One of the challenges that I think a lot of chambers face in communicating with their small business audience is that most chamber staff have never owned a small business. It can be difficult to fully understand the member experience if you’ve never been in their...

Approach your chamber of commerce social media strategy the same way a news producer approaches the task of putting together a daily newscast.

I recently presented a webinar to for the Iowa Chamber of Commerce Executives on Communicating Value To Your Small Business Audience. Here's the recording.

Chambers are always looking for more ways to demonstrate value for their members. And restaurant members are often the toughest customers to please.  Their business hours and hectic schedules can prevent them from attending chamber functions, and sometimes they can...

Small Business Saturday is just a few weeks away and chambers are beginning to spread the word to "Shop Small" in communities across the nation. Spread your message wider and gain some great visibility for the chamber and your members by presenting the perfect pitch...

It’s a fact, personalized interactions can have a positive impact on member retention….but who has time to reach out to members on an individual basis? Enter - digital media. For many of your members, if they don’t have a lot of interaction with you or your staff, the...

I was at a coffee shop sitting across from a friend a few weeks ago. He owns a regional business and has memberships in four different chambers. His business is doing great, but as we were catching up over a cup of coffee, he mentioned to me that he has no intention...

Testimonials remain one of the best ways to communicate the value of a chamber membership.  There's nothing better than having the credibility of an enthusiastic, third party endorsement. One thing that makes them especially credible for chambers is that since your...

Use social media to promote mission moments that engage members, deliver your message, and help your audience understand what your chamber of commerce does.

I have two questions for you. Does your chamber play an important role in your community's success? Do you think ALL of your members and others in the community have a clear understanding of how you are helping your community succeed? Many chambers would answer "no"...

If you’ve ever had a small business cancel their membership because they didn’t get anything out of it, read on. Small business owners can be a tough audience for a chamber of commerce. So much of what you do as a chamber is focused on helping them succeed, yet many...

Awhile back I was perusing a chamber website and clicked on the blog. There I found a stark, blank, lonely page with one post that said “Coming soon.” The post was dated 2013. It made me sad. It made me sad because this chamber was trying. They understood the value...