Innovation: Are You Pushing The Envelope?

Are you building a pipeline of new member programs, products and services through innovation?

Your members expect it from their chamber.  That’s a reason why they join.

Don’t go in with your eyes closed, set a plan: 1) Process; 2) Culture; 3) Resources; and 4) Fail Forward.

• Process – set-up a mechanism so you can capture ideas from staff, volunteers and your members.

• Culture – you need a cheerleader within the organization that can articulate the need for creating an innovative atmosphere.

• Resources – commit the resources needed (staff and actual dollars) that shows a commitment to succeed.  If you show a commitment your board and your members will follow.

• Fail Forward – this may be the most important part of your success.  Learn from any failures and “fail forward.”  Remember, the story of the “yellow sticky notes” by 3M?  It was an outcome from a different project that failed.

In my blog post “Delivering Value,” I use the term “pushing the envelope.”  If you have a background in military flying you know what that term means.

Create a form that outlines what the new project may be that takes into account the resources needed (staff and money), the time expected to bring this new program to fruition and what success will look like.  Think of it as a scorecard on the new projects business plan.

It will be ok to fail as long as you show your members that you are learning and trying new things to stay cutting edge for them.

Remember, make sure you’re always delivering the “core good” to the membership while pushing the envelope, and continue to innovate while keeping your members in mind on how you can better serve their needs.

That’s worth paying dues for, just ask any business person.  They took a risk when they opened their doors.  That’s what entrepreneurship is all about.

Start that new project today!

Incubators: Are You Supporting Your Local Entrepreneurs?

Does your chamber have a program to allow folks with an idea to get it up and running from within your chamber?

A number of chambers across the country are providing such a venue or “incubator” for new business ideas to take hold.

What a great way to get new members.

By supporting these start-ups it will position you to potentially get a lifelong member.

As chambers, we should do everything possible to help the entrepreneurs in our communities bring their ideas to market.

Today’s start-up will be tomorrow’s job creators and your future community leaders!

In membership, we talk about the lifetime value of members and a great way to fill that pipeline of prospective members is with businesses that got started through your "incubator" program.

Here are four examples of incubator programs at local chambers of commerce:

• Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce
• Thurston County Chamber

Help get that new business started this year!

How Long Do You Keep Lapsed Members On The Books?

If you don’t know, I bet it’s spelled out in your Bylaws.

While not scientific, I’d suggest most organizations are either 90 or 120 days, which means your real membership numbers are inflated by 25% to 33%.

I’m not a fan of counting non dues paying members as members!

Have you ever thought about dropping members on their due date?

Why not?

Don’t let your members play the membership game with your organization.  I’ve been there!  They wait one day past their 90 or 120 grace period, go off the books and then rejoin with a new due date.

They just got 15 or 16 months of membership for the price of 12.  That's no way to run a chamber.

And by the way, how many of you offer a 25% discount in connection with an upcoming program that they can save even more money?  It's happening all the time all across the country.  

In addition, you’re spending money on these (essentially) non-members who are not contributing to your bottom line.

Something to think about!

For more resources on lapsed member campaigns go HERE and HERE.

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.

The 80/20 Rule

Much has been written on this subject.

We’ve all heard it before, 20% of your members contribute to 80% of its success and carry 80% of the load, work/financial, etc.

Remember, you can’t be all things to all people.  So don’t go down that path and try to be.  Focus on your core competencies.

Here are a few provocative statements/ideas:

• Have you ever fired a member?
• Told a potential member that the chamber may not be the place for their resources?
• Kicked any "Sacred Cows" to the curb?

Again, focus on the 20%, that’s your core business.  Don’t apologize to the 80%.  And this goes without saying, you must always deliver the core goods (value) to your members.

That’s why the 20% back you!

As talked about before, a recent study by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E) identified the following as what members want from their chamber:

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

This is a great place to start your next conversation with your board on what core competencies your chamber should be focused on, the rest just might be considered white noise.

Until next time!

Membership Dues Points

What are your dues points?  What works best for you?

Studies suggest the following three models to be the most widely used in order of popularity:

1.  Tiers - Gold, Silver, Bronze
2.  Full-time employees
3.  Annual budget/sales

There are pro’s and con’s to each, it’s your responsibility to find out what works best for your organization.

Do you have the following membership categories in addition to your current membership?

• Students
• Retirees
• Lifetime members

Also, do you have a minimum dues point?  Have you ever sent money back because they didn’t pay the minimum?  While I’m not an advocate of sending checks back, there are costs to membership.

Again, something to think about!

For more information on membership tiered dues models from Kyle Sexton go HERE.

Net Revenue vs. Gross Revenue

I was recently reading an interesting article on the net revenue vs. gross revenue thought process.

Past blog posts have addressed:

• The Hedgehog Theory
• Kicking Sacred Cows to the Curb
• Nonprofit Doesn't Mean Don't Make a Profit

...which all focus, in different ways, on programs that your members value and where you’re making money.

When looking at your programs many suggest you look at the net revenue for each of your programs (including fully loaded costs, i.e. staff) not just the gross revenue.  Be smart about where you put your chambers resources.

The more you focus on net revenue the better your spread will be at the end of the year and you’ll be able to put more money to reserves.

And we all know in today’s economy anything we can do to improve efficiencies and improve your bottom line will be well received by your board.

Which would you rather have a bigger gross budget or a better net profit in your next budget cycle?