Make the Most of you Membership

Make the Most of Your Membership 
Scott A Herceg, CAE 
 
“Wow, we can do that?”  That is a statement that we hear many times from Members.  It usually comes after we, as Chamber Staff, help them solve a problem they are having in their business, by offering them a solution through one of our Member Advantages.  That is why a Chamber of Commerce exists, to help Members solve problems.  We do that through a whole list of Member Advantages or some people call them Member Benefits.  These are tools, programs, resources and strategies that are designed to help give a business a competitive advantage or just make life easier.  And they are exclusively available to Chamber Members.  That is why businesses pay dues to be a Member of the Chamber of Commerce.  That annual dues payment gives them access to all those Advantages.  But it is a pretty big list and different parts of it can be forgotten.  To help members keep these advantages fresh in their mind we are once again holding a “Make the Most of Your Membership” session a couple times during the year.
 
We get it.  There is a lot to remember.  When a member first joins, there is a lot of excitement and forms to fill out and the first Business After Hours to go to and the ribbon cutting to schedule and a lot of information coming at you from all sides.  It is easy to sit back after all the dust has settled and ask yourself, “Now what were they saying about Member to Member Discounts?”  Or, a business that has been a valued member for over twenty years may be planning to send out a large mailing for an anniversary party, and not remember that there is a bulk mailing discount that could save them significantly on that mailing.  On the other side of the equation, we as Chamber Staff may need some refresher from time to time about the specific offerings of our members.  We know that we have members that make or sell great “widgets”, for example, but we might not fully understand what makes a “red widget” superior to a “blue widget.” 
 
To help our members “Make the Most of Your Membership” we are setting up a few informal times to exchange information.  We want to help our members take advantage of all that is available to them as part of their membership and we want to hear about the latest and greatest product or service offerings that drive each of our member’s individual businesses.  We will still be out and about visiting Members on a regular basis, but sometimes it helps to have a specific scheduled time for this type of discussion.  And we are hoping, with this format, to have several Members in the room together and exchange information from Member to Member as well.  
 
Our first “Make the Most of Your Membership” session will be on May 23^rd here at the Chamber Office at 124 N Main Street in Cheboygan.  We will have two times available on that day, to help accommodate schedules.  The before work crowd is invited to come in at 8am for coffee and donuts while the lunch crowd is invited to bring their lunch with them and join us at noon around the table.  We will have some selections of pop available for the lunch group.  We envision these sessions as an open informal discussion designed to keep everyone up to date on everything that makes Membership in the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce such an important part of doing business in our area.