The Dirty Secret of Why Many Chambers of Commerce Fail to Increase Sales
The Dirty Secret of Why Many Chambers of Commerce Fail to Increase Sales
So what is the dirty little secret? These organizations have failed to understand the basic purpose of any business and that is to attract and maintain loyal customers. If the organization was truly on purpose, those annual membership drives would not be as critical. However, because these folks engage in behaviors that turn off their customers (a.k.a. members), they are forced expend a lot more energy to recruit new members.
Membership drives are necessary because businesses come and go. However if Chambers truly understood customer loyalty, there would far greater emphasis on this type of expensive marketing strategies.
Maintaining loyal customers when your organization demonstrates value through the behaviors of their employees should not truly be that difficult. However, the personal agendas of those within the organization interfere with the purpose of many chambers of commerce.
For example, do any business research and you will find that small businesses account for the majority of business within America. Yet, some of these organizations that advocate small businesses physically demonstrate behaviors that are 100% the opposite.
During the last 10 years, I have observed these organizations trampling their small business members in their efforts to support the larger businesses from banks to national retail stores to universities. The rationale is that these businesses have the big bucks to sponsor the many events being offered by the Chambers. That is reasonable argument on the surface. Then do not tell the small business owners that you support them with the same level of behaviors that you give to the deep pocket businesses.
One of my newest Triage Business Action Plan clients was a victim of these behaviors. As a member of a special event committee, she sponsored (donated) some gift baskets that included her name on a stamped gold label along with some balloons. The night of the event, a committee member had all of her labels removed because that type of advertising was not allowed.
This type of marketing where the business includes their name and contact information is standard operating procedure (SOP). However, at no time did this committee indicate that sponsors could not include their names. My client was not the only small business owner to suffer this fate for this event. Yet, what the members of the committee did do during the event was to freely promote the names of several national retail stores, banks and other such organizations while ignoring those small business owners who donated at their own expense products or services.
Similar stories can be found in many Chambers of Commerce. The little guy, small business owner, suffers at the hand of the very organizations that wants his or her membership dollars. What most Chambers fail to recognize that the membership fees from those small business owners and their sponsored gifts account for a far greater percentage of their total marketing budget than what they receive from those large businesses. In other words, the small business owners are potentially far more loyal customers because of this factor alone.
Maybe this helps to explain the rise of formal business networking groups with many communities from BNI to LeTip to Leads to locally established groups. These formal and informal gatherings of like minded business owners recognize that they can secure quicker results with in many cases far less expenditures of their limited resources of time, energy and dollars.
Chambers of commerce need to recognize that when they ignore the purpose of business developing loyal customers they are making future recruitment far more difficult. These unsatisfied chamber members will let everyone know of their shabby treatment regardless if the business owners are right or wrong. For, one's focus creates one's reality. In this case, the reality is everything and the bottom line is that the goal to increase sales simply will not happen.
The Dirty Secret of Why Many Chambers of Commerce Fail to Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Throughout the United States, Chambers of Commerce engaged in annual or even bi-annual membership drives. Yet, the 800# gorilla in the room is this dirty secret.
So what is the dirty little secret? These organizations have failed to understand the basic purpose of any business and that is to attract and maintain loyal customers. If the organization was truly on purpose, those annual membership drives would not be as critical. However, because these folks engage in behaviors that turn off their customers (a.k.a. members), they are forced expend a lot more energy to recruit new members.
Membership drives are necessary because businesses come and go. However if Chambers truly understood customer loyalty, there would far greater emphasis on this type of expensive marketing strategies.
Maintaining loyal customers when your organization demonstrates value through the behaviors of their employees should not truly be that difficult. However, the personal agendas of those within the organization interfere with the purpose of many chambers of commerce.
For example, do any business research and you will find that small businesses account for the majority of business within America. Yet, some of these organizations that advocate small businesses physically demonstrate behaviors that are 100% the opposite.
During the last 10 years, I have observed these organizations trampling their small business members in their efforts to support the larger businesses from banks to national retail stores to universities. The rationale is that these businesses have the big bucks to sponsor the many events being offered by the Chambers. That is reasonable argument on the surface. Then do not tell the small business owners that you support them with the same level of behaviors that you give to the deep pocket businesses.
One of my newest Triage Business Action Plan clients was a victim of these behaviors. As a member of a special event committee, she sponsored (donated) some gift baskets that included her name on a stamped gold label along with some balloons. The night of the event, a committee member had all of her labels removed because that type of advertising was not allowed.
This type of marketing where the business includes their name and contact information is standard operating procedure (SOP). However, at no time did this committee indicate that sponsors could not include their names. My client was not the only small business owner to suffer this fate for this event. Yet, what the members of the committee did do during the event was to freely promote the names of several national retail stores, banks and other such organizations while ignoring those small business owners who donated at their own expense products or services.
Similar stories can be found in many Chambers of Commerce. The little guy, small business owner, suffers at the hand of the very organizations that wants his or her membership dollars. What most Chambers fail to recognize that the membership fees from those small business owners and their sponsored gifts account for a far greater percentage of their total marketing budget than what they receive from those large businesses. In other words, the small business owners are potentially far more loyal customers because of this factor alone.
Maybe this helps to explain the rise of formal business networking groups with many communities from BNI to LeTip to Leads to locally established groups. These formal and informal gatherings of like minded business owners recognize that they can secure quicker results with in many cases far less expenditures of their limited resources of time, energy and dollars.
Chambers of commerce need to recognize that when they ignore the purpose of business developing loyal customers they are making future recruitment far more difficult. These unsatisfied chamber members will let everyone know of their shabby treatment regardless if the business owners are right or wrong. For, one's focus creates one's reality. In this case, the reality is everything and the bottom line is that the goal to increase sales simply will not happen.
The Dirty Secret of Why Many Chambers of Commerce Fail to Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Leanne's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Content Challenged Make Attitude Your Ally Start eTutoring Business Funding Worksheet How To Work |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers | |
 |
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||