Several months ago, I was asked if I knew of any chambers of commerce or membership organizations that were using technology to create value.  Short of a few conveniences like members being able to update their own information, view referrals or pay their bills online, I couldn’t come up with too many ways to create value.

I do think technology can be used to better manage and communicate value, especially when it's specific to each member. You can effectively track which/how many members are using a certain benefit, assign/track a value associated with that benefit and communicate the value via email or other personalized communications.

By using technology to manage and communicate value, you can increase your member intelligence and then make better decisions for your member retention and recruiting efforts.  You can demonstrate your value more effectively and increase member satisfaction, too.  But, I was still stuck on the creating value idea.

Recently though, I started considering this idea again. Social media has changed the way many chambers of commerce are communicating with their members.  Could social media and social networking create new value that would help a member justify paying dues and renew their membership?  How could you use technology to create an exclusive benefit that only members would get, thereby creating a “need” for other business to join your organization?  

I could see that by creating exclusive content online or a well-used community that you could then be adding value to a membership. Are there specific ways that your chamber is doing this?  Some organizations have online communities where members can connect and share ideas, but is that by itself creating the value or merely providing another vehicle for members to conduct business?  Would they be able to get something similar if that community didn’t exist? 

How are you creating new value for your members by using technology?  Please post comments below or send me email at curt.moss AT weblinkinternational.com.