“A stitch in time saves nine.” “Haste
makes waste.” “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
Old saws? Not when it concerns Chamber
membership. Is it worth the wait to get it right? We believe the answer is
“Yes.”
Shortly after our August newsletter was sent
out, we received requests from several potentially new Chamber clients and
several existing clients for Membership Events. The old friends were looking for
dates in mid and late 2002. With one exception, the new ones were looking for
early to mid 2002. The one exception wanted an October date. Fortunately for us
(and really for them too,) we had no more 2001 open dates. A membership
campaign, (in most Chambers,) is the largest dollar generating happening in a
Chamber’s calendar year. Should it be attempted if thrown together on short
notice? We don’t think so, and because we had no open dates, we were able to
save face and turn down the business.
There should be no doubt, YCC is not your ordinary membership development company. Anyone can
put together a membership “drive” in a hurry. Only YCC facilitates a Membership “Event” that is designed to be fun
for the volunteers, to enhance retention by re-educating the volunteers on
Chamber benefits, and to bring in a large group of new members that understand
the benefits of Chamber membership.
Prior to any of our Events, Lorraine and Jimmy
come into the Chamber 2 or 3 times (and sometimes more,) to work with the
Chamber staff and the key volunteers. The office (that’s me,) gets out a
variety of paperwork to the Chamber and the key volunteers.
All of this is done in preparation of the real work for YCC, the Membership Event week. By the time
the Event week rolls around, everyone should be on the same page, excited and
ready to set a Chamber record for the largest number of new members in less than
72 hours of work. This is why we ask for a minimum of 4 months lead time for
any Event. We would prefer 6 months or more, and our clients understand this
and usually book a year in advance. We can’t and won’t rush in to do a fund
raiser! It defeats our Mission and Vision Statements. “YCC will work with Chambers to increase their membership and
influence their retention through well informed, successful and exciting
volunteer driven Events.” “Our corporate goal will be to excite the existing
Chamber members and the new Chamber members about the benefits of Chamber
membership.”
Believe us and our clients who say,” If
it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right!”
No
words can adequately describe the
horror of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the airplane
crash in Pennsylvania. No words can justify the “righteousness” of
terrorism. All of us involved in Chamber business and businesses that belong to
Chambers are sorrowed by the loss of the thousands of innocent American citizens
as well as the hundreds of other nationalities that tragically lost their lives.
We offer our condolences to the families of those who died and our prayers for
rapid recovery to those who survived. We can only offer these words of
truth:
The
United States of America is the greatest democracy in the history of humankind.
WE SHALL OVERCOME!
It
took the Marines and a Marine barber to do this close haircut for Lake Charles,
LA Pres. Joe Cironi, CCE. Joe promised a buzz cut if they went over 250 new
members and a shave cut if the volunteers brought in over 300 new members. Joe
got the shave cut because Membership Director Donna Reeves and her enthusiastic
volunteers brought in 319 new members in 72 hours!
NON DUES INCOME DEPT: Introducing Bud Brenneman and PROFITS
ON HOLD PRODUCTIONS; Marketing
101…Keeping Chamber Members In The “Loop”.
The following is a definition of marketing found in a popular
marketing textbook: "Marketing is the process of planning and executing the
conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services,
organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy
individual and organizational objectives."-Contemporary Marketing
Wired (1998) by Boone and Kurtz. Dryden Press.
As you can see, marketing is a process. It can be mapped out with a flow chart…results can be measured. The term “marketing mix” consists of product, place, promotion, and price. How you market your Chamber in each category will influence the growth of your membership and will be reflected by member satisfaction and participation.
Your product is your Chamber, or any facet thereof. It may be your Chamber’s golf outing, annual meeting, networking opportunities, business forums, etc. The place may change from your Chamber’s facility, to a golf course, to the state house. Price is how much you invest in order to get a perceived value. Promotion is the way you tell others about your Chamber in general or specific Chamber events. There are a few traditional and non-traditional ways to promote your Chamber.
Your Chamber may have a Member Newsletter. This may be produced monthly or quarterly and direct-mailed, which is the traditional way, or may be group-faxed, or even e-mailed (taking advantage of today’s technology). Some Chambers use a combination of the above. My Chamber, for example, mails monthly newsletters and faxes weekly events every Monday. This keeps busy Chamber members in the “loop” with weekly reminders of events that they otherwise might have forgotten.
