Diane Probst, IOM, CCE Diane Probst, IOM, CCE
Creator and Founder, Diane Probst LLC - Chamberology

Published

December 09, 2024

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Managing the membership of a Chamber of Commerce or an Association is a task that has taken on new life with the digital revolution. Take a look at these helpful tips to further advance your membership program.

#1 – Know your membership software. As my daughter would say, “Mom, own it.” Take charge and master it to maximize its productivity for you and your members.

#2 – Monitor your membership numbers at all times. What is the total dollar amount? Monthly? Annually? Budget? Goal? Chart the progress on a daily basis – You need to know if you’re improving! This is important for all staff to be aware of. Keep a running total of new, reinstatements, dropped members, renewals, etc. Always know the total number of members you have

#3 – Make a member live in five: Make joining an easy online 5-step process. How easy is it to join your Chamber? At 2 a.m.? Find a way to make it easy where all you have to do is approve the material THEY submitted, including payment.

#4 – Clearly define your member onboarding journey: Take a look at your onboarding for new members. Is the process up to date? Do you have a series of emails reaching out to them, advising them with next steps and ways they can network and engage? Is it all year long? How many touch points?

#5 – Wrap it with a bow: Design your Ribbon Cuttings to be the best. No doubt Ribbon Cuttings are a signature event for Chamber’s of Commerce so make them standout, a cut above and fun! Design them to be quick and orderly (20-minutes). Develop a press release that includes the name of business, owner’s name, address, phone number, email address, and website. Post photos/videos to social media. Are you going “live” at these events broadcasting neat things about this new member?

#6 – Design a positive Ambassador experience: Your membership group can be empowered for great attendance at events/gatherings, and bringing in new and renewing members. You just have to be creative and fun! Be careful as this group can be a handful to coordinate. With clearly defined roles, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by far.

#7 – Know your market penetration.

Here’s the formula:

  • Number of members at end of year (2021): 3000
  • Number of new members (2022): 75
  • Number of drops (2022): 175 (do not include in calculations)
  • Number at end of year (2022): 2,750
  • Formula: 2,750 – 75 = 2,675 (end count – new members)
  • 2,675 (year end count) divided by 3,000 (beginning of year count) = 89% retention rate.

#8 – Level up your Member Tiers: A lot of Chambers have wrangled the value of membership by offering different levels of membership tied to tangible offerings. This has been a wonderful revolution in and of itself but sometimes we muddy the water by not knowing our what each tier offers.

#9 – Ramp up Retention; Target Market Defined: Automation is key. Collect payment immediately. How many businesses are in your community? How many sales tax reporting outlets in your community? How many Certificate of Occupancies in your City? Know this: Penetration Rate = (Number of Members ÷ Target Market Size) × 100. The more penetration equals the effectiveness of your program.

#10 – Engage Members, Don’t Enrage Members: A member that is involved is a member that stays a member.

Millennials – feel good,

Gen Z – change/leadership,

Text Polls, Virtual, Scans, etc. – Keep it intuitive.

Members will want to attend things virtually. Events will be all about the “members’ experience. Members will want to be empowered to do great things, and support great causes.

Chambers and associations of the future must stay up with digital changes. Embrace the change or move out of the way 

About the authors

Diane Probst, IOM, CCE

Diane Probst, IOM, CCE

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