• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Frank J. Kenny's Chamber Pros Community

Chamber of Commerce Training and Resources.

  • Small Business Season™
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Free Resources
  • CPEd
    • Login
  • Contact

Guaranteeing the ROI on Chamber Membership

Before software, I worked in textbook publishing. This was twelve years ago, long before the Interwebs began condensing information for us but even then, we saw things beginning to change. The industry looked (albeit not hard and fast enough) for ways to remain relevant and one of those ways was allowing professors to customize their own readers (using other people’s works) and providing them with a royalty for doing so.

chamber membership
Guaranteeing the ROI on Chamber Membership

Even at that time, parts of the dying industry realized they had to do something to remain relevant.  However most would agree the publishing industry is not a bastion of innovation as of late.

Yesterday I read an interesting article  that may make me change my mind. The Association of Magazine Media is offering a sales guarantee. This pledge guarantees a minimum level of return on investment for qualified advertisers who buy a number of ads. If the return on investment is not met, the advertiser gets their money back or free ad space.

At first glance, this sounds like a progressive thing to do. While guarantees on performance are hardly innovative in and of themselves, rarely do media companies offer a guarantee on return on investment. There are simply too many moving parts.

Can the magazine be held accountable for the effectiveness of a campaign? This is not an ad agency promising a company will see a certain level of revenue. This is a magazine that is accepting ads others designed. Sure you can assume a business knows its target audience but it’s not something you can guarantee.

Would Your Chamber Want to Do This?

 

We all know that a chamber membership is an investment in the community and the health of your business but again, how can you control how someone uses it? There’s a certain amount of member responsibility involved — you get what you pay for.

I certainly don’t know whether this will pay off for the association in additional advertising dollars or whether it will flop like JCPenney’s deciding to end sales a few years back, but it’s an interesting idea and one that should open up conversation about what we choose to stand behind.

 

By Christina Green

Wondering how to promote the benefits of new chamber membership? Here’s an article with great ideas for marketing. 

Related Chamber Articles

Grab a time on Frank's calendar.

Search (1,500+ Articles)

Receive the Chamber Pros Community Online Newsletter. 7,000+ subscribers. It’s FREE.

Let us make your life easier…

Explore these new posts

  • Finding the Ideal Chamber Hire
  • 11 Things Chamber Pros Can Learn from Jimmy Buffet
  • 13 Things You Don’t Want to Do as a New Chamber Board Member
  • Are You Considering a Chamber Rebrand? 15 Things to Think About First
  • Navigating Chamber Turf Wars with Emotional Intelligence
  • Finally a Networking Event All Your Members Will Love!
  • AI Webinar Ideas for Your Chamber of Commerce
  • How to Help Your Loneliest Chamber Members
  • The Ultimate Chamber Guide to Finding and Hiring Good Employees

Archives

Our Authors

Frank Kenny is a successful entrepreneur, chamber member, chamber board member, chamber board of directors chair, and chamber President/CEO. He now coaches chamber professionals, consults with chambers, trains staff and members, and speaks professionally. He helps Chambers and Chamber Professionals reach their goals. See full bio.

Christina R. Green teaches chambers, associations and small businesses how to connect through content. Her articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives’ Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, and Socialfish. She is a regular guest blogger on this site and Event Managers Blog. Christina is just your average bookish writer on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere.Visit her site or connect with her on Twitter @christinagsmith.
Faculty Member:

Institute for Organization Management

W.A.C.E. Academy

Chamber Pros Online Conference

WACE
ACCE

Testimonials

“This workshop was a major success and the attendees loved it.” -Mark Sturdevant, President/CEO La Habra Chamber Testimonials

Legal

Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · WordPress · Log in