This consistency is a very effective way to provide information to membership without overwhelming you or your Chamber’s Marketing/PR Person. They create monthly calendars with monthly newsletters and fax the information week by week. Along with monthly newsletters, my Chamber utilizes a new but effective marketing tool from Profits On-Hold Productions…Telephone On-Hold Marketing. This serves as a monthly “audio-newsletter” for the Chamber whenever a call is placed on hold. What a creative way to turn a lemon situation (holding) into lemonade!
Let’s face it, in a perfect world, phone calls would be answered by the person that callers were seeking to contact. However, as we well know, calls may be answered: by a receptionist, voice-mail, etc. More likely than not, calls will be placed on “Hold”. Rather than subjecting Chamber members listen to dead silence, beeps, a private CD collection, or a local radio station, your Chamber may also be well served by a monthly or quarterly Telephone On-Hold Marketing Program. On-Hold marketing can work for your Chamber large or small..…even if you don’t have a phone system!
(Ed. Note:
Looking for non-dues income? Profits On Hold Productions may be your answer! For
additional information, you may contact Profits On-Hold Productions toll-free at
(877) 808-7647, or visit them on the web at http://www.pohp.com.
Ask about their Chamber of Commerce Programs and for some Chamber
referrals! On-Hold Productions can
keep your Chamber Members in the “Loop”!)
Sincere
congratulations go out to Steve
Ahlenius, President & CEO, and to Nanette Palomo, Director of
Membership Services of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. This South Texas
valley cosmopolitan metropolis was selected NATIONAL CHAMBER OF THE YEAR
by the National Association for Membership Development. Of the 150 cities that
met the NAMD criteria (membership development, management and practice,
excellence in financial performance, internal operations, and organizational
mission), McAllen came out on top. Your Chamber Connection is proud
to be a part of McAllen’s membership team and look forward to continued good
news from Nanette, Steve, and the great team of volunteers in McAllen, Texas.
CLIENT QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
I
just have to tell
you about Jimmy Cusano,
the Godfather of Chambers of Commerce.
Last week Jimmy's company, Your Chamber Connection, led a small south-central
town in Texas in the wildest, bell-ringing, high-fiving membership drive in the
chamber's history. Volunteers from Seguin, Texas, population 22,000, brought in
305 new members and raised more than $46,000 in two and one-half business days.
He dresses funny. He wears Yankee-style long coats and teaches the volunteers the New Jersey way of getting folks to join the Chamber, "Yo, Jennifer, Write Me A Check." This is all done while YMCA plays on the boom box as Jimmy circulates around writing the names of businesses who joined on huge sheets of paper on the walls. Not only does he inspire volunteers to call up their business associates, he teaches them what the chamber is doing…. advertising, networking, issues.
He stresses the "itions" as he calls them, education, transportation, legislation. He makes what some consider the kiss of death, another membership drive, in one word FUN.
The serious side of his business comes when he guides the board members on how to run the chamber like a that people want to renew. "Don't waste all that blank space on your invoice, use the space to fill it with all your accomplishments."
Jimmy is doing this for chambers of commerce all around the country. I'm just a volunteer who worked on the event, but I implore you to write about him in your publication. If you have a reporter who wants to write about something fun, this is the story for him or her.
Jennifer Kolbe
Economic Development
Representative
Guadalupe Valley Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
Schertz, Texas
(210) 658-7033
(Ed. Note: Unsolicited by YCC, Jennifer sent this to a friend at the Wall Street Journal. Thank you very, very much Jennifer! You’ve got to admit a jump from 700+ members to over 1000 members is quite an accomplishment.)
TAXES
DEPT: Lorraine,
Jimmy, and I attended the 2001 NAMD Conference in Toronto this past
August. It was a great venue, and we met a bunch of really nice Chamber people
all interested in the same thing: Membership. All but one attendee had a
wonderful time. This one’s problem happened at checkout. She had come to
Toronto with her husband and son. They went sightseeing while she attended the
daily sessions. She was upset, and when Lorraine queried what was wrong, she
showed Lorraine the hotel bill and stated, “Because my husband and son
shared my room, the hotel charged me a guest tax.”
Having
once called Canada home, Lorraine was able to smile and point out that the GST
Tax was not a “Guest Tax” but a “Goods and Services Tax” implemented by
the Canadian government a number of years ago. It is in essence a Sales Tax that
is above any other tax there might be, and everybody is liable to pay this tax.
Lorraine also pointed out that she can get her GST Tax back by filling out a
form and mailing it to the federal government in Ottawa.
“Oh!”
was the embarrassed response.
