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National Study Shows That Chamber Membership is Good For Your Business
It is not often that you receive an e-mail that makes you smile. In amidst the many junk messages I receive each day, urging me to buy low-cost drugs and high-price watches, was a simple attachment that brightened my day.
The attachment revealed the results of a study undertaken by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) that indicated just how important chamber membership is to your business.
The report looked at how consumers and business owners perceive chambers of commerce and businesses that are their members. One of the most compelling facts related to purchases being made and how chamber membership betters your odds to receive those purchases.
The ACCE study indicated that consumers are 63% more likely to buy from chamber members. That is indeed good news for chamber members, as it proves that chamber membership actually promotes your business.
This study also showed what we believed all along, that chamber membership boosts your reputation in the community and region as being strong corporate citizens. The survey demonstrated that when consumers know a business is a member of a chamber, they are 44% more likely to think favorably about the company.
It also reported that consumers, when they are told a business is a chamber member, are 51% more likely to think positively of its local reputation. There was also good news in the study relative to businesses making purchases from each other. The ACCE report stated, “When business decision-makers believe that a business is a chamber member, they are 59% more likely to buy goods and services from it”.
Last, but not least, the last component of this survey revealed a very compelling figure on how chambers of commerce are perceived in the marketplace and in their communities. Eighty-two percent of respondents believe their chambers help create jobs and promote economic development.
While there is much to consider in this report, four very important conclusions can be made from this important study:
• That consumers are far more likely to purchase items from chamber members;
• That businesses are far more likely to purchase items from chamber members;
• That chamber membership strengthens your standing in the community and region; and
• That chambers of commerce are highly respected.
The ACCE study is not the only positive development out there touting the significance of joining business associations in times of economic peril. There was a CNN Radio story a number of weeks ago that reported the advantages of partnering with associations such as chambers, which offer marketing, insurance plans, phone programs, etc., all for one price. It mentioned the benefits received for joining such organizations and receiving such discounted plans.
In these trying economic times, when every single last cent that you spend is rightly being scrutinized, you need to know that your money is being well spent and benefiting your business. We have always taken that commitment very seriously, whether we were called your Board of Trade back in the 1880s or chamber of commerce in the 21st Century.
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