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Market Research Fact #1
Warrillow Weekly has the following stunning chart, showing how membership in local Chambers of Commerce is dropping.
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During two years as a sponsor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management I had the opportunity to speak directly with over 1,000 chamber managers. I asked them all how business was going, how many members they had and what was their market penetration rate?
I was shocked to find out that the average market penetration rate was in the 25% range. [some Chambers of Commerce flat out knock the cover off of the ball but they appear to be the minority] Shocked because I always thought that being a member of the Chamber of Commerce was a right of passage for a local company and a great way to position your business as a trusted company in the community. I still think this way. However, it is apparent that a lot of businesses don't share this line of thinking. They vote with their wallets and 75% are saying NO to the local chamber of commerce. This won't change anytime soon as the emerging class of Young Professionals will find the typical tried and true "Chamber Mixers" and "Power Lunches" to be a bit dated. They will definitely seek alternatives to their local Chambers of Commerce unless their local chamber steps up its value proposition and starts to cater to their needs in a more contemporary fashion.
This is a fact that I am sure keeps Chamber of Commerce executives busy as they try to propagate ideas on how to recruit new members and retain their current members. Ironically, there are a lot of Chamber of Commerce executives who are ignoring trends like social media and how these technologies can positively impact their membership growth.
Market Research Fact #2 - On the wire just today.
Small Businesses Embrace Social Networking Sites in the U.S.
| The number of small businesses using such services will double in the next 12 months, says AMI |
By: Business Wire
Nov. 3, 2008 07:00 AM
Continued.....
More than 600,000 small businesses (SBs, or companies with up to 99 employees) in the United States will deploy integrated social networking services in the next 12 months—up from about 300,000 currently, according to the latest study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.
In percentage terms, 300,000 represents about 5% of the total number of SBs in the U.S. “As social networking evolves, we can see the emergence of targeted offerings for business users,” says Nikki Lamba, New York-based analyst at AMI Partners. “In order to attract a greater share of SBs, social networking services must provide customized services that SBs can leverage in order to realize their business goals.”
| Take Fact #1 and Fact #2 and Chamber of Commerce executives should not walk to a social media platform - they should run with open arms. |
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However, unfortunatley for members, we still hear many Chamber of Commerce executives say things like; 'we'll wait until the technology is proven', 'our members are old school and they won't use the internet', 'we don't have the resources', and the #1 most unbelievable reason 'I don't think a social network would benefit our members at this time'. This last reason is spot on - it'll happen at a time when the chamber exec moves on to another job.
The Bottom Line
Some chambers get it, some don't get it and some thankfully are leaning in the right direction. Ignoring technology trends that will help members, especially in down economic times, is not very prudent. Until the value proposition offered by the "average" Chamber of Commerce is enhanced, small businesses will continue to vote with their wallets and use other means to find avenues for marketing and growing their businesses.
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