Survey says it makes sense to join chamber
In early November, the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce will hold a membership recruitment week offering special incentives for businesses to sign up. Some might consider Chamber of Commerce outdated - old school. Others may join, but just for the sense of community. Some succumb to the idea that it is simply a cost of doing business locally. Let’s take a real look at reasons a business joins a chamber and what’s in it for them - and you.
Advocates of chambers of commerce have long believed that when a company is active in its local chamber, it is doing the right thing not only for the community but for its own success as well. While there is plenty of evidence to show the impact of chambers of commerce on their communities, it is much harder to find data that quantifies the impact of belonging to a chamber.
A study commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives with support from Small Business Network, Inc., was designed to do just that: Determine the real value to companies in terms of consumer outcomes of joining and being active in their local chamber of commerce. Do consumers really support businesses because they are chamber members? Data for the study come from a scientific web-based survey of 2,000 adults nationwide.
What makes the study unlike most, however, is that almost every question on it is part of one of several imbedded experiments. This means that respondents were randomly assigned to different groups at several points during the survey. Each group read something slightly different — like a description of a company that changes only a little for each group — but then everyone is asked the same questions thereafter, regardless of which company description they just read.
Therefore, when there are statistically significant differences in how different groups answered the same questions, they knew exactly why it happened. This approach yielded powerful results because it bypasses the subjectivity of most opinion polls. A sampling of some of these results proves this to be the case.
• Most consumers (59%) think that being active in the local chamber of commerce is an effective business strategy overall. It is 29% more effective, however, for communicating to consumers that a company uses good business practices and 26% more effective for communicating that a business is reputable.
• If a company shows that it is highly involved in its local chamber (e.g., sits on the chamber board or committee), consumers are 12% more likely to think that its products stack up better against its competition.
• When a consumer thinks that a company’s products stack up better against the competition because the company is highly involved in its local chamber of commerce, it is because he or she infers that the company is trustworthy, involved in the community, and is an industry leader.
• When consumers know that a restaurant franchise is a member of the chamber of commerce, they are 40% more likely to eat at the franchise in the next few months.
• When consumers know that an insurance company, bank or service provider is a member of the chamber of commerce, they are 43% more likely to consider buying from it.
• When consumers know that a small business is a member of the chamber of commerce, they are 44% more likely to think favorably of it and 63% more likely to purchase goods or services from the company in the future.
The study goes on to break down impact by industry and using a chamber as a business strategy. This study can be found online: https://bit.ly/1bCs0fy
Other things to watch for at the Coeur d’Alene Chamber: The 2019 Economic Forecast with Dr. John Mitchell on Dec. 7 and the chamber’s Membership Appreciation Open House Dec. 13. For membership, events, and a full list of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce current roster, go to: www.cdachamber.com
Marilee Wallace is the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce vice president - memberships.
