Discounting and/or Negotiating Dues: Don’t Do It!

Under no circumstances should you discount dues.

If you do, you are making a statement that you’re not worth the regular price of admission.

In tough times, members need you more than ever. They should fully support the organization. A weak chamber translates to a weaker community.

If you’re delivering value, members will pay the dues point.

Also, once you discount, you can never go back. Members will always want to negotiate their dues.

You don’t negotiate your principles do you? Same deal with membership. Don’t negotiate your dues points.

You want full participation from your members - their intellect, their time and their financial support.

Don’t negotiate. You’re worth it!

Two Reasons Members Join: Credibility and Recognition

There is no easier way for a small business to get instant credibility then to join their local chamber of commerce.

As chambers, we typically send a new member kit that includes the all-important “chamber decal” for the small business to prominently display in their store window or on an interior wall.

The recognition part comes from their participation in the chamber whether it be as a participant at your monthly luncheon, or volunteering on a committee.

What’s the biggest prize in the recognition area?

The Chairman of the Board.

That’s the top of the pyramid. Are you using it as a marketing tool to grow membership?

Volunteering for your local chamber of commerce is a resume builder for the small businessperson.

Make sure you’re picking the most talented leaders in your community to grow the organization and deliver the value your members deserve.

Start recruiting today!

Nonprofit Doesn’t Mean Don’t Make a Profit

In today’s economic times, now more than ever, we need to run our chambers like a business.

That old myth “nonprofits can’t make a profit” needs to be put to rest.

Good financial management suggests that you should have at least 50% of your operating budget in reserves. 100% is even better!

How do you think chambers are able to put funds in their reserves? They run in the black, yes they make a profit!

I’ve written before on the importance of paying attention to the finances. If you’re not putting 10% of your operating budget a year to reserve, you should be asking why not?

Do you regularly review your programs to assess their value to the membership vs. their impact on your bottom line?

If we want to fight for our small business members, we need to be IN business. That means running your chamber like a business.

Let’s get to the business of doing business.

Until next time!

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!

Needs Assessment Surveys

When was the last time you conducted a needs assessment survey?

With today’s technology there’s no excuse not to conduct a needs assessment today.

What better way to get the pulse of your membership on what they want vs. what they don’t find of value.

Today’s tools will rank the responses and will give you a clear road map in dropping programs that are not making money, that are not well attended, or are perceived as not valuable.

There’s nothing worse than working on a program that nobody cares about. Get focused and hone in on what your members want for the organization.

The following websites have survey tools that are free, or charge a nominal fee, that will allow you to conduct your next needs assessment survey with the click of a few buttons.

• Survey Monkey
• Zoomerang
• Power Feedback
• Free Online Surveys

Key questions to ask:

• Size of business
• Age demographic of member
• Title (i.e., owner, president, manager)
• Type of business i.e., construction, IT, professional)
• Ranking of your programs
• What issues are important to your chamber
• What social media tools are your members using
• How many events did you participate in the last year
• Open ended – what could we do to help you grow your business?

Conduct that needs assessment survey today!

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.

Kicking Sacred Cows To The Curb

Sacred Cows. We all have them in our organizations.

What do we call programs that lose money? A member benefit! Do not get caught in that cycle.

I speak with chamber execs all the time that share their frustration of that new project initiated by the new chairman. We’ve all been there.

When we add new programs, do we delete a program? No. Use these economic times to shed those losers.

I wrote about scorecards in a previous post. Creating a scorecard can be very effective in sun-setting those programs, products or services that: don’t make money; members don’t value anymore, or have become a sacred cow of the organization.

A scorecard to measure the value of your programs, products or services should track at least the following items as a starting point:

• Revenue
• Costs - direct and indirect (i.e., staffing costs)
• Stated goal of program, product or service
• Evaluation of program, product or service by members
• Measure the results

As a sidebar, we should be reminded of the “Hedgehog Theory” stated by Jim Collins in his book titled, Good to Great, and include the theories’ three criteria in the final analysis:

1. Do we have passion for this program, product, or service?
2. Are we, or can we be the best in delivering this program, product or service?
3. Do we make money on this program, product or service?

After you’ve implemented this assessment tool in your yearly review process, it should provide a strong argument on whether to continue a program, product, or service in the coming years – or kick that sacred cow to the curb!

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