t know if it’s white noise or noise that we all need to be aware of and pay special attention to by listening.

Get the facts, engage and embrace this technology accordingly!

Latest info on social media go HERE and HERE for two great websites I visit on a regular basis.