Every business has an ideal customer. Every chamber has an idea chamber member. This person, or type of person, needs your services and thrives after receiving them. Plus, they don’t cost an arm and a leg to onboard.
Chambers are no different. You have an ideal member, even if you haven’t identified that person yet.
Why You Need to Get to Know Your Ideal Chamber Member
While we all want to believe our services are well-suited for everyone, that will never be true. As the old saying goes, you cannot be all things to all people. An ideal member is someone to whom you can make a difference. They’ll see value in membership easily.
Finding your ideal chamber member means looking through your existing member list. Look at who’s renewing, and who isn’t, then ask yourself these questions about those who renew. What do they have in common?
- What size of business are they from a client and staff perspective?
- How long have they been in business?
- What industry do they serve?
- What chamber activities do they take part in?
- Are they involved as ambassadors or volunteers?
Once you know what that ideal member looks like and what level of involvement they have with the chamber, you can take that information and start matching it with non-member businesses in your town. Pursuing businesses you know are a good fit means less time wasted in recruiting others.
Isolating information about your ideal members also allows you to get a clearer vision as to who may be at risk in your member roster. You can then act accordingly to get them more engaged.
Plus when you know who your ideal member is, you know what they like, you can create more offerings designed around their needs for a bigger effect. Just as a dinner party will run more smoothly if you know of any dietary or social concerns of your guests ahead of time, knowing your members, and more specifically your ideal or most successful members, helps you offer a more personalized approach to addressing their needs. This increases their loyalty and desire to continue being a chamber member well into the future.
