I am often asked “Does the Chamber really work for you?”
I actually track every single client and where they came from, so I can state as a matter of fact that 80% of my business comes from the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce. That’s a huge percentage. I am probably luckier than most businesses as there are very few in my category , and those who are have their unique niche. (Leighton is a phenomenal maritime photographer and captures breathtaking images whilst hanging out of helicopters or off the side of his boat, but is also a social media/mobile marketing expert who can also build beautiful websites. Barry’s The Finer Image store has been the go-to store for photographic services for as long as I can remember. When I need something printed perfectly for the rare client who needs prints, large format especially, I go to him, he takes the time to treat the project with the same care I would and the results are perfect, much to my clients’ delight. So, I see as as complimentary, not competition.)
So yes, my Chamber membership definitely works for me.
But the Chamber is always working for every one of its members and even for those who aren’t, as demonstrated at this morning’s Shop Local committee meeting. At first we weren’t 100% sure if our campaign was to be amongst the membership, or extend beyond to all of the communities the Chamber services. As you can imagine, they could be two totally different campaigns and one would be quite more of a challenge to implement than the other! But Executive Director John Somes arrived just in time to set us straight. His vision was to extend beyond the Chamber and involve everyone. As Chamber members we should all be thinking locally each and every time we need to make a purchase, b2b or retail, but extending this to everyone means we can hopefully change the mindset of the community at large – not just on Small Business Saturday in November!
And so we being – a small committee looking to effect big change on a local scale! I thought I would document the journey here and there so that all could get a behind the scenes look at just one way the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce works for it’s members.
