Chamber of Commerce...What's In It For Me?

Recently  I read an article called Seven Reasons EVERY Business and Non-profit Organization Should be a Member of Their Local Chamber of Commerce in a Challenging Economy.  This article got me thinking about how small businesses should think about membership organizations.  Having worked in or with Chambers and other trade associations for years and a couple things are clear. These organizations need you for survival. Without your membership dues and other contributions they can't operate.  Some of these groups have a great focus on small business and some don't (even if they say they do). When they are discussing membership with you most of these organizations will roll out a standard list of benefits. Your responsibility is to look at what is offered and determine if it will truly benefit your business. If you are early in your business life cycle you need to make double sure that what you spend your money on will help you build your business. Just like you need to deliver real value to your customers a Chamber or trade association needs to deliver benefits that allow you to make your business better. 

Here is a list of the standard benefits that most Chambers and other membership organizations offer:

Visibility. This always the first thing a Chamber trying to get you to join will roll out.  They have "X" number of members, a newsletter, a member listing, etc.  Just being on the list won't help you.  These numbers won't translate to your customer count without work on your end. You need to set yourself apart and build relationships to grow your business.

Access. In this case you get out of it what you put in to it however you need to be very protective of your time.  You need to focus on committees and activities that will connect you with the right people for you to know for your business. Don't join everything, join the right things.

Ongoing training and education.  Many Chambers have shifted to a more after-hours type networking that is just that, unstructured networking.  Nothing wrong with that but if you are looking for eduation and content you won't find it here.  What educational content they do have may be more about who is delivering it than what you are getting from it.

Networking. Networking is important but it needs to be targeted. You need to meet the right people that you can either do business with or can lead you to people that you can do business with. The challenge with many Chamber networking events is that they are attended by sales people that want to sell to you not buy from you.

Low cost advertising opportunities. 

• Advertising through sponsorships: Don't expect much from this. You may get some visibility but remember the people attending the event are not there for you so even if you get some face time they probably won't remember you after they leave. Sponsor handouts are usually the first thing to hit the trash following an event. Make sure there is a plan to get activily get propsects to you.
• Member Advertising: Newsletter advertising while typically not expensive is usually passed over in lieu of the content.  You need to be able to stand out and be in the newsletter consistently over time.  If however you can write content that will speak to members and get them to look at your business that is a good strategy.  There may be a number of members looking to get the some content spot in the newsletter so if you get in there make it count.

Advocacy. To many small businesses don't make their voices heard about political issues that impact them.  A Chamber can be a good way to make sure your voice is heard. While this is important as a small business if this is the primary pitch for membership keep your money. Many large metro chambers use this as a selling point but remember they will do it whether you are a member or not. I would recommend that you focus on bottom-line benefits first then if you are making enough money the advocacy will become important.

Money saving discounts.This is the one that drives me crazy. Maybe in the past this was important but I can get discounts on post-it notes without paying to join a chamber. There are often discount programs available through the vendor that are the same as a Chamber. Look around and you will find what you need.

OK, now let me tell you how to select a good Chamber of Commerce to join. 

• Focus on business ~ Know your customer, who they are, where they are and what you can provide to them.  If you know this look at the Chamber and determine what they have to offer and how that fits to what you know about your customer.
• You get out of it what YOU put into it ~ To many small businesses expect their Chamber membership to cause the phone to start to ring. You will need to be active to get a membership to benefit your business. This is why you have to be strategic and determine if what you will have to do is worth your time and effort. 
• Is the Chamber Creative ~ Are they doing the same things they were doing in 1987? What new and creative things are they doing to really make a difference for their members? The business world is evolving, make sure your chamber is evolving too.
• Do they really care about you ~ With a lot of large chambers the volunteer membership is made up of the big players. Chamber decisions are based on the perspective of the big boys. This perspective is often a "rising tide raises all boats" philosophy. If you are a small business you need to make money now, what are they doing to help you do that?
• What is the ROI ~ Know what you need to get out of a Chamber membership to justify what you have to pay. The "pay" is not only the Chamber dues but also cost to go to the annual meeting, the golf outing, sponsorships, etc. Also factor in your time commitment. 

Do your homework and make a good decision that will help you grow your business.

Comments

[Lori Crock]

Good points Mike. I still haven't joined, but I have attended both Dublin and Columbus Chamber events. I met an awesome printing company at a Columbus Chamber event that I use often with my clients.

It is definitely up to the business owner to make the most of the membership by attending events, joining committees and presenting.

At an average Chamber membership of $300 that adds up fast for a solo-entrepreneur who will probably also join another professional org or two.

I would like to see Chambers add a lower rate for 1-2 person organizations as TechColumbus did last year.

[Michael Bowers]

Thanks Lori for the comment. Given the membership prices it is critical that small business owners make sure they have a plan to get something out of their membership. I talked to Michael Dalby, President of the Columbus Chamber, the other day about the points I made in this post. He is working to implement some things that should allow the Columbus Chamber to become a strong resource for small businesses in the region beyond the tried and true Chamber stuff.