CHAMBER
MANAGEMENT DEPT:
reMEMBER™ visits Canada. Like the YCC crew, the reMEMBER™ team recently returned from a very successful and enjoyable conference hosted by the National Association of Membership Development (NAMD) in Toronto, Canada. Our thanks go out to the NAMD staff for working so hard to bring Chambers across the country together for the benefit of all. I would also like to thank all the chamber staff that took the opportunity to stop by our booth for a hands-on reMEMBER™ demonstration. Your comments and compliments are greatly appreciated.
This was our 4th NAMD conference, and it was great to see so many familiar faces from years past. I still remember very well our first conference where we showcased the reMEMBER™ software. We always knew we were good at developing software but were very unsure of our marketing plan. In fact, knowing all our competitors were going to be in the same room really had us worried.
But as it turned out, getting us all together was probably the best way for chambers to see the superior design and functionality built into the reMEMBER™ software application. Anyone taking the time to visit each booth could clearly see that only reMEMBER™ was intuitive and easy to use as well as aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Each conference we have attended has provided invaluable feedback in the evolution of the reMEMBER™ software. This evolution will truly benefit you chamber in supporting its members, retaining its members, and generating excitement about the benefits of being with the chamber!
There is a reason why reMEMBER™ received an award for “The Most Innovative New Product of the Year 2000!” And it just keeps getting better! If you are tired of spending your time managing your software rather than your chamber, then it’s time for reMEMBER™! Call now for your free software demo - 800.318.7333.
reMEMBER™ would like to welcome the latest Chambers to join our ever growing family!
Woodland, California,
Kansas City, Kansas, Bourne, Texas, Mesquite, Texas, and Stephenville, Texas
(Ed note: Is reMember™ difficult to use? NO! Just ask our own Jimmy. He is
typical of today’s computer user. Pulling up the internet and checking the
weather for the next trip is about as computer literate as he gets, and he can
demonstrate the ease of useing of reMEMBER™.
Moral of the story? If Jimmy can use it, so can you!)
St.
Charles, MO, President and “Pit Boss Wannabee” Nancy Stuenkel and her
administrative assistant, Judy Streck, are all smiles at the end of their
Membership Event. They should be! Their Chamber volunteers brought in 184 new
members in 2 days.
RETENTION DEPT: It’s What You Do After That Counts: From Kathie Mulheron, Membership Director of the Greater Killeen, Texas CofC:"The Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that as a result of the Membership Event that was held July 10-14, 2000, we have had a 94% retention rate. One of the retention tools throughout the last year that were used by the membership director was personal follow up calls to thank them for their membership investment and to see if the chamber could be of assistance to them. In addition, when invoices were mailed to them, an insert was included pertaining to the value of their membership investment. It was a very successful Membership Event, thanks to the staff at Your Chamber Connection, and we look forward to our 2nd Event in April 2002."
YCC
Announces Expansion!
Your Chamber Connection is pleased to announce the addition of Morgan Riley Cusano to the YCC family. Morgan, weighing a perfect 7lbs-2oz, was born Wednesday, September 19, 2001 to proud parents Jimmy and Melissa Cusano. Welcome, Morgan! The world may be imperfect, but you’re not!
Presenting,
Morgan
Riley Cusano, age 1 day.
NON-DUES INCOME DEPT: In our last issue member retention was the theme, and the “Purchasing Agent Program” was the topic. In keeping with the same retention theme, I’d like to share another promotion that has proven to be very successful in increasing retention and sales of advertising and new membership, “Chamber Bucks.” members, they will receive a “free” advertisement in the next Membership Directory. All they have to do to receive their free ad is have five Chamber Bucks filled out and signed by five different Chamber member companies.
First off, you may be asking, “How can a Chamber of a publisher afford to be giving away free ads?” The answer “How can they afford not to.” To explain let’s use as an example a Chamber that has finished sales for the second year using Chamber Bucks.
About 40 free ads were earned by member firms of which 13 used their free credits to upgrade to larger ads. Overall sales were up 28% over the previous year. The reasons were due to an increase in total membership and a much greater number of advertisers. I have to believe that both were, in part, due to more members doing business with members.
It truly is a win-win for all parties. Members benefit from increased business and free ads, the Chamber increases members and its awareness, and the publisher has more opportunities for ad sales.
(Ed. Note: For more information on “Chamber Bucks” ,
Membership Directories and Buyer Guides for your Chamber, call Duff Tussing of
Integrity Publishing at 800/810-8810. You won’t be sorry!)
09/11/01
was not a good day to start a Membership Event, but start and finish we did in
Marshall, TX.
You may have noticed that we are light in humor this edition due to the tragedy our nation has suffered. Maybe by the next edition we will all have something to laugh about again.