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Challenging Times Prompt Creative New Initiatives
business, chamber of commerce, economic development,
Faced with a struggling economy, the Mt. Juliet-West Wilson County Chamber of Commerce didn’t consider a slowdown. Instead, it revved up programs, added staff and tackled several new small-business initiatives.
The result? In a year when many chambers saw membership dwindle, this chamber added 40 members in just the first three months of 2009.
“We can’t assume our members will automatically renew in this economic climate. Those days are gone,” says chamber President Mark Hinesley. “People don’t think, ‘What have they done for me this year?’
They’re asking what we have done for them this week. We had better give them a good return on their investment, or they are gone.”
That return on an investment means more services and extended benefits tailored to individual businesses. The chamber, Hinesley says, is like a church with 500 members, each of whom has joined for a different reason. While acknowledging that the chamber can’t be everything to every member, “if there’s an ‘open for business’ sign, there’s a good chance that someone in that industry is a member of the chamber.”
In less than 12 months in 2008-2009, the chamber put into action a half dozen new programs, including “12 at 12” and the chamber tour of homes, and it launched a redesigned, interactive Web site.
The chamber also started two new membership-driven, small-business programs that are growing exponentially – the Retail Council and the Home-Based Business Council.
“Five or six years ago, you couldn’t buy a pair of men’s socks in Mt. Juliet,” Hinesley jokes. “But over time, the retailers who have joined the chamber have come to represent a larger and larger segment of our membership.”
A core group of retailers meets monthly to plan cooperative advertising, promotions and programs to raise awareness of the area’s retail choices. The council also brings in guests – such as police officers speaking on law enforcement and security issues – to educate members.
Two popular “Chamber Days” promotions before Christmas and Memorial Day proved particularly effective, Hinesley says, offering shoppers a chance to register at 30 local businesses for a $500 shopping spree.
Inspired by this new program, chamber members who own home-based businesses asked for something similar, and the Home-Based Business Council was born. Among the benefits: a chance to network, efforts to raise profiles in the community, and a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony for 16 businesses. Keep an eye open for yet another new chamber council for nonprofit organizations.
“We’re always going to be doing new and creative things to help new businesses and new kinds of business,” Hinesley says. “We’ve built momentum with these programs, but we don’t take this for granted and rest on our laurels. Momentum can shift in the other direction with the snap of a finger.”
Story by Laura Hill
