I've been a member of East Midlands Chamber for almost a year and I've already started to reflect on how much support I've had to date.
I wanted to help other businesses think about how they can utilise the services of a Chamber as part of their marketing strategy, so I thought I'd create a '10 reasons why chamber membership is an important part of your marketing mix' kind of blog.
I actually made a YouTube Video about it too:
10 Ways A Chamber Membership Can Help Your Business
Before I start, this is in no way sponsored by the Chamber, nor is it an advert, or replacement of fees. It's my genuine opinion, based on my own experiences.
- If you didn't know already, the chamber is amazing for networking. As everything changed with Coronavirus, they moved swiftly from in-person networking to online networking. Plus, there's always different types of networking to get involved with; there are some which are more formal and some which are quite fun, such as bingo-type networking.
- You get an email every Friday with what's going on with other members in the Chamber. This can be great if you've got some news that you want to tell other members as well. You can send it over to the marketing team and they will pop it in that if it's going to be relevant for the other members.
- You've always got a real person (an Account Manager) at the end of the phone. My Account Manager at East Midland's Chamber is Luke and he's brilliant. I only have to send him an email and straight away I've got a message back, either directing me to somewhere that I can find an answer or help me directly with the kind of information that I need.
- During the Coronavirus, there was lots of uncertainty, (probably the understatement of the year!) and the Chamber was really swift to offer a lot of free business advice. No matter how long somebody's been in business, or what their role is, they were there to listen and direct us to different areas in order to figure out some answers.
- Network magazine comes through the post regularly and it's always got stories about businesses who are within the Chamber. It's great to submit a story, I've featured in here before. It's also great to read about kind of case studies about what people are doing, how they've overcome problems, and how industries are changing, plus tips and tricks. So that's always a good thing to get through the post!
- There's lots of HR and legal advice, documents and information within the Chamber portal. It's really good if you've got staff and you've got any HR issues. There's lots of information to help.
- Chamber Awards! In March 2020, I was lucky to be a finalist in the Enterprising Women Awards, and they also run the 'normal' Chamber awards as well. This year, they are going to be held virtually.
- If you tag in your account manager on Social Media (or any of the contacts that you have at the chamber) and if they know that you're a chamber member, they're likely to share, retweet, like and comment on your posts where relevant. So it's great to be able to increase your exposure and reach of those posts in particular, and they're just going to be championing you because they know you remember, and they want to get your story out there to see.
- There's always lots of online courses to be a part of when you are a Chamber member. During lockdown, these have been great because there's always been different levels of information. So whether you're a beginner in a certain area, or whether you're an expert, there's always the ability to learn. They cover a wide range of different topics too. I've personally found them really interesting. Top tip: if you can't make the event, you can always register and then they will record it and drop it over to you an email anyway.
- There's an area in the membership portal where you can put some special offers in there for other members. This is so they can hear about your business and become a customer, or mention your offer to other people they know.
So there we go, 10 reasons why you should consider Chamber membership as part of your marketing mix!
If you've got any questions about Chamber membership in the East Midlands you can visit their website or contact the team directly on 0330 320 0333.
If you have a question for me about this, please drop it in the comments section below and I'll respond, or contact me directly via the Contact page.