I came across two posts yesterday that were very similar in nature and I wanted to share them here and get your input.

What Happened to the Original Social Network? by Joe Abraham

Is Your Local Chamber of Commerce Obsolete? by Jack Deal

Read these two posts, then continue below.

I've seen these posts mentioned on other sites and they bother me a little bit, too.  Maybe it's because I worked for a chamber for 8 years and know how hard the staff works to serve the members. I've seen the staff attend all the early morning breakfast meetings and the after 5:00 mixers and the weekly total resource development campaigns and I've seen their the genuine concern for local businesses.  Or maybe it's because I've seen so many chambers jump into using social media and reinevent the way they run their business by providing more and better benefit to their members. 

I do believe that chambers of commerce in general need to change in order to survive and thrive, but...BUT...why focus on pointing out these fairly obvioius facts (they are true for LOTS of businesses) and then wrap up the post with (essentially) "if they don't, they'll be gone." If you're going to point out a problem, why not offer a solution....or better yet, show examples of how some chambers of commerce ARE indeed changing as they suggest so that others can learn from them. Do the very thing you suggest that chambers should be doing and connect them with someone that can help them. I want others to see the success stories and know that chambers CAN evolve.  And I've tried to share information on chambers that are evolving here on this blog.

To be fair, Joe Abraham does have some decent suggestions near the end of his post. They mostly focus on delivering real value to your members by directly helping them increase profits and improving the lives of the individual members.  These demonstrate some of the opportunities and decisions I believe chambers have before them.

Be the great connector
Chambers have held mixers and networking events for a long time.  While these may still have some value, the two authors point out some deficiencies in these types of events.  (Those who understand the value of long-term networking will disagree, I'm sure).  However, chambers can go beyond these events and actively connect businesses who may need/want each other's services.  This may involve "business match making" services or using technology to match business together.  Listening to your members' concerns and needs though social media (and in-person visits) can be a great way to start connecting them to other businesses.  Certainly social media will be a major part of chambers' efforts to connect local businesses.  Those chambers already using social media will have a great head start.

Be THE business advocate
Dave Kilby (and others) at the Western Association of Chamber Executives have encouraged chambers to be active in business legislative issues for years.  Some chambers have long avoided jumping into the political arena.  If you're not there already, now is the time to be the advocate for business in your community and make their concerns heard.  Blogging, email and Twitter will take larger roles for those organizations who are politically active.  They'll be able to share information instantly and solicit feedback from members.

Provide personalized business services 
Many of the chambers of commerce I know are run by staff who have no or little experience running small business themselves. (Including me when I worked for one). Chambers could hire succesful small business owners and managers to provide one-to-one consulting services for other small businesses.  Things like creating business plans, developing marketing materials, even dealing with HR issues could be provided as paid services.  And because the small businesses would be getting help by someone who had "been in their shoes," they may feel like the chamber truly understands their needs.

Promote/develop a strong local economy
Despite Jack Deal's comments about how people can buy anything from anywhere in the world (which is true), the reality is that the vast majority of people in your community shop locally for most items. They drive to work each day past local gas stations and local grocery stores.  They drop off their cleaning at local dry cleaners and they buy lattes at the local coffee shops.  Chances are they have an account at the local bank and they bought or sold their house through a local realtor.   They live in neighborhoods full of other people that do the same types of things they do....they spend 75-90% of their time working in, playing and and shopping in their LOCAL area.  So, why wouldn't the chamber of commerce can work to create positive economic conditions in the area and promote their members?

Create/demonstrate value on an individual basis
Ah, the world of mass customization.  Each member has different needs and different reasons for joining the chamber.   Chambers will need to use customer relationship management software and other technology to create value for members as they need and want it.  And, you'll need to have customized ways of communicating that value to each member.  It won't be enough to say "you're on the chamber's health plan."  You'll need to tell them how much they spent, how much value they got and how much they saved over using other plans.   Where will you store this informaton? (Hint: Hopefully in your membership management sotfware) Can you provide this info for your Office Depot discount plans and other benefits? If not, you should probably start finding ways of getting this information and communicating it to your members. 

Explore different avenues for revenue generation
What if the chamber was an open organization that had benefits for all businesses, regardless of if they "joined."  Could you create a new set of services and charge for those services to all businesses?  Could you then offer a "premium" level of service that in essense replaced your membership dues structure?  What new product and services would you create? For more info on this concept, see an older post, Retain more members by competing with yourself.  Certainly, customer relationship management software and social media will have roles here as well.

What about exclusivity?  This has long been a selling point on being part of the chamber.  "If you're not a member, you won't get X, Y or Z."  Is it time to let go of this sacred cow or is it time to reinforce it and make it even stronger?  I can see both sides of this argument and I've love to get your input.

What are your opinions about the two posts above?  How is your chamber changing to provide more and better services to your members?  How will you use technology to help you evolve your chamber?

And most importantly, what do you think is the future for chambers of commerce?  Please leave a comment below or email me at curt.moss[AT]weblinkinternational.com.