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A PROGRAM OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION
 

IOM Blog

May 22, 2019

Questioning Membership Development

Membership and membership development may well be the most important aspect of your role in your Chamber. After all, if you don’t have a significant membership base, who is it that you are serving? Oh, by the way, which comes first: the services that your organization provides to your members or the goal of growing your membership? Two of the most frequently asked questions posed to any Chamber executive are: 1.What is it that Chambers do? 2. How many members do you have in your Chamber? They can also be the most difficult questions to answer.

We all know the standard phrase used by marketing coaches: “what is your elevator speech?” How do you articulate the product you are selling in the time it takes to ride up or down in an elevator with a potential investor? How long is the elevator ride? If you’re in the Chamber world, you might hope for a slow moving elevator in a 100 story skyscraper because it would take that long to briefly describe everything your Chamber does for its member/investors and for your community.

Consider for a moment that you are the customer and you have been asked to buy a product. That product is membership in your Chamber of Commerce. What is it that the Chamber is selling to you that will make you decide to join? Just like the customer who walks into an electronics store or a grocery store, each person joins a Chamber of Commerce for different reasons. Many join for networking opportunities. Some join for a sense of belonging or they want to feel like they are doing something to make a difference in their community. Still others join because they feel it is their civic duty. Often, the latter is a larger company such as the local utility company or community bank. Whatever the reason, one thing that each has in common with the other is that they want their investment to have value; to create a measurable return.

Returning to our earlier questions, if your Chamber is providing services and programs that your membership has demonstrated it needs and wants, your membership will grow. One of the more effective ways to find out what your members want is to ask them. While surveys are somewhat useful in reaching larger audiences, the anonymity that surveys provide may also mislead you in learning what members really want. Focus groups are an excellent way to have meaningful dialogue that often leads to important conversations. And for your largest investors, one-on-one conversations with the CEO are invaluable. When was the last time you had a meal with your most important investors?

Who in your Chamber is responsible for membership retention and growth? If you answer that it is your membership development officer, you are missing the point. While that may be his or hers job description, it is every member of your staff and especially the CEO.

Richard Dayoub
Richard Dayoub, IOM, CCE
Founder and Principal
Thunderbird Management Consulting, LLC

Richard E. Dayoub is the founder and principal of Thunderbird Management Consulting, LLC. He began his career in the chamber world in 2003 as the Chief Operating Officer.In 2004, he assumed the position of president and was selected to be the Chamber’s President and CEO in 2007. Dayoub is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management completing his coursework at the University of Arizona in 2009. He served as the Chairman of the Texas Metro Chambers of Commerce, serving in that capacity for two years, in 2010 and 2011. In 2007 and 2008, Richard participated as a Ford Foundation Fellow, a project focused on regionalism and sustainable development in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. Richard served on the ACCE Board of Directors, as Vice Chair, and was an active member of the Metro Cities Council. Richard is an ACCE Fellow for Education Attainment. He received his Certified Chamber Executive Designation in April of 2014.

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