Chamber lunch and learns are an excellent way to connect with members and provide them value. Continuing education and professional development are top-of-mind for many employees these days yet businesses don’t have the funds to bring in trainers and pay for seminars. But what makes a good lunch and learn? Here are several ideas.
Tips for Chamber Lunch and Learns
- Know your audience. If you’re hosting a topic like social media, it’s important to understand whether most of the audience will need help turning on their devices or they’re social media veterans looking for the latest best practices. Knowing your audience will help you meet their expectations and everyone will get more out of your chamber lunch and learn.
- Be helpful. Your session should be important to members of your community. For instance, while social media may be a hot topic nationwide, maybe it’s not in your community. Maybe everyone already knows about it or there are amazing local resources already available. Host topics of interest and need to know topics as well. One of the chamber’s jobs is to help member businesses with what they need to know and keep them abreast of things on the business horizon.
- Market your session. Once you know who you’re trying to appeal to, you need to market your session. Adding it to your calendar isn’t enough. Place it on your website, social media, and email your members. Make sure they understand all employees are invited but they need to RSVP as there is limited space. Many members don’t realize their membership covers everyone.
- Craft your description carefully. As part of your marketing, you’ll want to craft a description of what you’re teaching. Make sure you are clear about whether something is a beginner class or more advanced. These specifics make a big difference and can keep attendees from disappointment or confusion.
- Find the right time. Again, this depends on your audience. We call them chamber lunch and learns but they could just as easily be scheduled for before work or after. You want people to attend and benefit from your topics if that means adjusting to a schedule outside of the lunch hour, so be it.
