Chamber Vision September and October 2017 | Page 6

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September & October 2017
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
Value Added Membership Benefits:
“Ribbon Cuttings and Business After Hours.”
Russell
Bonitatibus,
Vice
Chairman/
Membership
Committee
Chairman
Did you know that promoting
your Chamber membership
whether onsite or online, improves
your brand reputation? When
customers know that a small
business is a member of the
Chamber, the business gains
a 73% increase in awareness;
68% increase in reputation; 48%
increase in favorability and an 80%
increase in likelihood of patronage.
The positive outcomes only occur
when consumers know that a
business is a Chamber member
(i.e., being involved in the Chamber
is a known facet of the company’s
reputation). These are statistics
from the Membership Guide
“Schapiro Study Facts” so I thought
about it for a while and I can totally
see this. One of the first things I did
when I moved to Emporia over 19
years ago, was join the Chamber of
Commerce and become an active
member because of the networking
benefit. I was an active member at
my prior Chamber and appreciated
how important that networking
was. It made me feel like I was part
of the community. This is so true
for our Chamber of Commerce as
I look at various activities that I
have chosen to be part of like the
Ribbon Cuttings and Business After
Hours. This year, I’ve taken on the
role of conducting these events.
Business owners have stated what
a great turnout they have had at
events and noted how supportive
the community is. You will hear
me say “It’s always a great day in
Emporia when we can celebrate
a new or existing business doing
something positive/investing in
our community.” At the most
recent Ribbon Cutting, for Glik’s,
the owners were so pleased and
impressed by the number of people
that showed up. As a matter of fact,
the regional manager who had been
at the company for over 25 years
stated it was one of the best she had
seen. She was impressed by how
welcome we made them feel. We
went around the room and had all
the attendees introduce themselves,
which she hadn’t seen before. We
recently kicked off the Ribbon Tying
at IM Design Group to celebrate
three businesses coming together
in one building. This was another
great networking time for meeting
people, eating food and taking
tours. I met several people that I
haven’t met before.
Business After Hours is another
great place for networking,
eating food and having great
conversations. I have met so many
people in our community through
the Business After Hours. I try and
invite a non-member or a member
that hasn’t attended to take the
time to introduce them to others
within the business community.
The casual atmosphere of meeting
people makes it easy. Usually, you
know at least one person at the
event. I recently took an individual
to a Business After Hours and
introduced her to individuals that
I knew. The best thing was, she
actually introduced me to several
other people she knew and I hadn’t
met before.
The average attendance for
the Business After Hours ranges
from 40-50 people and takes place
between 5 pm and 7 pm. The cost is
minimal at $5 per member and $8
per non-member. So, for a $5-$8
event, you can network with over
40+ people. You can’t go out on a
business lunch for that price and at
40 people, that’s an average of .20
cents or less per personal contact.
Pretty inexpensive way to get your
name and/or your business noticed.
Just remember: networking =
marketing = relationships.